Laurie Foos' gently surreal new novel is set in a small lakeside town where the local mothers bake their secret confessions into moon pies, which they feed to a silent, mysterious blue-skinned girl.

The Blue Religion. Edited by Michael Connelly; presented by the Mystery Writers of America. Little, Brown. $24.99. 375 pp. The pedigree on this short story collection is so strong that there can be… ...