Prepub Alert

By Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 10/15/2005

Fiction | Nonfiction

Asensi, Matilde. The Last Cato. Rayo: HarperCollins. Feb. 2006. 560p. ISBN 0-06-082857-9. $24.95. A secret religious brotherhood? Clues buried deep in the Vatican? No, it's not another Da Vinci Code but the first English-language publication from Spanish author Asensi—and an international best seller to boot. This secret brotherhood is keeping mum on the whereabouts of the True Cross.

Baker, Kevin. Strivers Row. HarperCollins. Feb. 2006. 496p. ISBN 0-06-019583-5. $26.95. CD: HarperAudio. Baker wraps up his “City of Fire” trilogy—which includes Paradise Alley, Frank McCourt's pick for the Todayshow book club—with a novel set in World War II Harlem. At its heart is the Rev. Jonah Dove, whose life is changed when he's saved from a mob by Malcolm Little—soon to become Malcolm X. With a six-city tour.

Brockmeier, Kevin. The Brief History of the Dead. Pantheon. Feb. 2006. 256p. ISBN 0-375-42369-9. $22.95. Marion and Phillip Byrd reside in the City, home to the dearly departed as long as they remain in the memories of loved ones on Earth. But the Byrds' days may be numbered—daughter Laura is trapped alone at an Antarctic research station. With a national tour.

Collins, Jackie. Lovers and Players. St. Martin's. Feb. 2006. 480p. ISBN 0-312-34177-6. $24.95. CD: Audio Renaissance. Pity poor Amy, even if she is a gorgeous young heiress. Before marrying the powerful, older Max, she has a fling at her bachelorette party—with a really hunky guy who turns out to be Max's half-brother.

Cornwell, Bernard. The Pale Horseman. HarperCollins. Jan. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-06-078712-0 [ISBN 978-06-078712-7]. $25.95; lrg. prnt. ISBN 0-06-087892-4. CD: HarperAudio. In this sequel to the author's blockbuster The Last Kingdom, the Vikings have taken over most of England, and the isolated English may be betrayed by a dispossessed nobleman raised by Danes.

Crook, Elizabeth. The Night Journal. Viking. Feb. 2006. 480p. ISBN 0-670-03477-0. $24.95. Meg is sick of her family history—great-grandmother Hannah was famed for diaries detailing her daring life on the frontier as a Harvey Girl and subsequently a railroad engineer's wife. But then Meg discovers that the diaries may not have been entirely truthful. With a six-city tour.

Dick, Philip K. A Scanner Darkly. Pantheon. Feb. 2006. 208p. ISBN 0-375-42402-4. pap. $15.95. It's a book. It's a movie. Actually, it's a graphic novel, based on a Dick favorite, that tells the story through stills from the forthcoming film directed by Richard Linklater.

Geagley, Brad. Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon. S. & S. Jan. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-7432-5081-8. $24. Just bumped up a month, this sequel to Year of the Hyenas brings back 12th-century B.C.E. Egyptian gumshoe Semerket, who faces shady doings in Babylonia (now called Iraq). With a seven-city tour.

Grimes, Martha. The Old Wine Shades: A Richard Jury Mystery. Viking. Feb. 2006. 432p. ISBN 0-670-03479-7. $25.95. CD: Penguin Audio. At the Old Wine Shades (yes, it's one of Grimes's whimsically named bars), Richard Jury hears a puzzling story about a missing wife and child. The family dog does return home, but of course there's a dead body somewhere. With an eight-city tour.

Grippando, James. Got the Look. HarperCollins. Feb. 2006. 400p. ISBN 0-06-056458-X. $24.95; lrg. prnt. ISBN 0-06-087893-2. $24.95. CD: HarperAudio. Miami attorney Jack Swyteck doesn't know that his new crush is married—until she is kidnapped by a fiend who tells her husband, “Pay me what she's worth.” His response: not one red cent. With a five-city tour.

Haig, Brian. Man in the Middle. Warner. Feb. 2006. 416p. ISBN 0-446-53056-5. $25.95. Let's get topical: the suicide of a defense official who ardently supported the invasion of Iraq makes trouble for army lawyer (and Haig stalwart) Sean Drummond.

McMahon, Katharine. The Alchemist's Daughter. Crown. Feb. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-307-23851-2. $23.95. In her first transatlantic trip, British novelist McMahon presents the story of a brilliant young 18th-century scientist who just happens to be a woman.

Patterson, James & Maxine Paetro. The 5th Princess. Little, Brown. Feb. 2006. 400p. ISBN 0-316-15977-8. $27.95; lrg. prnt. ISBN 0-316-15477-6. $29.95. Cassette/CD: Time Warner Audio. In its fifth outing, the Women's Murder Club ponders why recovering patients at the San Francisco Medical Center are suddenly dropping like flies.

Reiner, Carl. NNNNN. S. & S. Feb. 2006. 224p. ISBN 0-7432-8669-3. $21. Novelist Nat Noland is having such a hard time with the account he's writing of Cain and Abel that he's starting to argue with himself. Then a chance comment from a psychiatrist compels him to investigate his past.

Roby, Kimberla Lawson. Changing Faces. Morrow. Feb. 2006. 288p. ISBN 0-06-078077-0. $23.95. CD: HarperAudio. When Charisse's fed-up husband threatens to spill some secrets, Charisse schemes to keep him quiet. But will her buddies Whitney and Taylor cooperate? From a Blackboard best-selling author; with a 12-city tour.

Rosenblatt, Roger. Lapham Rising. Ecco: HarperCollins. Feb. 2006. 224p. ISBN 0-06-083361-0. $23.95. Award-winning journalist Rosenblatt's fiction debut stars a nutty writer (just ask his talking dog) who plots against a nouveau riche type building a McMansion across the street.

Tussing, Justin. The Best People in the World. HarperCollins. Feb. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-06-081533-7. $24.95. Teenaged Thomas; his new love (and former history teacher) Alice; and town renegade Shiloh flee to Vermont for a little sanctuary, but the troubles of the world stay with them. Excerpted in The New Yorker's fiction debut issue.

Axelrod, Alan. Patton: A Biography. Palgrave Macmillan. Feb. 2006. 224p. ISBN 1-4039-7139-0 [ISBN 978-1-4039-7139-5]. $21.95. First in Gen. Wesley K. Clark's “Great General” series; from the author of Patton on Leadership and other books on U.S. and military history.

Bishop, Elizabeth. Edgar Allan Poe & The Juke-Box. Farrar. Feb. 2006. 416p. ISBN 0-374-14645-4 [ISBN 978-0-374-14645-0]. $30. Perfectionist Bishop published only 80 poems in her lifetime, but her journals yielded the fragments and drafts found here. Edited by Alice Quinn, poetry editor of The New Yorker.

Branch, Taylor. At Canaan's Edge: America in the Kind Years 1965–68. S. & S. Feb. 2006. 800p. ISBN 0-684-85712-X. $35. Cassette/CD: S. & S. Audio. Moving from the Selma march to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Branch completes his Pulitzer Prize–winning study of the Civil Rights Movement.

Broad, William J. The Oracle: The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Feb. 2006. 304p. ISBN 1-59420-081-5. $25.95. What were those strange fumes that supposedly produced the visions of the Oracle at Delphi? Perhaps only a Pulitzer Prize andan Emmy Award winner could tell this story.

Brown, Cupcake. A Piece of Cake. Crown. Feb. 2006. 464p. ISBN 1-4000-5228-9. $24.95. From abused foster child to addicted prostitute to attorney—Brown has quite a story to tell. With a seven-city tour.

Chaffin, Tom. Sea of Gray: The Around-the-World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah. Farrar. Feb. 2006. 400p. ISBN 0-8090-9511-4 [ISBN 978-0-8090-9511-7]. $25. A true-life adventure: how The Sea King left Liverpool, became the CSS Shenandoah, sank 34 Union ships, and once the Civil War ended was branded a pirate ship, with the crew fleeing 'round the world in search of a safe haven.

Dennett, Daniel C. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Viking. Feb. 2006. 448p. ISBN 0-670-03472-X. $25.95. Who better than the director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts and the author of books like Darwin's Dangerous Ideas to consider why so many people follow a faith. With an eight-city tour.

Feinstein, John. Last Dance: Behind the Scenes at the Final Four. Little, Brown. Feb. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-316-16030-X. $25.95. Feinstein returns to his great love, college basketball, and the NCAA Final Four championship.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia. Viking. Feb. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-670-03471-1. $24.95. CD: Penguin Audio. Gilbert, a triple-threat author of short stories and novels as well as nonfiction—The Last American Man was an NBA and an NBCC finalist—here reflects on the “early-onslaught midlife crisis” that brought her to a halt at age 30. With an 11-city tour.

Linden, Eugene. The Winds of Change: A Short History of Climate Changes That Extinguished Civilizations—and the Looming Threat to Our Own. S. & S. Feb. 2006. 384p. ISBN 0-684-86352-9. $26. Science writer Linden considers the dangers wrought by climate change and what the future might bring. Post-Katrina, we should listen.

Swanson, James L. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. Morrow. Feb. 2006. 320p. ISBN 0-06-051849-9. $25.95; lrg. prnt. ISBN 0-06-085347-6. CD: HarperAudio. Attorney and Lincoln specialist Swanson offers a you-were-there account of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. The publicist promises that this will be huge.

Walker, Sam. Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringe. Viking. Feb. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-670-03428-2. $25.95. The sports columnist for the Wall Street Journalwalks right into the world of rotisserie baseball, in which fans use current statistics to create their own fantasy teams.

Worthen, Molly. The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost: A Student, Her Teacher, and the Story of a Grand Strategy. Houghton. Feb. 2006. 352p. ISBN 0-618-57467-0. $25. A Yalie who collected a shelf of awards upon graduating writes an account of Charles Hill, the professor she admired the most. With a seven-city tour.