Fiction in February 2004…

Coming in February 2004…Fforde, Harris, and Rankin, plus visits to the Far East by Min and Schaeffer. Nonfiction is especially strong in history and biography, including some of the first offerings from Penguin Press, a new imprint at Penguin Putnam run by Ann Godoff, deposed head of Random House.

DELBANCO, Francesca.
Ask Me Anything.
Norton. Feb. 2004. 256p. ISBN 0-393-05170-6. $23.95.
Rosalie's quest to support her nascent theater troupe leads to her best friend's father. The result? A romantic comedy of manners.

DIBDIN, Michael.
Medusa: An Aurelio Zen Mystery.
Pantheon. Feb. 2004. 288p. ISBN 0-375-42269-2. $23.
When a body found deep in an abandoned military tunnel disappears from the morgue, Aurelio Zen knows that this death was no accident.

DORSEY, Tim.
Cadillac Beach.
Morrow. Feb. 2004. 352p. ISBN 0-06-052046-9. $24.95.
After Florida Roadkill: Serge heads to Miami to discover why his bookie grandfather died—and trips over some missing diamonds.

FFORDE, Jasper.
The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel.
Viking. Feb. 2004. 384p. ISBN 0-670-03289-1. $24.95.
A worn-out Thursday Next signs up for the Character Exchange Program and ends up in the Well of Lost Plots. Bad idea: there's a murderer afoot. With a really grand 20-city author tour.

GAO Xingjian.
Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather.
HarperCollins. Feb. 2004. 112p. ISBN 0-06-057555-7. $17.95.
A Nobel prize winner delivers six short stories.

GREEN, Tim.
The First 48.
Warner. Feb. 2004. 352p. ISBN 0-446-53144-8. $24.95.
Audio: abridged. Time Warner Audio. ISBN 1-58621-592-2. $25.98.
CD: abridged. Time Warner Audio. ISBN 1-58621-593-0. $31.98
When his daughter disappears before she can rat on an influential senator, cop-turned-lawyer Tom Redmond packs for Washington.

HARRIS, Joanne.
Holy Fools.
Morrow. Feb. 2004. 368p. ISBN 0-06-055912-8. $24.95.
Audio: unabridged. HarperAudio. ISBN 0-06-058624-9. $39.95.
In 17th-century France, former rope-dancer Juliette becomes Soeur Auguste to protect herself and her daughter, but of course her good fortune can't last.

JAMES, Kay-Marie.
Cooking for Harry: A Low-Carbohydrate Novel.
Shaye Areheart Bks: Crown. Feb. 2004. 208p. ISBN 1-4000-4502-9. $22.
It should be good news when fantastic cook Harry decides to drop 100 pounds, but domestic chaos results. James is a best-selling author using a pseudonym.

MIN, Anchee.
Empress Orchid.
Houghton. Feb. 2004. 352p. ISBN 0-618-06887-2. $24.
After Becoming Madame Mao, Min takes on another tough customer.

OLSON, Shannon.
Children of God Go Bowling.
Viking. Feb. 2004. 352p. ISBN 0-670-03281-6. $24.95.
As in Welcome to My Planet, Olson does double duty as author and main character, who is here panicking because all her friends are acting like grownups.

PHILLIPS, Susan Elizabeth.
Ain't She Sweet?
Morrow. Feb. 2004. 400p.
ISBN 0-06-621124-7. $24.95.
lrg. prnt. ISBN 0-06-058977-9. $24.95.
Audio: abridged. HarperAudio. ISBN 0-06-058737-8. $25.95.
Audio: unabridged. HarperAudio. ISBN 0-06-059437-3. $34.95.
Down on her luck, naughty Sugar Beth Carey returns home to discover that everyone she slighted as a youngster has turned out happy. Phillips is a four-time winner of the Romance Writers of America Favorite Book of the Year Award, which explains the one-day laydown.

PROUST, Marcel.
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower.
Viking. Feb. 2004. 576p. ISBN 0-670-03277-8. $27.95.
The translation continues; see Prepub Alert , LJ 5/15/03.

RANKIN, Ian.
The Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel.
Little, Brown. Feb. 2004. 400p. ISBN 0-316-09564-8. $22.95.
What's the connection between murder at a fancy boarding school and a bunch of heavy-metal devotees, and why is Inspector Rebus threatened with suspension?

ROBINSON, Peter.
Playing with Fire.
Morrow. Feb. 2004. 384p. ISBN 0-06-019877-X. $23.95.
When two barges go up in flame, it's not just arson—it's murder. Detective Inspector Banks is on the case.

SCHAEFFER, Susan Fromberg.
The Snow Fox.
Norton. Feb. 2004. 448p. ISBN 0-393-05814-X. $24.95.
In 11th-century Japan, two long-lost lovers are brought together again by a pair of snow foxes.