Prepub Alert, July 2011
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FICTION
Cannell, Stephen J. Vigilante. St. Martin’s. Dec. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780312646110. $25.99. THRILLER
Alas, thriller fans, this is the final work from Cannell after his death in September 2010. When Lita Menendez is found dead in her home, LAPD’s Shane Scully is pretty anxious. Activist Menendez frequently criticized the police, and now he wonders whether some rogue cop has taken revenge. What’s worse, the host of Vigilante TV, a top-rated reality show that aims to solve cases before the police do, is parked on Menendez’s doorstep. Expect lots of interest in Cannell’s good-bye.
Child, Lincoln. The Third Gate. Doubleday. Dec. 2011. 368p. ISBN 9780385531382. $25.95; eISBN 9780385531399. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio. THRILLER
Back in 3200 B.C.E, King Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt. Now, deep in the Sudd, a nasty swamp in northern Sudan, explorer Peter Stone is directing an archaeological dig aimed at uncovering Narmer’s tomb. When folks on the dig become worried about an ancient curse, Stone brings in Professor Jeremy Logan (you’ll remember him from brief appearances in Deep Storm and Terminal Freeze ). Looks as if we may be seeing more of Logan; meanwhile, this is obviously one of the big thrillers of the season.
Cornwell, Patricia. Red Mist. Putnam. Dec. 2011. 512p. ISBN 9780399158025. $27.95. CD: Penguin Audio. THRILLER
Kay Scarpetta’s former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, has been murdered, and she wants to know why. So she heads to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate claims to have information. Soon she’s uncovering initially inexplicable links to the murder of an Atlanta family, the deaths of homeless people in California, and more. Scarpetta’s on the loose again; hope this one has real luster.
Crichton, Michael & Richard Preston. Micro. Harper: HarperCollins. Nov. 2011. 464p. ISBN 9780060873028. $27.99. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio. THRILLER
After Crichton’s death in November 2008, Preston (The Hot Zone) was drafted to complete the work Crichton had begun on this novel. The setting: Hawaii. The characters: graduate students at a biotech company who get dumped into the rain forest and must use their science smarts to survive. Preston sounds like a good matchup with the author of Jurassic Park, and fans of both authors will want this.
Desai, Anita. The Artist of Disappearance. Houghton Harcourt. Dec. 2011. 176p. ISBN 9780547577456. $23; eISBN 9780574585222. LITERARY
A multi-award-winning author thrice short-listed for the Booker, Desai is masterly in delivering an acute understanding of her native India—and of the human condition. The India we see in these novellas, which are all set in the recent past, both sustains its inhabitants and keeps them from moving forward. A lovely book for sophisticated readers; good for book clubs.
Deveraux, Jude. Heartwishes: An Edilean Novel. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 592p. ISBN 9781451651393. $27.99; eISBN 9781439149812. lrg. prnt. CD: S. & S. Audio. ROMANCE
Maybe the Heartwishes Stone, which grants wishes to Frazier family members, is not just a legend. That’s what Gemma Ranford concludes as she catalogs the Frazier papers, a job she had hoped would merely kick-start her wobbly dissertation. Now she’s joined forces with eldest Frazier son Colin (ah, young love) to find the missing stone. Good stuff for romance readers everywhere.
Everett, Percival. Assumption. Graywolf. Nov. 2011. 272p. ISBN 9781555975982. pap. $15. LITERARY/MYSTERY
This latest from Dos Passos Prize winner Everett is ostensibly a murder mystery featuring Ogden Walker, deputy of a small New Mexico town, who starts by tracking an old woman’s killer and then gets tangled up in other cases that lead to a Denver commune. Complications: Walker had visited the victim shortly before her death, and his footprints are the only ones in evidence. Further complications: he’s African American, which means that most everyone in town is suspicious of him from the get-go. Not for your average mystery/fiction reader, but an author I’d encourage anyone with a taste for good, thought-provoking writing to investigate.
Holt, Anne. 1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel. Scribner. Dec. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9781451634716. $25; eISBN 9781451634884. THRILLER
In the midst of a massive blizzard, a train steaming toward Norway’s far north derails—1,222 meters above sea level. The good news: there’s a grand old hotel nearby, mostly empty except for staff. The bad news: one of the passengers turns up dead. On hand is retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, paralyzed from a bullet in her spine, who reluctantly starts investigating. Holt, Norway’s top crime writer and its minister of justice in 1996–97, has sold over five million copies of her books in Europe. She’s released two books here, and the publisher seems to be hoping for a breakout with this first in a new series. Great to consider for thriller fans, especially those who can’t get enough Scandinavian fare.
Hunter, Stephen. Soft Target. S. & S. Dec. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9781439138700. $26.99. CD: Brilliance Audio. THRILLER
Fresh from Hunter’s last blockbuster, Dead Zero, retired marine sergeant Ray Cruz is shopping at the Mall of America outside Minneapolis when the Mumbai Brigade drops in, intent on killing a lot of Americans in the heartland. As the brigade corners 1000 hostages and starts shooting them one by one, Cruz leaps into action. Dead Zero was a hit; this should do well, too.
Jakes, T.D. Untitled Novel #1. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 304p. ISBN 9781439170502. $24.99; eISBN 9781439170564. POP FICTION
Founder and senior pastor of the Potter’s House of Dallas, Inc., as well as the New York Times best-selling author of numerous spiritual guides, Jakes crafts a novel about a young minister, his father, and the tempestuous romantic lives they are both trying to keep under wraps. Buy wherever Jakes is popular.
Kardashian, Kourtney & others. Untitled. Morrow. Nov. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9780062063823. $24.99; eISBN 9780062063847. CD: HarperAudio. POP FICTION
A first novel by three sisters who are fashionista celebrity TV stars but remain close, about (as far as I can tell) three sisters who are fashionista celebrity TV stars but remain close. Just scheduled and set for a one-day laydown on 11/1/11, with a 300,000-copy first printing. Your move.
Preston, Caroline. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures. Ecco: HarperCollins. Nov. 2011. 240p. ISBN 9780061966903. $25.99. HISTORICAL FICTION
When she graduates from high school in 1920, Frankie gets a scrapbook and her father’s old Corona, which keeps her busy at Vassar and thereafter, as she pursues a writing career and sails for France on the SS Mauritania. Her story is illustrated with various memorabilia appropriate to scrapbooking: vintage postcards, magazine ads, ticket stubs, fabric swatches, candy wrappers, menus, and more. Sounds charming, and Preston’s Jack by Josie did well; the 40,000-copy first printing and an eight-city tour are good news.
Sanderson, Brandon. The Alloy of Law. Tor. Nov. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9780765330420. $24.99. CD: Macmillan Audio. FANTASY
After he was drafted to complete Robert Jordan’s blockbuster “Wheel of Time” series, Sanderson himself became a best-selling author. Here he returns to the world he created in the “Mistborn” series, only it’s three centuries later and Scadriel has modernized. Allomancy and Feruchemy are still practiced, however, and a gifted user named Waxillium Ladrian finds himself assuming duties as the new head of a noble house after decades on the margins. All fantasy readers will want.
Scott, Michael & Collette Freedman. The Thirteen Hallows. Tor. Dec. 2011. 416p. ISBN 9780765328526. $24.99. CD: Macmillan Audio. FANTASY
The Hallows of Britain: 13 ancient treasures that can do great good or great evil. Someone is gathering them, evidently not intent on doing good, and only a group of young people can save the day. Okay, echoes of Harry Potter and Scott’s own beloved Nicholas Flamel series, but this novel is intended for adults. Could be lots of fun.
Theroux, Paul. Murder in Mount Holly. Mysterious Pr: Grove Atlantic. Dec. 2011. 176p.ISBN 9780802126047. $22. MYSTERY
Nope, no trains and no travel, though one can anticipate Theroux’s amusingly acid prose. It’s the Sixties, and Herbie Gneiss works at the Kant-Brake factory. When he’s drafted, his mother and his colleague, Mr. Gibbon, fall in love and scheme with their landlady to strike a patriotic blow by robbing the Mount Holly Trust Company, whose manager is, they believe, a Communist. Clearly, there’s more going on here than your average whodunit has to offer; for mystery fans who like a sophisticated or satiric bent to their work.
Urrea, Luis Alberto. Queen of America. Little, Brown. Dec. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9780316154864. $25.99; eISBN 9780316192040. Downloadable: Hachette Audio. POP/LITERARY CROSSOVER
In The Hummingbird’s Daughter, Lannan Award winner Urrea celebrated his great-aunt, Teresita Urrea, a 19th-century Indian girl who became a revered healer and eventually the Saint of Cabora. That book went on to sell 130,000 copies and became a One City, One Book selection in San Francisco. So there should be an audience for this follow-up, which pictures Teresita fleeing Mexico’s violent Tomochic rebellion and heading for America. This book should have broad appeal; with a reading group guide and ten-city tour.
NONFICTON
Beattie, Ann. Mrs. Nixon: A Novelist Imagines a Life. Scribner. Nov. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9781439168714. $26. BIOGRAPHY
The penetrating and sometimes caustic Beattie, who defined a generation with her O. Henry– and PEN/Malamud Award–winning works, reimagines someone we’ve hardly thought about at all: Pat Nixon, wife of the hugely ambitious and hugely fallible President. Here’s a book that, like Sebald’s A Place in the Country (see p. 57), examines the imagination of the writer as much as the subject itself.
Boy, Big. Big Boy: An XXXXX-Large Weight Loss Memoir. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 336p. ISBN 9781936399215. $23.99; eISBN 9781936399222. MEMOIR
A rare three-time winner of the Marconi Awards, Big Boy (aka Kurt Alexander) is one of the country’s biggest hip-hop DJs. Unfortunately, for a time he was big in every sense of the word, finally weighing in at 510 pounds. Busy with work, he opted for duodenal switch stomach surgery and shrank by over 250 pounds—but nearly lost his life. Not a diet guide but a probing memoir.
Britt, Donna. Brothers (and Me): A Memoir of Loving and Giving. Little, Brown. Dec. 2011. 288p. ISBN 9780316021845. $25.99; eISBN 9780316193191. MEMOIR
I’m genuinely curious about this work by Britt, a former Washington Post columnist who’s won the Distinguished Writing Award from the American Association of Newspaper Editors and the National Association of Black Journalists commentary prize. Aware that she’s always been surrounded by men—a father, three brothers, two husbands, and two sons—and how much she felt she needed to give to them, especially after one brother’s murder by the police three decades ago, Britt has begun to start thinking that she should also learn to take care of herself. Likely a forthright meditation on race and gender; watch.
Davis, Deborah. Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner That Shocked a Nation. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 304p. ISBN 9781439169810. $26. eISBN 9781439169834. HISTORY
In 1901, Booker T. Washington, a former slave, had dinner at the White House at the invitation of President Theodore Roosevelt. Sadly if not surprisingly, the nation reeled in shock. A former film executive with books like Party of the Century to her credit, popular historian Davis should provide a cinematic take on both post–Gilded Age racial politics and the unusual relationship between two significant men.
Dowling, Mike. Four-Legged Hero: Winning Hearts and Minds with the World’s Bravest Dog. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 304p. ISBN 9781451635966. $26. MEMOIR/CURRENT EVENTS
Tasked with sniffing out booby traps, suicide bomber belts, and IEDs, Rex is the long-serving canine in the U.S. Marine Corps. The aptly named German Shepherd was paired with Sergeant Dowling in 2004 and sent to Iraq as part of the first Military Working Dog (K9) Team seeing action since Vietnam. Dowling details their training, their missions, and, most important, their everlasting bond. With more attention now being paid to military dogs—various animal rights groups, for instance, have worked to pair retired dogs with welcoming families—this book should attract a considerable audience.
Epstein, Joseph. Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit. Houghton Harcourt. Dec. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9780618721948. $25; eISBN 9780547577210. SOCIAL SCIENCE
Snobbery. Friendship. And now Gossip. The former editor of the American Scholar argues that gossip has always been an important part of life—necessary, useful, and entertaining—but that with the age of the Internet it has changed from a private pleasure to a public problem. Epstein’s first two books were surprise best sellers, and this one addresses a more urgent issue. Consider.
Feinstein, John. Best Seat in the House: One on One with the Greats in the Game. Little, Brown. Dec. 2011. 448p. ISBN 9780316079044. $27.99; eISBN 9780316192194. CD: Hachette Audio. SPORTS
Sports author Feinstein has been writing long enough that he can craft a memoir about the greats he’s met, from coaches Bob Knight and Jim Valvano to athletes Jack Nicklaus, Ivan Lendl, and Mary Carillo. Lots of sports fans out there, and with 4.1 million copies of Feinstein’s books out there, too, this should be big.
Goffard, Christopher. You Will See Fire: A Search for Justice in Kenya. Norton. Dec. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780393077421. $27.95. BIOGRAPHY/INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
In August 2000, three weeks prior to his testifying against the repressive regime of President Daniel Arap Moi before the International Criminal Court in the Hague, American priest John Kaiser was found shot to death on a lonely road in Kenya. The FBI ruled it a suicide, despite Father John’s unending courage in standing up for the poor. Los Angeles Times writer Goffard re-creates the life and death of an exceptional man.
Klare, Michael T. The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources. Metropolitan: Holt. Dec. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780805091267. $27. CURRENT EVENTS
It’s not just oil. The world is running out of coal, copper, water, and arable land, among other resources, and the battle is on to claim the last places to look for them, e.g., the ocean floors and the Arctic. Klare, the Nation ’s defense analyst and author of books like Resource Wars , should deliver a keen understanding of where this world stands.
Leverett, Flynt & Hillary Mann Leverett. Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic. Metropolitan: Holt. Dec. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9780805094190. $28. CURRENT EVENTS
Here, “going to Tehran” does not mean going to do battle. The authors, esteemed Middle East analysts who have worked in both the Bush père and the Clinton administrations, argue that aggression will fail; Iran is a stable regime, still supported by much of its population, and is central to progress in the Middle East. Our goal should instead be to effect a rapprochement, as Nixon did with China. Good debate from an imprint that handles political issues gleamingly.
Massie, Allan. The Royal Stuarts: A History of the Family That Shaped Britain. St. Martin’s. Dec. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9780312581756. $26.99. HISTORY
Founded in the 1300s by Robert II of Scotland, the Stuart dynasty presided over a rapidly modernizing Scotland and eventually acceded to the English Crown, following hard upon the Tudors. Along the way, they were implicated in violent moments from the Scottish Wars of Independence to the English Civil War to the Restoration. Spectator columnist Massie, also a novelist (e.g., the “Roman Quartet”), apparently delivers a juicy good read. Not just for history lovers but anyone hooked on Showtime’s The Tudors or, currently, The Borgias.
Morton, Camilla. Manolo Blahnik and the Tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker: A Fashion Fairy Tale Memoir. It: HarperCollins. Nov. 2011. 112p. ISBN 9780061917301. $21.99; eISBN 9780062091697. MEMOIR/FASHION
Second in a series (following Christian Lacroix and the Tale of Sleeping Beauty ) originated by fashion writer Morton ( How To Walk in High Heels) that invites famous designers to tell their stories through fractured fairy tales. The books will all be paper over board, with a four-color case and a wraparound vellum dust jacket—maybe not perfect for library shelves but certainly a series to consider.
Muhlstein, Anka. Balzac’s Omelette: A Delicious Tour of French Food and Culture with Honoré de Balzac. Other. Nov. 2011. 224p. ISBN 9781590514733. $19.95. FOOD ESSAYS
Delicious is right; who could turn down the opportunity to revisit French food and French culture with the Goncourt Prize–winning Muhlstein, noted biographer of folks like Queen Victoria and Cavelier de La Salle? Grounded in Balzac, this meditation works via the motto, “Tell me where you eat, what you eat, and at what time you eat, and I will tell you who you are.”
Philbin, Regis. Untitled. It: HarperCollins. Nov. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9780062109750. $25.99. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio. MEMOIR/TV
As you surely know, Philbin, who’s been wowing millions for nearly three decades as host of Live! with Regis and Kelly in its various guises, will be retiring soon. This memoir, which celebrates the idea that living well is the best revenge, publishes one month before he waves good-bye. With a 500,000-copy first printing; essential for all popular collections.
Sebald, W.G. A Place in the Country. Random. Dec. 2011. 240p. ISBN 9781400067718. $26. LITERATURE
The last big work by the renowned author of Austerlitz to be translated into English, this book studies the interrelationship of place, memory, and creativity by investigating six important influences on Sebald’s life: Johann Peter Hebel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Gottfried Keller, Eduard Mörike, Robert Walser, and the painter Jan Peter Tripp. By talking about them, he reveals more of himself and how he came to be a prize-winning author. An important testament.
Sisman, Adam. An Honourable Englishman: The Life of Hugh Trevor-Roper. Random. Dec. 2011. 608p. ISBN 9781400069767. $35. BIOGRAPHY
One of the great British historians of the 20th century, the caustic Hugh Trevor-Roper made his name with studies of early English history and Nazi Germany. His golden glow was significantly darkened when he authenticated diaries of Hitler that later proved to be forged. Distinguished biographer Sisman, whose Boswell’s Presumptuous Task won the National Book Critics Circle Award, lends his noteworthy skills to examining this outsize personality. A book on how history is done and, I think, a cautionary tale.
Vogel, Joseph. Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson. Sterling. Nov. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9781402779381. $24.95; eISBN 9781402789342. MUSIC
Still lots of noise about Michael Jackson (note Frank Cascio’s November title, My Friend Michael). But this book focuses not on the life but on the music, giving an often blow-by-blow analysis of Jackson’s solo albums, individual songs, and videos.
Weiner, Eric. Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine. Twelve: Hachette. Dec. 2011. 352p. ISBN 9780446539470. $26.99. CD: Hachette Audio. Downloadable. RELIGION/MEMOIR
A former correspondent for NPR and the New York Times who has reported from more than three dozen countries, Weiner put that travel experience to good use after he had a health scare and decided that a spiritual quest was in order. Brushing aside his carelessly assumed atheism, he whirled with dervishes in Turkey, bent over the Kabbalah in Israel, and breathed slowly with Tibetan monks in Nepal while asking himself questions large and small (Where do we come from? Where do our socks go?). Weiner’s The Geography of Bliss was a best seller; this should follow suit. With a five-city tour.
Willis, Kimberly. The Little Book of Diet Help: Truth, Tips, Therapy—and Just a Touch of Bullying. Atria: S. & S. Dec. 2011. 144p. ISBN 9781451660685. $15; eISBN 9781451660708. SELF-HELP
Wellness coach/chemistry Ph.D. Willis does engage in a bit of bullying (“What’s a little wine, you ask? It’s pasta in a glass!”). Her main argument, though, is the oft-stated truth that diets don’t work; changing our attitude toward food does. So many diet books—and we’re ready to try the next one.
Zuiker, Anthony & Todd Gold. Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time. Harper: HarperCollins. Dec. 2011. 288p. ISBN 9780061725494. $26.99. MEMOIR
Zuiker really did make a killing by masterminding CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spin-offs, and he’s also the author of the cross-platform “Level 26” trilogy, just wrapping in November. But his memoir addresses a different kind of killing as well—his estranged father’s suicide. With a 50,000-copy first printing; this will be popular.
MY PICKS
Bolaño, Roberto. The Third Reich. Farrar. Dec. 2011. 288p. ISBN 9780374275624. $25. CD: Macmillan Audio. LITERARY FICTION
Yes, another novel from the Latin American sensation who broke out with The Savage Detectives and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for 2666. Bolaño always coats his sociopolitical understanding with a wild imagination, but I find his inventions here particularly intriguing. Vacationing on Spain’s Costa Brava with his girlfriend, German war-games champion Udo Berger meets German couple Charly and Hanna, who have ingratiated themselves with locals who include El Quemado (“the Burnt One”). When Charly disappears, Udo returns home, holes up in a hotel, and begins a savage round of his favorite war-strategy game, the Third Reich, with El Quemado. Bolaño is always fresh, and all his gorgeousness should glint through in this shorter, more concentrated work. Buy wherever you have smart readers.
Shange, Ntozake. lost in language & sound: a memoir of coming to the arts. St. Martin’s. Dec. 2011. 160p. ISBN 9780312206161. $22.99. LITERATURE/MEMOIR
Best known for her Tony-nominated, Obie-winning For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Shange has also written novels (Liliane), poetry (Los Angeles Times Book Award winner Three Pieces), essays (If I Can Cook You Know God Can), and children’s books (Coretta Scott) by the dozens. Here, she touches on memoir, examining her experiences as an artist, woman, and woman of color and the influence of her jazz-loving father and dance-loving mother while also reflecting on the creative process. There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a seasoned artist talk about art, and the particularities of Shange’s line-crossing life make her story important for many readers.
