Library Journal

Ball, Edward. The Tycoon and the Inventor: A Gilded Age and the Birth of Moving Pictures. Doubleday. Nov. 2012. 448p. ISBN 9780385525756. $29.95; eISBN 9780385535496. Downloadable: Random House Audio. BIOGRAPHY
Originally scheduled for April 2012 and featured as a Pick last October, this is the story of how photographer Eadweard Muybridge invented stop-motion photography—the first step on the road to motion pictures—when asked by railroad tycoon and former California governor Leland Stanford to show that at one point a galloping horse’s four hooves leave the ground simultaneously. The dramatic Muybridge later killed his wife’s lover, though he was acquitted after a lot of media coverage. National Book Award winner Ball (Slaves in the Family) here combines art, science, true crime, and history-in-the-making in rough-and-tumble Gilded Age San Francisco.

Bair, Deirdre. Saul Steinberg: A Biography. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Nov. 2012. 752p. ISBN 9780385524483. $40; eISBN 9780385534987. BIOGRAPHY
The creator of fabulously spiky, satirical drawings and cartoons—everyone knows the iconic New Yorker cover that makes the rest of the country look like a really little slice of the pie—Steinberg was born in Romania and educated in Italy, which he fled with the rise of fascism. He became a U.S. citizen, a commissioned navy officer, and a member of the OSS in a single day, then went on to become one of the artistic lights of the postwar era. National Book Award winner Bair (for Samuel Beckett) got to rummage through 177 boxes of never-before-seen materials to write this biography. Nothing else out there on Steinberg, and what a fascinating life.

Coyne, Tom. Bury Me at the Finish Line: One Plodder’s Quest To Understand Where We’re Running To. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9781592406548. $26. SPORTS
Author of the best-selling A Course Called Ireland, Coyne does golf but otherwise has never been that big on exercise. So he surprised himself by opting to run in the 2010 Marathon de Paris (though, hey, I’d go to Paris for anything). To make sure he followed through, he drafted some friends—a breast cancer survivor, a beer-belly Brit, and a chain-smoking waitress—to train with him, enticing them with an all-expenses-paid trip to the City of Light. Here he examines the fun of the run while reflecting on how the sport has turned into a mega-industry.

de Margerie, Caroline. American Lady: The Life of Susan Mary Alsop. Viking. Nov. 2012. 256p. ISBN 9780670025749. $26.95. BIOGRAPHY
A descendant of Founding Father John Jay, born in Rome and raised partly in Argentina, Susan Mary hit Paris in 1945 with first husband William Patten and met everyone, from FDR to Churchill to Garbo. After Patten’s death, she married renowned columnist Joseph Alsop and with him became a legendary powerbroker, dominating Georgetown society for four decades. A fascinating-sounding book about a fascinating-sounding American woman, written by a French author who is now a member of the Conseil d’État, the highest administrative court of France.

Glassie, John. A Man of Misconceptions: The Life of an Eccentric in an Age of Change. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 240p. ISBN 9781594488719. $26.95. SCIENCE/HISTORY
A former contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, Glassie tells the story of Anthanasius Kircher, a 17th-century scientist much admired in his day for discoveries that have since proven to be, politely put, half-cocked. Magnetism is not the force driving the universe, his translations of Egyptian hieroglyphics were all wrong, and what’s this about his proudly displaying a mermaid’s tailbone? An entertaining reminder that skepticism can be good.

Guerrieri, Matthew. The First Four Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth and the Human Imagination. Knopf. Nov. 2012. 368p. ISBN 9780307593283. $26.95; eISBN 9780307960924. MUSIC
Da-da-da-dum! Here’s what looks to be the only book available to lay readers offering an in-depth examination of Beethoven’s beloved and magisterial Fifth Symphony. Guerrieri, music critic for the Boston Globe, explores both the sources and the long-term impact of the symphony, which was, by the way, a source of inspiration during World War II to both the Nazis and the Allies. If this book seems specialized,  just remember that Beethoven has nearly a million followers on Facebook—take that, rock stars! And a similar title, Stuart Isacoff’s A Natural History of the Piano, turned out to be a sleeper hit for the publisher last fall.

Homans, John. What’s a Dog For? The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man’s Best Friend. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 256p. ISBN 9781594205156. $25.95. PETS
Lots of books out there on the human-canine relationship. But Homans, executive editor of New York magazine, homes in on a particular aspect of our love affair with dogs—our treating them as if they were human beings. (Um, they aren’t?) Inspired by his Lab mix, Stella, who started out as his companion in neighborhood rambles and quickly became the centerpiece of the family, Homans considers scientific studies about evolutionary theory, cognitive behavior, and the consequences of dog ownership (great for our health). What a dog for? To learn from and love.

Keller, Timothy. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Plan for the World. Dutton. Nov. 2012. 272p. ISBN 9780525952701. $25.95. Downloadable: Penguin Audio. RELIGION
Pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Keller is heard by thousands of congregants on Sunday morning—and his best-selling spirituality titles are read by millions. Here he considers how believers can find meaning and maintain their values in the jungle-out-there world of business today. No easy outs here; Keller helps folks practice what gets preached.

Lizard, Sal with Jonathan Lane. Being Santa Claus: What I Learned about the True Meaning of Christmas. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 256p. ISBN 9781592407569. $20. MEMOIR
After his hair and beard turned snowy white when he was only in his twenties, Lizard did what every guy should do in that predicament: he opted to play Santa, a job he’s been at year ’round for more than 20 years. More than a life account, this book offers inspiration drawn from the experiences he’s had in his custom-made red velvet suits, e.g., little children can make a big difference in this world, and they’re awe-struck about seeing Santa off-season. A national tour, though probably not by sleigh.

Nasaw, David. The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 832p. ISBN 9781594203763. $40. Downloadable: Penguin Audio. BIOGRAPHY
Celebrated for his biographies of Andrew Carnegie and William Randolph Hearst, Nasaw takes on another larger-than-life figure: Joseph P. Kennedy, businessman, Hollywood mogul, founding chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. ambassador to Britain as World War II commenced, and, of course, father to our 35th president. Nasaw evidently secured unrestricted and exclusive access to all of his subject’s papers and will address the big questions still hanging around, e.g., was Kennedy an isolationist, a Nazi sympathizer, a bootlegger? And did he really buy JFK’s elections?

Perelman, Deb. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Knopf. Nov. 2012. 336p. ISBN 9780307595652. $35; eISBN 9780307961068. COOKBOOKS
Just ask the Smitten Kitchen’s 63,000 Facebook fans or its four million unique visitors per month: Perelman’s supremely helpful, visually stunning, wittily worded food blog really did deserve to be named one of 2011’s best blogs by Time magazine. (I know because I just checked it out and have already cribbed the recipe for Pasta with Garlicky Broccoli Rabe.) Perelman’s recipes are accessible but not Betty Crocker plain; this is fun, energized eating. Get it! With a six-city tour to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Phillips, Kevin. 1775: A Good Year for Revolution. Viking. Nov. 2012. 640p. ISBN 9780670025121. $36. HISTORY
Every American schoolchild will tell you that 1776 was a very good year for the American Revolution. But contrarian Phillips, Pulitzer finalist for The Cousins’ Wars, makes a case for 1775 as the revolution’s make-or-break year. That’s when Congress delivered a bunch of sharp ultimatums to Britain, British troops and royal governors were sent packing, and local Patriots grabbed the reins of government. Britain never recovered. Great for argumentative nonfiction book groups.

Sacks, Oliver. Hallucinations. Knopf. Nov. 2012. 336p. ISBN 9780307957245. $26.95. CD/downloadable: Random House Audio. MEDICINE
Hallucinations: they don’t belong wholly to the insane. Illness or injury, intoxication or sensory deprivation, or simply falling asleep can cause any one of us to see (or hear, or smell, or sense) swirly, twirly things that aren’t there. Everyone’s favorite neurologist is back to explain types of hallucinations, what they tell us about the brain’s workings, and how they have influenced art and culture. Who knew medicine could be so much fun.

Schwartz, John. Oddly Normal: One Family’s Struggle To Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms with His Sexuality. Gotham: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9781592407286. $26. MEMOIR
A national correspondent with the New York Times, Schwartz faced a terrible tragedy two years ago when his 13-year-old son attempted suicide after coming out to his classmates. Frustrated by the school’s inability to help a student who didn’t fit the mold, he and his wife sought out organizations that could help Joe realize that he wasn’t alone or freakish. Here’s an account of their experiences, clearly as much a parental guide as a memoir.

Talbot, Margaret. The Entertainer: Movies, Magic, and My Father’s Twentieth Century. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9781594487064. $28.95. MEMOIR
A New Yorker staff writer, Talbot takes a personal approach to telling the story of popular culture in early 20th century America. She tells the story of her father, Lyle Talbot, born in Nebraska in 1902, who became a magician’s assistant, actor with a traveling theater troupe, romantic lead in early talkies, character actor in big Warner films, and, finally, Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to Beaver regular. From small-town life to the big screen; sounds enticing, and lots of in-house excitement. 
 
Updike, John. Always Looking: Essays on Art. Knopf. Nov. 2012. 224p. ISBN 9780307957306. $45. ART CRITICISM
After Just Looking (1989) and Still Looking (2005), here’s a final, posthumous volume of essays from a writer whose art criticism was as good as his fiction. The 15 pieces are taken mostly from the New York Review of Books, though readers will also find—and revel in—“The Clarity of Things,” the 2008 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities and as definitive a statement as we’ll get of Updike’s approach to criticism. With more than 200 color illustrations to go with commentary ranging from Degas to Serra. Bravo!

wa Thiong’o, Ngugi. In the House of the Interpreter: A Memoir. Pantheon. Nov. 2012. 256p. ISBN 9780307907691. $25.95; eISBN 9780307907707. MEMOIR
A 2009 Man Booker International Literary Prize nominee and an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience in his native Kenya in the late 1970s after his arrest for writing a controversial play, wa Thiong’o here follows up a first volume of memoirs called Dreams in a Time of War—which, by the way, was a Samuel Johnson Prize nominee. This new work covers wa Thiong’o’s high school years in 1955–59, which places it smack in the middle of the Mau Mau uprising that eventually led to the end of British colonial rule.  Nobel-worthy reading, I’ll bet; wa Thiong’o is often mentioned for the prize.

Banville, John. Ancient Light. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780307957054. $25.95; eISBN 9780307960832. CD/downloadable: Random Audio. LITERARY
At the end of a stuttering career, suddenly revived by a role-of-a-lifetime movie turn, actor Alexander Cleave looks back at his first and probably only love, a charged and ultimately catastrophic passion at age 15 for his best friend’s mother. Then there’s his daughter, whose own uncertain turn of mind he cannot understand. Always an honored writer, Banville has gained a bigger audience here since winning the Man Booker Prize for The Sea, so this probing study of memory’s shiftiness will be anticipated. With a reading guide and a six-city tour to Boston, New York, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Cronin, Justin. The Passage Trilogy: Bk. 2: The Twelve. Ballantine. Oct. 2012. 560p. ISBN 9780345504982. $28; eISBN 9780345534897. CD: Random Audio. LITERARY THRILLER
After racking up honors like the PEN/Hemingway Award for his literary fiction, Cronin wrote a dystopian thriller called The Passage—and sold 600,000 copies while claiming awed reviews and best book nods, including from LJ. Here we see three strangers bonding over the chaos created by the U.S. government experiment gone awry that kicked off the first book, and, 100 years hence, we again meet Amy, Peter, Alicia, and the others as they track the 12 virals that started all the trouble. Alas, their quest is based on some assumptions that no longer hold. With a 15- to 20-city tour and a huge multimedia campaign.

Harris, Joanne. Peaches for Father Francis. Viking. Oct. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780670026364. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio. POP FICTION
With Harris’s beloved chocolatière, Vianne Rocher, we return to the lovely French village of Lansquenet, where Vianne first opened up shop in Harris’s multi-million-best-selling Chocolat. Now the town is changed, with veiled women walking the streets and a minaret rising across the river, and—big surprise!—fierce, resistant Father Francis needs Vianne’s help. Charm and important social context; a recent New York Times editorial reports that France has Europe’s largest Islamic minority, which has caused headline-making tensions recently. The editorial goes on to explain that inclusive Marseille has no such troubles. Perhaps little Lansquenet will emulate its big brother.  

Pamuk, Orhan. Silent House. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780307700285. $26.95; eISBN 9780307958556. LITERARY
Before he won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, before he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Pamuk wrote this, his second novel—only now available in English. In the summer before the 1980 military coup, the widow Fatima anticipates her grandchildren’s annual visit to her home in Cennethisar, now a fancy resort near Istanbul but once a fishing village where Fatima’s physician husband settled to serve the poor. She reminisces with ever-loyal servant Recep, a dwarf who happens to be her husband’s illegitimate son, even as Recep’s dedicatedly nationalist cousin draws the entire family dangerously close to the looming political crisis. With a reading group guide; a good way to understand the Turkey of today.

Bizot, François. Facing the Torturer. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 224p. ISBN 9780307273505. $25; eISBN 9780307960870. HISTORY
Director of studies at Paris’s École Pratique des Hautes études and chair of Southeast Asian Buddhism at the Sorbonne, Bizot was a young scholar studying pottery and Buddhist ritual in Cambodia when he was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge for three months in 1973, an experience he recounted searingly in The Gate. (Bizot was the only Westerner to survive Khmer Rouge imprisonment.) His captor was the infamous Duch, ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than 10,000 people. Duch was arrested for his crimes in 1999, and Bizot bore witness at his trial—an unimaginable act of courage that he revisits here with this book. Note that it’s classified as history—Bizot clearly turns the spotlight from himself to a horrifically dark time in human history.

Brands, H.W. The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace. Doubleday. Oct. 2012. 736p. ISBN 9780385532419. $35; eISBN 9780385532426. CD: Random Audio. BIOGRAPHY
A New York Times best-selling historian/biographer who’s given us firm portraits of Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among others, Brands here takes on Civil War general and two-term president Ulysses Grant. Grant’s reputation suffered after the war, partly because of Southern resentment, and Brands is out to given us a fairer, better picture. He shows us a first-rate general and a President who was both popular and compassionate, working hard to protect the rights of freedmen; Brands calls him last presidential defender of black civil rights for nearly a century. I’m betting on this one.

Dobbs, Michael. Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman—from World War to Cold War. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 448p. ISBN 9780307271655. $28.95; eISBN 9780307960894. Downloadable: Random Audio. HISTORY
In February 1945, when Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in Yalta, the alliance that had helped rout Hitler was already showing strains, and the start of the Cold War lay only months away. Dobbs, a Washington Post reporter who covered the fall of communism and authored the best-selling One Minute to Midnight, about nuclear brinkmanship, should have the perspective to cover this story. Lots of in-house enthusiasm.

Barker, Pat. Toby’s Room. Doubleday. Oct. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780385524360. $25.95; eISBN 9780385535021. HISTORICAL
Booker Award winner Barker’s new World War I trilogy (following the wonderful “Regeneration” trilogy) concerns a group of friends who meet at London’s Slade School of Art and move on through life—straight into the war. In this second volume (after Life Class), Toby and sister Elinor share a dark secret, and when Toby is reported missing and believed killed, Elinor faces yet another secret: what really happened. Life Class seemed a weak start to this trilogy; perhaps as we move past backstory to the real tragedy of the fighting, Barker will show her spirit.

Cisneros, Sandra (text) & Esther Hernandez (illus.). Have You Seen Marie? Knopf. Oct. 2012. 112p. ISBN 9780307597946. $21; eISBN 9780307960863. INSPIRATIONAL FICTION
Bereft after the death of her mother (she felt like “a glove left behind at the bus station”), the award-wining author of The House on Mango Street found renewed meaning by helping friend Roz hunt for her missing cat, Marie. This for-all-ages illustrated volume shows how we heal by investing in others. With a 13-city tour to Albuquerque, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Seattle.

Duffy, Stella. The Purple Shroud: A Novel of Empress Theodora. Penguin. Oct. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780143122258. pap. $15. HISTORICAL
Duffy made waves last year with Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore, which won not just a lot of enthusiastic readers but the Stonewall Writer of the Year Award. In this sequel, Theodora has snared Justinian, Byzantine emperor in the 500s, and is now learning what it means to rule. The two books have been jointly optioned for an HBO miniseries, so stay tuned.

Fforde, Jasper. The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel. Viking. Oct. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780670025022. $26.95. POP FICTION
In her next outing, seventh in Fforde’s outrageously inventive series, Bookworld enforcement officer Thursday Next returns home to Swindon to recuperate after an assassination attempt. But all is not well with her children: Friday’s career in the Chronoguard is floundering, Tuesday won’t be ready with the anti-Smote shield Swindon needs when an angry Deity comes calling, and then there’s Jenny, who’s just a memory. Wistfulness with the fun; the ten-city tour says it all.

Grisham, John. The Racketeer. Doubleday. Oct. 2012. NAp. ISBN 9780385535144. $28.95; eISBN 9780385536882. CD/downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
Evidently, only four active federal judges have been murdered in this country, surprising given our wild and wooly ways. Grisham imagines a fifth, Judge Raymond Fogletree, found murdered with his secretary in the lakeside cabin he built for himself. As the narrator says, “I did not know Judge Fogletree, but I know who killed him, and why. I am a lawyer, and I am in prison. It’s a long story.” And one you will likely want to read.

Homes, A.M. May We Be Forgiven. Viking. Oct. 2012. 496p. ISBN 9780670025480. $26.95. LITERARY
Harold’s younger brother George has it all—a fabulous job, wife and kids, and home. He also has fabulous temper, and one day when he really loses it, he manages to lose everything else, too. Suddenly, Harold has a new life running someone else’s family. The forthright Homes, excellent at fractured domesticity, is a writer that, I find, makes serious readers sigh. With a five-city tour.

Jio, Sarah. Blackberry Winter. Plume. Oct. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780452298385. pap. $15. POP FICTION
Last year, Jio triumphed with two paperback originals, The Violets of March and The Bungalow, which together have 100,000 copies in print. Here she returns with a story that leaps from 1930s Seattle, when single-mother Vera Ray comes off the night shift into a May Day snowstorm (a “blackberry winter” storm) and finds that her son and been abducted, to the present day, when Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge learns about the long-ago abduction and starts investigating. Sweet, absorbing women’s fiction, from what I know of her previous work.

Nesbø, Jo. Phantom. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780307960474. $28.95; eISBN 9780307960481. CD/downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
Nesbø’s books have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide in 47 languages; The Snowman, published here in 2010, has sold 150,000 copies to date and was bought by Working Title Films, with Martin Scorsese attached to direct. In this latest adventure featuring Harry Hole, Harry has abandoned Oslo for Hong Kong. Then Oleg, the son of the woman he loved and left behind, is arrested for murder, and Harry returns to save him singlehandedly (he’s barred from rejoining the police force). Much followed; consider multiples.

Salter, James. All That Is. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 256p. ISBN 9781400043132. $25.95; eISBN 9780307961099. LITERARY
PEN/Faulkner winner Salter publishes rarely—this is his first fiction in seven years—but when he does it’s choice. This novel features World War II veteran Philip Bowman, now a book editor, who enjoys the charged and intimate environment of the era’s publishing world yet suffers in his emotional life, enduring a failed marriage and relentless betrayal. A real in-house favorite; don’t miss.

Sullivan, Mark. Rogue. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Oct. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780312378516. $24.95. THRILLER
Billed as part Bourne Identity, part Mission: Impossible, and part Hitchcock’s It Takes a Thief, this thriller stars Robin Monarch, a former topnotch CIA operative who abandoned his post mid-mission and vanished without explanation. Now he’s a thief, stealing from the very, very rich. But after a job goes wrong, he’s trapped into completing the mission he left behind. Sullivan writes international best sellers by himself and with James Patterson; keep an eye out for this one.

Wickersham, Joan. The News from Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story. Knopf. Oct. 2012. 224p. ISBN 9780307958884. $24.95; eISBN 9780307958891. SHORT STORIES
Astute readers will know Wickersham as the author of National book Award finalist The Suicide Index and will have seen her short fiction in Best American Short Stories. This theme-and-variation collection swirls across the globe over centuries, ranging from the collaboration between Mozart and librettist Da Ponte on several operas to a racecar driver’s widow, and nursing home resident, and a love triangle in 1940s America. My vote for book on this list I’m most curious to see; with a reading group guide.

Boyle, T.C. San Miguel. Viking. Sept. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780670026241. $27.95. Downloadable: Penguin Audio. LITERARY
In 1888, ailing Marantha Waters moves to the desolate isle of San Miguel Island off Southern California’s coast with her Civil War veteran husband, who runs a sheep farm there and does everything he can to keep their aspiring-actress daughter from slipping her bonds and returning to the mainland. In 1930, New York City librarian Elise Lester and her gung-ho World War I veteran husband choose to settle on San Miguel and like the Waters family achieve only an uncertain peace. As always, Boyle gives us sharp moral conundrum in a distinctive setting; with an eight-city tour.

Chabon, Michael. Telegraph Avenue. Harper: Harper Collins. Sept. 2012. 480p. ISBN 9780061493348. $27.99; eISBN 9780062124609. CD: HarperAudio. LITERARY
Race, corporatism, and last-stand idealism: core themes of contemporary American life, and who better to explore them than Pulitzer Prize winner Chabon, whose linguistic razzle-dazzle discloses acute observations about our shared culture—and, especially, its borders. It’s 2004, and longtime band mates Achy Stallings and Nat Jaffe still preside over Brokeland Records, a used-record emporium and de facto town center in a fictional space somewhere between Berkeley and Oakland. Their wives are the Berkeley Birth Partners, beloved local midwives. All’s well until a former NFL quarterback, one of the country’s richest African Americans, decides to build his latest Dogpile megastore on nearby Telegraph Avenue. Not only could this spell doom for the little shop and its cross-race, cross-class dream but it opens up past history regarding Archy’s untethered dad and a crime dating back to the Black Panther era. With a one-day laydown on September 11, a 300,000-copy first printing, and a 13-city Tour to Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami (for the book fair) Nashville, New York, Raleigh/Durham, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Washington, DC. Get it!

Coplin, Amanda. The Orchardist. Harper: HarperCollins. Sept. 2012. 448p. ISBN 9780062188502. $25.99. HISTORICAL
At the turn of the 20th century, when two dirty, pregnant girls steal from an orchard in the foothills of the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade Mountains that Talmadge has tended for 50 years, he lets them. Soon they return, tentatively befriending this sweet, solitary soul, as rooted as the trees in the land he loves. Then armed and angry men invade the orchard, and Talmadge steps up to protect his new charges, even as he’s reminded of the past’s sorrowful secrets. Exceptional in-house cheering for this debut, with rights sold to a half-dozen countries so far and a 75,000-copy first printing. Surely this is meant as an evocative understanding of the American West and its continued grip on our psyche, and I can’t wait to see how it works.

Ennis, Michael. The Malice of Fortune. Doubleday. Sept. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780385536318. $26.95; eISBN 9780385536325. Downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
When his son Juan is murdered in distant Imola, Pope Alexander asks the courtesan Damiata to discover what happened—and holds her young son hostage until she does. In Imola, Damiata is so undercut by the political intrigue originating with the pope’s other son, the Duke Valentino, that she turns to a little-known Florentine diplomat named Niccolo Machiavelli for help; the observational skills she needs to catch the killer are ultimately furnished by one Leonardo da Vinci. Now that sounds like fun reading; the publisher’s big fiction title of the month.

Smith, Zadie. NW: A Novel. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2012. NAp. ISBN 9781594203978. $25.95. LITERARY
It’s been seven years since Smith last published a novel, so we’re all really chaffing to read this one. NW stands for northwest, that is, northwest London, where a group of friends living on an estate make their way through school and on to adulthood, staying more or less true to their ideals. Smith, herself was born in London’s diverse northwest, will surely provide her usual gorgeous, almost scary understanding of that society and the world at large.

Toobin, Jeffrey. The Oath: The Obama White House vs. The Supreme Court. Doubleday. Sept. 2012. 368p. ISBN 9780385527200. $27.95; eISBN 9780385536301. Downloadable: Random Audio LAW/CURRENT EVENTS
Having laid bare the working of the Supreme Court in his prize-winning The Nine, Toobin returns to assess how the Court—and, specifically, Chief Justice John Roberts—stack up against President Obama. From the moment that Roberts blew administering the Oath of Office at Obama’s inauguration, he and the administration have been ideologically at odds. Toobin argues that the two men are both charismatic and ambitious, though Obama’s actually the conservative one; he aims for step-by-step change, building on the past, while Roberts wants to unstitch everything accomplished by the New Deal. Essential reading as we gear up for the election.

Armstrong, Kelley. Thirteen. Dutton. Aug. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780525952831. $26.95; CD/Downloadable: Penguin Audio. PARANORMAL THRILLER
Bittersweet news, Otherworld fans: after a dozen books, here’s the grand finale of the series. Savannah Levine has rescued her brother from supernatural medical testing, though he’s not exactly back on his feet, and with supernaturals battling one another—and in danger of exposure to the general population—she’s dredging up all her strength to summon spells that will keep her world intact. You bet that Otherworld familiars Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, and Hope will be making appearances, along with hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and other creepy pleasers. This will be big; with a five-city tour and Comic-Con promotion.

Frankel, Laurie. Good-Bye for Now. Doubleday. Aug. 2012. 228p. ISBN 9780385536189. $25.95; eISBN 9780385536196. POP FICTION
Sam Elliot meets love-of-his-life Meredith at the Internet dating company where they both work, then gets fired when a competitor starts getting all the business. To comfort Meredith when her grandmother dies, Sam draws on all of grandma’s emails, Facebook posts, and Skype to create a computer program that simulates one last conversation between her and Meredith. Hence the couple’s new company, RePose, is born. It helps customers to assuage their grief, but it soon presents some sticky problems of its own. Now there’s a fresh premise, and this novel was the talk ofFrankfurt, selling to over 20 territories. Don’t miss out.

Lippman, Laura. Untitled. Morrow. Aug. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780061706875. $25.99. THRILLER
Mega-award-winning author Lippman, always a best seller, here offers a standalone novel with a compelling plot: Heloise, a suburban madam, is worried when a man she helped put on death row is released after his sentence is overturned. That the man is her former pimp and the father of her son makes things even worse. The novel is based on a short story, “Scratch a Woman,” taken from Lippman’s 2008 collection Hardly Knew Her and nominated for both an Edgar and an Anthony. Currently, it’s a popular ebook, which should help with promotion. Note the 150,000-copy first printing and the official September 1 pub date; I’m including here because the book goes on sale August 14.

Brown, Jenny with Gretchen Primack. The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals. Avery: Penguin Group (USA). Aug. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9781583334416. $26. MEMOIR/ANIMAL RIGHTS
Having been comforted by her cat when she lost a leg to bone cancer at age ten, Brown grew up enamored of animals and eventually became concerned about those on farms. Soon she quit her job as a film and TV producer to document awful animal abuses in the Texas stockyards; as Brown emphasizes here, agribusiness treats domesticated animals like products, not living creatures. Brown went on to found the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, which has garnered coverage from top venues like the New York Times and Cosmopolitan. Here’s your chance to visit the sanctuary and meet Albie, the three-legged goat, and abandoned Easter duckling Quincy. Go, animals!

Ampuero, Roberto. The Neruda Case. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jul. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9781594487439. $26.95. MYSTERY
Chilean-born Ampuero’s series starring private eye Cayetano Brulé are best sellers worldwide, but though the author has been teaching at the University of Iowa since 2000 (having spent time in Cuba, East Germany, West Germany, and Sweden), this is his first publication in English. Upon meeting Neruda at a party in pre-Pinochet Chile, Brulé is asked to solve a mystery troubling the great poet and finds himself traveling far afield (to Cuba, East Berlin…) for that purpose. Not just for mystery fans—or readers of Latin American literature.

Baker, J.I. The Empty Glass. Blue Rider: Penguin Group (USA). Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780399158193. $24.95. THRILLER
Baker, executive editor of Condé Nast Traveler, offers a first novel about a woman who’s starred in a lot of fiction lately: Marilyn Monroe. Maybe it’s the 50th anniversary of her death, coming in August 2012—or maybe she just seems so relevant as both symbol and victim of an outsize celebrity culture. Here, Los Angeles County Deputy Coroner Ben Fitzgerald arrives at the scene of Monroe’s death and finds her diary, which reveals a doomed affair with “The General”; soon he scents a cover-up in the making.

Brookmyre, Christopher. Where the Bodies Are Buried. Atlantic Monthly. Jul. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780802120250. $25; eISBN 9780802194442. THRILLER
A major crime novelist from Scotland, where the really tough guys write, Brookmyre crafts the story of two different cases that eventually collide. As Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod investigates the murder of a small-time heroin dealer (shame on him for sleeping with a drug kingpin’s girlfriend), one-time actress Jasmine Sharp must step up her efforts to learn the ropes at her “Uncle” Jim’s private investigation business when Jim himself disappears. This one’s gritty.

Chen, Pauline A. The Red Chamber. Knopf. Jul. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780307701572. $26.95; CD: Random House Audio. HISTORICAL
In her first adult novel, Chen, who has a doctoral degree in Asian studies from Princeton, imaginatively reworks the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber, set in 18th-century Beijing. At its heart are three women: orphaned Daiyu, who joins her cousins, scheming Xifeng and proper Baochai, in the grand imperial city. Big reading-group pitch and an accent on accessibility.

Claudel, Philippe. The Investigation. Doubleday. Jul. 2012. 240p. ISBN 9780385535342. $25. LITERARY
Claudel, who here follows up award winners like Brodeck and By a Slow River (translated into 30 languages) is one French author American readers really seem to like. Here, the Investigator encounters some truly absurd—dare one say Kafkaesque?—situations as he tries to determine what is behind a string of suicides at a huge complex called Enterprise in an unnamed Town. Do keep this one in mind.

Coulter, Catherine. Backfire. Putnam. Jul. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780399157325. $26.95. THRILLER
Here’s Coulter in FBI thriller mode, as tough federal prosecutor Mickey O’Rourke suddenly turns to jelly at the trial of putative serial killers Clive and Cindy Cahill, then gets shot in the back. FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich receive the news at the same time that Savich gets a note saying “You deserve this for what you did.” Go, thriller fans.

Gapper, John. A Fatal Debt. Ballantine. Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780345527899. $26; eISBN 9780345527912. THRILLER
Psychiatrist Ben Cowper reluctantly agrees to treat a disgraced Wall Street biggie at home instead of at the hospital, then rushes to pick up the pieces when someone ends up dead. Gapper is a fiction newcomer but no neophyte; as chief business columnist of the Financial Times, he’s already a high-profile writer with a big blog/Twitter following. Another in the big upsweep of financial thrillers, inspired by these parlous times.

Gardiner, Meg. Ransom River. Dutton. Jul. 2012. 368p. ISBN 9780525952855. $25.95. THRILLER
Her career and her love life having dead-ended, Rory Mackenzie reluctantly returns to her hometown of Ransom River, CA. Now a juror on a big-time murder case, she starts recalling disturbing childhood memories about another case, still unsolved—and that could be her undoing. Attention, fans: Gardiner is refreshing herself (and us?) by departing from her Evan Delaney series.

Grazer, Gigi Levangie. The After Wife. Ballantine. Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780345523990. $25; eISBN 9780345524010. CD: Random House Audio. POP FICTION
How does newly widowed Hannah discover that she can talk the dead? She’s standing in the backyard, sobbing over the death of her husband and asking “Why?” when the avocado tree laconically responds, “Why not?” Grazer is responsible for the screenplay Stepmom, plus a bunch of novels, including The Starter Wife, inspiration for the miniseries and then the regular series on the USA Network, which gives you a good feel for her work.

Hill, Gregory. East of Denver. Dutton. Jul. 2012. 240p. ISBN 9780525952794. $25.95. POP FICTION
Suddenly caretaker of his senile father and the family farm in eastern Colorado, to which he has just returned, Stacey “Shakespeare” Williams links up with some old high school buddies and hatches a plan to rob the victimizing local bank. Do they really mean to go through with it? Dark comedy with an in-the-news edge; note that debut novelist Hill works for the University of Denver library.

Huston, Nancy. Infrared. Black Cat: Grove Atlantic. Jul. 2012. 272p. ISBN 9780802120274. pap. $14; eISBN 9780802194404. LITERARY
Having survived childhood and two bad marriages, cutting-edge photographer Rena Greenblatt finds herself trapped in Florence with her fading father and impossible stepmother, contemplating both Renaissance masterpieces and memories of dark, sensual moments in her past. Several of Canadian author Huston’s 11 novels are major award winners; Prix Femina winner Fault Lines is a personal favorite.

Joyce, Graham. Some Kind of Fairy Tale. Doubleday. Jul. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780385535786. $24.95. FANTASY
A girl named Tara disappears from her small English village, leaving behind a grieving but ultimately resigned family. Then 20 years later she returns—almost completely unchanged. Clearly, the work of a fantasist—Joyce has won both British Fantasy and World Fantasy awards—and comparisons are being made to Keith Donohue’s The Stolen Child and S.J. Waton’s When I Go To Sleep. Note, too, that Joyce’s The Silent Land was a Stephen King Summer Pick in EW—and act accordingly.

Kava, Alex. Fireproof: A Maggie O’Dell Novel. Doubleday. Jul. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780385535519. $24.95. THRILLER
Called in to investigate a series of suspicious fires—the last having left someone dead—special agent Maggie O’Dell is being pursued by a reporter who wants to make her part of the story. Meanwhile, she’s getting the uncomfortable feeling that this arsonist is someone close to home. New York Times best-selling author Kava cops a six-city tour (Houston, Phoenix, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, and Minneapolis), plus giveaways on GoodReads and LibraryThing.

Lasser, Scott. Say Nice Things About Detroit. Norton. Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780393082999. $25.95. LITERARY
After his divorce and his son’s death, David Halpert seeks solace in a surprising place; he returns to his hometown, Detroit, which he left 25 years ago after graduating from high school. There he contends not only with the ongoing decay of the racially polarized town but the double shooting of an old high school girlfriend and her black half-brother. Evidence that you should consider purchasing: LJ said of Lasser’s 1999 debut, Battle Creek, “All public libraries will want this,” and of his recent The Year That Follows, “Highly recommended.”

Lawson, Mike. House Blood: A Joe DeMarco Thriller. Atlantic Monthly. Jul. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9780802119940. $24; eISBN 9780802194541. THRILLER
Big pharma CEO Orson Mulray want to test a miracle drug, but human subjects—and autopsy results—are required. Sweeping that little complication under the table, he ropes in starry-eyed philanthropist Lizzie Warwick, but then her lobbyist in Washington, DC, uncovers the true nature of the plan and gets murdered for his troubles. Two years later, congressional fixer Joe DeMarco picks up the case, and things get really complicated. House Rules (2008) was a No. 1 Kindle best seller, and House Divided (2011) was an LJ best thriller of the year, so House Blood is well positioned.

Lee, Don. The Collective. Norton. Jul. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780393083217. $25.95.  LITERARY
In 1988, aspiring writer Eric Cho bonds with aspiring pianist Jessica Tsai and another writing hopeful, the gargantuanly talented Joshua Yoon, at Macalester College. Later, in Cambridge, MA, they form the 3AC, the Asian American Artists Collective, working their way through questions of love, art, idealism, and racism. Former Ploughshares editor Lee, who won the Sue Kaufman Prize for his first collection, Yellow, and both an Edgar and an American Book Award for Country of Origin, is a cracking good writer.

Mathews, Francine. Jack 1939. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9781594487194. $26.95. THRILLER
President Roosevelt wants to send someone to Europe to figure out what Hitler really intends and to prevent German funds meant to ensure Roosevelt’s loss in the 1940 election from reaching America. His choice? John F. Kennedy, the son of America’s ambassador to Britain, who’s traveling the Continent to collect data for his senior thesis. Rumor has it that this is a fun, fast-paced, sexy thriller, and as Mathews was an intelligence analyst for the CIA in the 1990s the atmosphere should be authentic.

Piccirilli, Tom. The Last Kind Words. Bantam. Jun. 2012. 336p. ISBN 9780553592481. $26; eISBN 9780553906356. THRILLER
Bram Stoker and International Thriller Awards winner Piccirilli breaks into hardcover with the story of Terrier Rand, who abandons the crime life and his small-time grifter family when brother Collie turns killer and wipes out an entire family and then some. (Yes, Rand family members are all named after dog breeds.) But he returns when Collie claims that he wasn’t responsible for one of those deaths. Lots of buzz and the start of a new series.

Slaughter, Karin. Criminal. Delacorte. Jul. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9780345528506. $27; eISBN 9780345528513. THRILLER
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent would like finally to make his life more than just work. But no such luck with a crime from 1975 suddenly making trouble today. Slaughter can of course be lauded as a No. 1 international best-selling author and ITW Silver Bullet Award winner and the guiding light behind the Save the Libraries campaign. Buy multiples.

Steel, Danielle. Friends Forever. Delacorte. Jul. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780385343213. $28; eISBN 9780345533562.
This starts out YA—two girls and three boys meet and become fast friends at a fancy private school—then goes into classic Steel territory as the friends split up for college and are eventually divided forever by tragedy. Comparisons are being made to another Steel biggie, Sisters.

Suarez, Daniel. Kill Decision. Dutton. Jul. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780525952619. $26.95. THRILLER
What happens when the decision to kill in battle can suddenly be shifted from human to machine? America is under attack by drones programmed to seek out and execute targets, and Special Ops soldier Odin is trying to stop the carnage with the help of Linda McKinney, a scientist whose research on ant societies has been preempted by the unknown enemy to run the marauding drones. Techno-thriller author Suarez goes beyond the New York Times best-selling Daemon to get at some big issues.

Thayer, Nancy. Summer Breeze. Ballantine. Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780345528711. $26; eISBN 9780345533517. POP FICTION
Thayer abandons Nantucket for the Berkshires, where three young women spend a summer recalibrating their lives. Cottage-sitting Natalie is recovering from the breakup blues, Bella has returned home to care for her mom and the family business, and Morgan wants more out of life than mothering. Popular women’s fiction of the extended-best-sellers list type and a good beach, er, weekend-in-the-country read.

Walters, Minette. Innocent Victims: Two Novellas. Mysterious Pr: Grove Atlantic. Jul. 2012. 160p. ISBN 9780802126122. $23; eISBN 9780802194466. MYSTERY
In “Chickenfeed,” based on a notorious 1924 murder on an East Sussex chicken farm, Walters explores how Norman Thorne met Elsie, the girlfriend he reputedly killed. In “The Tinder Box,” everyone in town unites against the O’Riordan family when Patrick O’Riordan is accused of murder, though neighbor Siobhhan Lavenham proclaims his innocence. Then secrets emerge that make her start to wonder. Walters is a Gold Dagger and Edgar award winner (among other honors), these two works were both No. 1 best sellers in the UK, and you were wondering whether to purchase?

Warren, Dianne. Juliet in August. Amy Einhorn: Putnam. Jul. 2012. 336p. ISBN 9780399157998. $25.95. LITERARY
Juliet, Saskatchewan. It’s at the edge of the Little Snake sand hills, but it’s a small town like any other, with folks quietly getting by as they recognize their limitations or learn to love again. Small-town dwellers and those who enjoy reading about them should identify with everyone and everything, except maybe the camel named Antoinette, lost somewhere in the hills. Winner of Canada’s highly regarded Governor General’s Award and hence well worth watching.

Young, Tom. The Renegades. Putnam. Jul. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780399158469. $25.95. THRILLER
Young follows up The Mullah’s Storm and Silent Enemy (not to mention nearly 4000 hours with the Air National Guard in Iraq and elsewhere) with another thriller drawing on Middle East tensions. Afghan Air Force adviser Lt. Col. Michael Parson and his interpreter, Sgt. Maj. Sophia Gold, are on hand when American troops hurry to deliver aid after an earthquake devastates Afghanistan. A Taliban splinter group called the Black Crescent is making the effort truly hell. Interesting to see where Young’s writing will go as our objectives in the region shift.

Andrews, Mary Kay. Spring Fever. St. Martin’s. Jun. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780312642716. $25.99. POP FICTION
Happily engaged four years after her divorce from Mason Bayless, Annajane Hudgens is so comfortable with her new life that she feels she can safely attend Mason’s wedding to smart, gorgeous Celia. But when the wedding is called off just as the guests are settled in their seats, Annajane begins wondering whether it’s a sign that she and Mason are meant for each other after all. With a one-day laydown on June 5, which says it all.

Billingham, Mark. The Demands. Mulholland: LIttle, Brown. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780316126632. $24.99. THRILLER
Devastated by the death of his son in prison, Javed Akhtar takes hostage the customers in his convenience store, then demands that one of them—Det. Helen Weeks—bring him another detective named Tom Thorne. Akhtar wants Thorne to look into his son’s death, which he is convinced was no accident. Billingham, author most recently of Bloodline, has a solid following—and a six-part series based on his books on the UK’s Sky 1 entertinament channel. Thriller lovers, try this.

Brunt, Carol Rifka. Tell the Wolves I’m Home. Dial. Jun. 2012. 368p. ISBN 9780679644194. $26; eISBN 9780812992922. LITERARY
Devastated by the death of her uncle, famed painter Finn Weiss, 14-year-old June Elbus is surprised to receive a package containing a beautiful teapot after his death. It was sent by Toby, a stranger June had noticed at the funeral, and they strike up a friendship based on how much they both miss Finn. A debut pitched for book clubs and YA crossover, not the hugest book on this list but a sweetly promising one that bears watching.

Child, Lincoln. The Third Gate. Doubleday. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780385531382. $25.95; eISBN 9780385531399. lrg. prnt. CD/downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
In Child’s latest, originally scheduled for December and previewed here 7/15/11, enterprising explorer Porter Stone believes that he has found the tomb of King Narmer, who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C.E. Then bad things start to happen, and Stone must call on Professor Jeremy Logan for help. Featuring a new protagonist, so fans will be especially curious.

Coes, Ben. The Last Refuge: A Dewey Andreas Novel. St. Martin’s. Jun. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9781250007155. $25.99. THRILLER
Hero of Coes’s Power Down and Coup d’Etat, Dewey Andreas is shocked when Israeli agent Kohl Meir shows him a photo of nuclear device neatly inscribed with the words “Goodbye Tel Aviv” in Farsi. Given what he owes to Kohl (his life), Andreas is ready to act. But the only person who can help him defuse this threat from Iran is locked up in an Iranian prison. Okay, the very thought of this is just too scary for me, but thriller fans will want Coes’s always appreciated work.

Duncan, Glen. Talulla Rising. Knopf. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780307596096. $25.95; eISBN 9780307958433. Downloadable: Random Audio. LITERARY THRILLER
Last summer, accomplished British novelist Duncan gave himself a boost with The Last Werewolf, a new take on the hoary legend that’s both demandingly literate and out-there edgy. (I loved it.) In this follow-up, Jake—not, as it turned out, the last werewolf, is alas gone and much mourned by Talulla, who at least has a son to take comfort in after brutal childbirth. All’s well until the new leader of WOCOP (World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena) goes psycho. For readers beyond the paranormal set; with a 100,000-copy first printing.

Evanovich, Janet. Wicked Business. A Lizzy and Diesel Novel. Bantam. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780345527776. $28; eISBN 9780345527721. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio. THRILLER
First featured in Evanovich’s Plum series and now on the second in her own series, Elizabeth Tucker bakes extraordinary cupcakes for Dazzle’s Bakery in Salem, MA, and has hooked up with Diesel, a man with a mission and the means to protect Lizzy from the evil Grimoire Gerwulf. Gerwulf is out to find the Seven Stones of Power, each connected with one of the seven deadly sins, and the second sin is lust. If this sounds a bit YAish, it’s intentional; the book is being touted as appropriate for younger crowds with its touch of magic and tamer language. The first in the series reached the top spot on the New York Times mass market best sellers list, the current title is taking over the traditional June publication date of the Plum series, and the promotion will be massive. Unless your thriller readers really resist the idea of magic, consider multiples.

Ferraris, Zoë. Kingdom of Strangers. Little, Brown. Jun. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780316074247. $25.99. LITERARY SUSPENSE
Ferraris had a hit with her debut, the Los Angeles Times Book Award winner Finding Nouf, and kept up the good work with City of Veils. In her third work, lead inspector Ibrahim Zahrani has a new case—the discovery of a desert grave containing the bodies of 19 women, suggesting that a serial killer is at work—and an unfortunate complication; his mistress has gone missing, something he can’t report because in Saudi Arabia adultery is punishable by death. Admirable writer; I’d get.

Frayn, Michael. Skios. Metropolitan Bks: Holt. Jun. 2012. 272p. ISBN 9780805095494. $25. LITERARY
When Dr. Norman Wilfred delivers his keynote address at a famed foundation’s conference on the private Greek island of Skios, everyone is astonished to find him so charming and charismatic…and young. Rumor had it that this authority on the scientific organization of science was an arrogant, pompous old windbag. Meanwhile, somewhere on the island, an arrogant, pompous old windbag is inexplicably stuck at an isolated villa. As always, the Whitbread and Tony Award winner’s latest sounds like blistering fun, and it’s no surprise to see him sending up academics, social climbers, and misguided philanthropists. I do keep wondering, Has no one ever seen Norman before? I guess arrogant, pompous old windbags don’t maintain web sites.

Furst, Alan. Mission to Paris. Random. Jun. 2012. 272p. ISBN 9781400069484. $27; eISBN 9780679604228. THRILLER
It’s a thriller set on the eve of World War II, so the author must be Furst. Hollywood star Frederic Stahl, in Paris to make a film, finds himself contending with French fascists and the Nazi threat on the horizon even as the spy underground courts him assiduously. Furst’s last, Spies in the Balkans, was a New York Times best seller, and he’s always absorbing reading. With a 75,000-copy first printing and an eight-city tour to New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; guess his star keeps rising.

Gideon, Melanie. Wife 22. Ballantine. Jun. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780345527950. $26; eISBN 9780345527974. CD: Random Audio. POP FICTION
Bored with husband, job, and teenaged children and the same age her mother was when she died, Alice Buckle has an opportunity to reassess her life when she’s asked to complete a survey for the Netherfield Center for the Study of Marital Happiness. The survey is anonymous, and she’s Wife 22. This is Gideon’s first adult novel (she’s written two YA works), but she’s already proved herself for older readers with the best-selling memoir, The Slippery Year. Interest is sky high—rights have been sold to 19 countries, and the book has been optioned for film—and this seems like the kind of smart women’s fiction most libraries would want.

Hilderbrand, Elin. Summerland. Little, Brown. Jun. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9780316099837. $26.99; lrg. prnt. CD: Hachette Audio. POP FICTION
A car crash after a graduation party leaves driver Penny Alistair dead, her twin brother in a coma, and Penny’s friend Demeter and boyfriend, Jake, emotionally scarred for life. Trust best-selling Silver Girl Hilderbrand to go right to the heart of these families’ throbbing sorrow. With a five-city tour to Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Houston, plus lots of social media; Hilderbrand’s a pro.

Katzenbach, John. What Comes Next. Mysterious Pr: Grove Atlantic. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780802126115. $27; eISBN 9780802194473. CD: Highbridge Audio. THRILLER
A girl named Jennifer Riggins has been kidnapped by a depraved couple who broadcast her torture on a website called What Comes Next. Even more depraved, thousands tune in to the site. Since the police seem clueless, Jennifer’s only hope is a retired university professor, just diagnosed with a fatal disease, who witnessed the kidnapping. Katzenbach has a good track record—three of his books have been made into films—so while this sounds way too scary for me it will have fans.

Moning, Karen Marie. Into the Dreaming. Delacorte. Jun. 2012. 128p. ISBN 9780345535221. $20; eISBN 9780345535238. PARANORMAL ROMANCE
In 2002, Moning published this novella as part of a mass market collection that included works by Sherrilyn Kenyon and others. Since then, even as that book went out of print, Moning’s Fever and Highlander series have hit a rolling boil. Republished here in a snazzy hardcover with a “Dear Reader” note explaining how it links the two series, the novella features hopeful romance novelist Jane Sillee, who’s spirited to the past to meet the handsome Highlander invading her dreams. Alas, he’s under the sway of the dark fae. Expect big demand. 

Moriarty, Liane. The Hypnotist’s Love Story. Amy Einhorn Bks: Putnam. Jun. 2012. 426p. ISBN 9780399159107. $25.95. POP FICTION
Ellen O’Farrell’s new boyfriend is being stalked by his old girlfriend, but no problem! Ellen is a hypnotherapist who works to help people with their addictions and phobias, so she’d really like to meet Saskia. What she doesn’t know is that Saskia is already masquerading as one of her patients, and her motives aren’t good. Moriarty did well with last year’s What Alice Forgot, and this is being positioned as a great beach read, so watch.

Shaara, Jeff. A Blaze of Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh. Ballantine. Jun. 2012. 448p. ISBN 9780345527356. $28; eISBN 9780345527370. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio. HISTORICAL
Having spent time visiting World War II, military fiction star Shaara returns to the Civil War territory that made him famous (he completed the trilogy begun with his father’s Pulitzer Prize–winning The Killer Angels). Here, in time for the sesquicentennial, is a reimagining of the bloody Battle of Shiloh. It’s the start of a new trilogy, with each book publishing on Father’s Day. So you’re armed; get for Shaara fans.

Somerville, Patrick. This Bright River. Little, Brown. Jun. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780316129312. $24.99. LITERARY
Lauren’s career in medicine was short-circuited by violent events abroad, while Ben meandered his way to prison. They’re both home in Wisconsin now, trying to put things right, and they might be able to help each other. An inspirational boy-meets-girl tale? Maybe, but given Somerville’s credentials it’s sure to be something more. His debut novel, The Cradle, was a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and a nominee for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize; film rights have been sold, and the Chicago Public Library gave Somerville the 21st Century Award. Which is why I want to see this second book.

Stroud, Carsten. Niceville. Knopf. Jun. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780307700957. $26.95; eISBN 9780307959587. Downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
In the paradoxically ominous-sounding Niceville, somewhere in the Deep South, little Rainey Teague disappears in a flash—right in front of the security cameras. Det. Nick Kavanaugh and wife Kate, a family-practice lawyer, soon discover that there’s an ancient, evil power at work. Stroud has done well with fiction like Sniper’s Moon, and his true-crime Close Pursuit was a best seller 252 years ago, but this new work seems to be really booming. Rights have been sold to eight countries, and there’s a 100,000-copy first printing. Dark secrets in small towns seem the rage (see also Donna VanLiere’s The Good Dream, previewed below), bespeaking anxiety about our most precious, bedrock verities. A good bet.

VanLiere, Donna. The Good Dream. St. Martin’s. Jun. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780312367770. $24.99. POP FICTION
The author of numerous best-selling inspirational titles, including seven Christmas novels, VanLiere takes us to 1950 Tennessee, where thirtysomething Ivorie Walker soldiers on after the death of her parents, trying to laugh off being considered an old maid. Then she notices a wild, dirty boy stealing from her garden and begins to worry about his well-being. And that leads to her uncovering secrets that the town wants buried. Maybe less promotion that I would have expected but definitely worth buying wherever VanLiere is popular.

Willett, Marcia. The Summer House. St. Martin’s. Jun. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9781250003690. $25.99. POP FICTION
The mementos Matt’s mother has stashed away in an inlaid wooden box include photos of Matt wearing clothes and playing with toys he doesn’t remember. And there aren’t any pictures of his sister, Imogen. When Imogen buys the Summer House, a cottage on the grounds of an ancient estate owned by family friends, Matt starts uncovering uncomfortable secrets about his childhood. The author of A Week in Winter always does nice work; watch.

Wilson, Daniel H. Amped. Doubleday. Jun. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780385535151. $25.95; eISBN 9780385535168. CD/downloadable: Random Audio. THRILLER
They’re amps—or amplified human beings—implanted with technology that makes them capable of superhuman feats. But they scare ordinary folks, and soon a law is in place that radically restricts their opportunities and their rights. So newly created amp Owen Gray is on the run, determined to find a bunch of amps reputedly gathered in Oklahoma. Only they might be planning to overthrow the world. Robopocalypse author Wilson is set to triumph again; multiples probably a good idea.