Prepub Alert
By Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 06/01/2009
Fiction
Ackroyd, Peter. The Case of Victor Frankenstein. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Oct. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-385-53084-2. $26.95.
The monster lit craze goes literary with Whitbread/Guardian prize winner Ackroyd's take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Persuaded by Oxford buddy Percy Bysshe Shelley to drop his regard for conventional religion, Victor Frankenstein launches a daring experiment to reanimate the dead.
Armstrong, Kelley. Frostbitten. Bantam. Oct. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-553-80662-5. $25.
Werewolf Elena and her husband, Clay, investigate reputed wolf attacks near Anchorage and encounter something far darker. Another in the "Women of the Otherworld" series, building so well that Armstrong recently released a companion Men of the Underworld story collection.
Atwood, Margaret. The Year of the Flood. Nan A. Talese: Doubleday. Sept. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-385-52877-1. $26. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
After ecological disaster hits, trapeze dancer Ren and Toby, leader of a group called God's Gardeners, are the only survivors—except for some scary gene-spliced life forms. No one does dystopia like the author of The Handmaid's Tale; with a ten-city tour and reading group guide.
Barron, Stephanie. The White Garden: A Novel of Virginia Woolf. Bantam. Oct. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-553-80735-6. $25.
A troubled Jo Bellamy travels to Sissinghurst to study its celebrated White Garden, where her grandfather once worked. There, she uncovers Virginia Woolf's mysterious and tragic connection to the garden. Billed as a mystery—Barron having triumphantly made Jane Austen a sleuth—but it seems that she's trying for something more.
Bernhardt, William. Capitol Offense. Ballantine. Oct. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-345-50299-5. $26.
Professor Dennis Thomas threatens a cop he blames for his wife's death and is later found unconscious atop the cop's corpse. Now he really needs attorney Ben Kincaid. Standard Bernhardt.
Byatt, A.S. The Children's Book. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 624p. ISBN 978-0-307-27209-6. $26.95. CD: Random Audio.
When the older son of children's author Olive Wellwood discovers a tattered lad surreptitiously sketching in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Olive impulsively invites him to the family's idyllic country estate. Or is it so idyllic? My top pick of this list; with a 12-city tour and reading group guide.
Caputo, Philip. Crossers. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 480p. ISBN 978-0-375-41167-0. $27.95.
Having lost his wife in the 9/11 attacks, Gil Castle tries to start over by returning to his family's Arizona ranch. But he can't escape his family's past or present tensions along the border. Once more, the excellent Caputo is set to turn the topical into art. With a six-city tour, but why no reading group guide?
Gabaldon, Diana. An Echo in the Bone. Delacorte. Oct. 2009. 992p. ISBN 978-0-385-34245-2. $30.
Time traveler Claire knows how the American Revolution will end, but she doesn't know how husband Jamie will fare when he comes up against his illegitimate son, who serves in the British army. Seventh in the Outlander series, which will soon debut in graphic-novel form—a sure sign of its popularity.
Irving, John. Late Night in Twisted River. Random. Oct. 3009. 528p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6384-0. $28. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
At a 1950s sawmill in New Hampshire, a 12-year-old mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear and, with his father, goes on the run—for five decades. Only Irving could get away with this premise. With a nine-city tour.
Keillor, Garrison. Pilgrims: A Novel of Lake Wobegon. Viking. Sept. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-670-02109-3. $25.95.
A trip to Rome should put the romance back in her marriage, reasons Margie Krebsbach, so she cooks up a scheme to get a group of Lake Wobegoners to the Eternal City. Too bad so many want to come. With a five-city tour.
Kellerman, Jonathan. Evidence: An Alex Delaware Novel. Ballantine. Oct. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-345-49515-0. $27. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
Caught and murdered in the act, two lovers are left to rot in one of L.A.'s shiny new mansions. Alex Delaware is called in to help identify them. Maybe a little twisted, even for him.
Lethem, Jonathan. Chronic City. Doubleday. Oct. 2009. 496p. ISBN 978-0-385-51863-5. $26.95.
Former child star Chase Insteadman smiles his way around the Upper East Side social scene as the world follows gushy letters sent by his fiancée from the International Space Station, trapped on high. Then pop critic Perkus Tooth shows Chase the real world. Okay, weird, but this is Lethem. With a 12-city tour; reading group guide.
Maitland, Karen. The Owl Killers. Delacorte. Oct. 2009. 480p. ISBN 978-0-385-34170-7. $25.
In 1321 England, a group of women form a community for prayer and protection, even as the dreaded Owl Masters seek to restore ancient rituals. Naturally, there's trouble. If you have any doubts about this book, read Maitland's deft and gripping Company of Liars.
Mayle, Peter. The Vintage Caper. Knopf. 240p. ISBN 978-0-307-26901-0. $24.95. CD: Random Audio.
Merde! A Hollywood lawyer's world-class wine collection has been lifted, and crime-fighting wine expert Sam Levitt tracks it to the south of France. No, Mayle will never leave Provence—except for a ten-city American tour.
Pamuk, Orhan. The Museum of Innocence. Knopf. 512p. ISBN 978-0-307-26676-7. $26.95. Knopf. CD: Random Audio.
In 1975 Istanbul, Kemal launches a passionate affair with a distant relative he's just met. But she dumps him when she discovers that he's engaged, and he spends a lifetime pursuing her. Post-Nobel, Pamuk faces raised expectations with a tale that again blends the political and the personal. With an eight-city tour.
Parker, Robert B. The Professional: A Spenser Novel. Putnam. Oct. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-399-15594-9. $26.95.
Lawyer Elizabeth Shaw turns to Spenser upon discovering that some wealthy friends have had affairs—with the same man. Now he's blackmailing them, and they're starting to die. Don't worry, there's a twist.
Rendell, Ruth. Monster in the Box. Scribner. Oct. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-1-4391-5033-7. $26.
Since his first year on the force, Inspector Wexford has suspected Eric Tango of murder. And as this is Wexford's 22nd outing, that's been a long, long time. With a four-city tour.
Rice, Anne. Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4000-4353-8. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
A contract killer is visited by a seraph, who gives him a chance to redeem himself—and tosses him back to dark and dangerous 13th-century England. An intriguing premise, and it's instructive to see that with everyone else hot on vampires, Rice has gone on to angels.
Sandford, John. Rough Country. Putnam. Oct. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-399-15598-7. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
Sandford sends Virgil Flowers on his third outing, which concerns a string of murders at a resort frequented by women of a certain persuasion. The genial Flowers seems to be gaining on Sandford's Prey series protagonist Lucas Davenport.
Saul, John. House of Reckoning. Ballantine. Oct. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-345-51424-0. $26.
Sent to a foster home after being injured by her drunken father, Sarah Crane begins visiting Bettina Phillips, who lives in a house once owned by the warden of a prison for the criminally insane. Soon Sarah is painting scenes that seemingly re-create the prisoners' misdeeds. Too spooky.
Steel, Danielle. Southern Lights. Delacorte. Oct. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-0-385-34028-1. $28. lrg. prnt.
When Manhattan D.A. Alexa Hamilton's daughter starts receiving threatening letters, Alexa ships her down South to her ex-husband's snooty family. Ready for some mother-daughter soul searching?
Stoker, Dacre & Ian Holte. Dracula: The Undead. Dutton. Oct. 2009. 416p. ISBN 978-0-525-95129-2. $26.95.
Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew joins with Dracula documentarian Holt to create a sequel based on notes the author left behind. A quarter-century has passed, and Bram Stoker is directing a play about Dracula—who seems to be making a comeback. A BEA featured title and five-city tour, but why isn't this getting even bigger play?
Twelve Hawks, John. The Golden City. Doubleday. Sept. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-385-51430-9. $26.95. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
Traveler Gabriel is close to finding his father but now counts his brother as an enemy. Twelve Hawks wraps up his "Fourth Realm" trilogy, which launched well with The Traveler but faltered a bit with The Dark River.
Walls, Jeannette. Half Broke Horses. Scribner. Oct. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-1-4165-8628-9. $25.
After her shattering memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls novelizes the life of her indefatigable grandmother, who rode her pony 500 miles to her first job. The 20-city tour and reading group guide brand this as hot stuff.
Nonfiction
Achebe, Chinua. The Education of a British-Protected Child. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 208p. ISBN 978-0-307-27255-3. $24.95.
With African literature emerging as a world force, it's good to have Achebe back after more than 20 years, offering 17 sterling essays.
Andrew, Christopher. Defend the Realm: A Centenary History of MI5. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 704p. ISBN 978-0-307-26363-6. $40. CD: Random Audio.
Chair of the British Intelligence Study Group, Andrew is well situated to write this 100th-anniversary history of MI5. With unprecedented access; how bold! A five-city tour.
Asquith, Christina. Sisters in War: A Story of Love, Family, and Survival in the New Iraq. Random. Oct. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6704-6. $25.
Zia goes to work at the U.S. headquarters in Baghdad, in love with an American contractor and the idea of democracy. But soon she and sister Nunu discover that women's rights aren't coming so fast to Iraq. A personal account that tells a much bigger story; I'm intrigued. With a four-city tour.
Bastianich, Lidia Mattichio & Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 480p. ISBN 978-0-307-26751-1. $35.
So many cookbooks, such little space. But I'm including this one here because it's a companion to a PBS series that just launched, and it's being feted with an 11-city tour.
Brown, Rita Mae. Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small. Ballantine. Oct. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-345-51179-9. $25.
You know the author of the Sneaky Pie mysteries loves animals, right? Brown's life with pets.
de Lisle, Leanda. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey. Ballantine. Oct. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-345-49135-0. $30.
Just in time for the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's coronation: an account of Lady Jane Grey (the Nine Days Queen) and her two sisters, both imprisoned by Elizabeth. Angophiles, unite!
Dickerson, David. House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-1-59448-881-8. $24.95.
Raised in a fundamentalist household and socially not in the swing, Dickerson gets his dream job: writing greeting cards. Okay, okay, another memoir, but this one is an in-house favorite and is reportedly hilarious.
Edelman, Hope. The Possibility of Everything. Ballantine. Sept. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-345-50650-4. $29.95.
When her daughter becomes dangerously obsessed with imaginary friend Dodo, Edelman surprises herself by seeking treatment from Mayan healers in Belize. Much like Rupert Isaacson's recent The Horse Boy, involving Mongolian shamans. With a five-city tour.
Epstein, Jason. Eating: A Memoir. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 192p. ISBN 978-1-4000-4296-8. $25.
Famed editor Epstein lives to eat. See, the food memoir really is hot; with a three-city tour.
Haygood, Wil. Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-1-4000-4497-9. $27.95.
More than a sports biography, this work recounts 1940s and 1950s racism in light of boxer Sugar Ray Robinson's life. With a four-city tour.
Hoffman, David E. The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy. Doubleday. Oct. 2009. 496p. ISBN 978-0-385-52437-7. $30.
Hoffman considers not just how the Cold War ended but how dangerous the Soviet Union's dissolution was, as nuclear and biological weapons floated about unattended. Scarier-sounding than some spy thrillers and probably better written.
Holland, Julie, M.D. Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Nightshift at the Psych ER. Bantam. Oct. 2009. 336p. ISBN 978-0-553-80766-0. $25.
What Holland learned as the attending doctor of the psychiatric ER at New York's Bellevue Hospital.
Janzen, Rhoda. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home. Holt. Oct. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8050-8925-7. $22.
Her husband has left her for Bob, whom he met on Gay.com, and she's just been in a bad auto crack-up, so poet/professor Janzen heads home—to her Mennonite parents. Not mournful but funny; try it.
Keegan, John. The American Civil War: A Military History. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 416p. ISBN 978-0-307-26343-8. $35. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
A master historian delivers his understanding of the Civil War and ponders its imponderables. Hugely important for anyone interested in history.
Keller, Timothy. Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters. Dutton. Oct. 2009. 192p. ISBN 978-0-525-95136-0. $19.95.
Keller pastors 9000 souls each Sunday at Manhattan's Redeemer Presbyterian Church and thousands more through his best-selling books. If the economy hasn't taught you the empty promise of money, maybe this book will.
Krakauer, Jon. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Doubleday. Sept. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-0-385-52226-7. $27.95. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
Acting on moral conviction, professional football player Pat Tillman enlisted in May 2002 and died two years later—because of friendly fire, though it took the army a while to admit it. Likely to be explosive.
Kushner, Harold S. Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World. Knopf. Oct. 2009. 192p. ISBN 978-0-307-26664-4. $22.95. CD: Random Audio.
Anything from the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People will fly off the shelves; stock up. With a ten- to 12-city tour.
Owen, David. Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2009. 252p. ISBN 978-1-59448-882-5. $25.95.
No, urban centers aren't the death of the environment, argues New Yorker staff writer Owen. In terms of the per capita production of greenhouse gases, New York City ranks last nationwide. A confirmed city girl, I'm biased, but I still say this is important.
Rescue Ink with Denise Flaim. Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses, Five Pigs, One Duck, and a Few Turtles. Viking. Sept. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-670-02116-1. $25.95.
I love these guys—a bunch of tattooed motorcyclists who dedicate themselves to rescuing lost and abused animals. A TV series launches on the National Geographic Channel in January 2010; with a four-city tour. Grab it!
RZA, The. The Tao of Wu. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. 2009. 224p. ISBN 978-1-59448-885-6. $24.95. Downloadable: Penguin Audio.
The RZA, abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop personage extraordinaire, charts spiritual truths he's discovered through religion, martial arts, street life, and more. Key for a young demographic.
Sheehan, Neil. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon. Random. Oct. 2009. 496p. ISBN 978-0-679-42284-6. $35.
Pairing nicely with David E. Hoffman's The Dead Hand, previewed above, this book charts the beginnings of the Cold War, focusing on the air force officer who masterminded U.S. efforts to retain nuclear superiority.
Viesturs, Ed & David Roberts. K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain. Broadway. Oct. 2009. 304p. ISBN 978-0-7679-3250-9. $25. CD: Random Audio.
A premier climber dramatizes some noteworthy assaults on K2. Great for armchair risk-takers; with a five-city tour.
