You know it has to be a good spring and summer for fiction readers – and book stores – when J.K. Rowling has a new edition of her Harry Potter series hitting the shelves. And while “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ comes in mid-July – with an initial run of more than 10 million copies – there are plenty of other big name novelists strutting their stuff before and after.
New works by Sue Monk Kidd, Umberto Eco, Kazuo Ishiguro and Alice Hoffman appeared this month. In May, you can expect novels from James Patterson, Isabel Allende, Michael Connelly and Dean Koontz. June will see Nick Hornby, Robert B. Parker, Michael Cunningham, Janet Evanovich, Bebe Moore Campbell, Lee Child, Arturo Perez-Reverte and Robert James Waller hitting the stores.
In addition to the Harry Potter book, July will usher in work by Mark Helprin and John Irving, while in August look for Cormac McCarthy, Jim Harrison and J.A. Jance.
And here’s a prediction: Watch for “The Historian,’ something of a reworking of the Dracula legend by first-timer Elizabeth Kostova, which is scheduled for a June 14 release. It has best seller written all over it: compelling plot, terrific characters, mysterious goings-on over hundreds of years, secret societies, religious overtones, familiar story line. Can you say “Da Vinci Code’?
While there is a lot of fiction from which to choose, the nonfiction bins are a little sparse. But there are some titles for the nonfiction buff to sink his or her teeth into as well. The most anticipated nonfiction title of the summer is “1776,’ by David McCullough, but there are more nonfiction works making their way toward you as we speak. Look for works by Thomas Friedman and Jack Welch, as well.
Here’s a peek at what to expect:
FICTION
“4th of July,” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown, $27.95, May) After losing a member, the Women’s Murder Club and Lindsay Boxer take on their fourth case.
“72 Hour Hold,” by Bebe Moore Campbell (Knopf, $24.95, June) A mother struggles to save her 18-year-old daughter from the ravages of mental illness.
“Appaloosa,” by Robert B. Parker (Putnam, $23.95, June)
Parker leaves Spenser in Boston and heads to the Wild West of the 19th century in a tale of lawmen and the lawless.
“Captain Alatriste,” by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Putnam, $23.95, June) Here is the swashbuckling story of a fictional 17th-century Spanish soldier who, after being forced to retire, becomes a hired swordsman.
“The Closers,” by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $26.95, May) Harry Bosch comes out of retirement to reopen a murder case from 1988.
“Eleven on Top,” by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s, $26.95, June) Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is back and she wants to quit and do something safer. Of course, the weirdos and creeps won’t let her.
“Freddy and Fredericka,” by Mark Helprin (Penguin, $27.95, July) In an allegory about the British Crown, Freddy and Fredericka will ascend to the throne only if they reacquire the American colonies.
“Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic, $29.99, July) Rowling takes up Harry’s sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
“High Plains Tango,” by Robert James Waller (Crown, $24.95, June) The author of the treacly “The Bridges of Madison County’ returns with the story of a beautiful woman who changes a small town and, of course, a man.
“The Historian,” by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown, $25.95, June) A young girl, while trying to find her missing historian father, learns of his and her mother’s quest to find the elusive Dracula years earlier.
“The Ice Queen,” by Alice Hoffman (Little, Brown, $24.95, in stores) While standing in her house, a woman is struck by lightning. Instead of killing her, the incident turns her life around.
“The Innocent,” by Harlen Coben (Dutton, $25.95, April) The life of an ex-con whose life, which seems to be going swell, falls to pieces.
“The Italian Secretary,” by Caleb Carr (Carroll & Graf, $25, May) The author of “The Alienist’ resurrects Sherlock Holmes and Watson working on a case involving the British royals.
“Jemez Spring,” by Rudolo Anaya (University of New Mexico Press, $22.95, in stores) Albuquerque private detective Sonny Baca is called in to investigate the drowning of the governor of New Mexico.
“A Long Way Down,”by Nick Hornby (Riverhead, $24.95, June) Hornby uses the voices of four different characters who connect just as they are all meeting their ends.
“The Mermaid Chair,by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking, $24.95, in stores) The author of “The Secret Life of Bees’ is back with a tale of a woman who returns home to care for her mother and must confront her relationship with her mother and others.
“The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loanna,” by Umberto Eco (Harcourt, $28, June) Known for his cerebral storytelling, like “The Name of the Rose,’ Eco’s new one is about an Italian rare-book dealer who tries to fight his amnesia.
“Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, $25, in stores) The renowned author offers a tale of cloning and parallel universes, one of ethics vs. science.
“No Country for Old Men,” by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf, $26, July) The celebrated author returns to the West with the story of a hunter who comes upon some dead bodies, a stash of drugs and load of money.
“One Shot,” by Lee Child (Delacorte, $25, July) The enigmatic former MP Jack Reacher is back in a case involving a sniping incident in America’s heartland.
“Specimen Days,” by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $24, June) The author of “The Hours’ returns with the a four-part story featuring the same characters all presided over by the figure of Walt Whitman.
“The Summer He Didn’t Die,” by Jim Harison (Atlantic Monthly Press, $24, Aug.) Expect the usual wit and charm in these three novellas from the author of “True North’ and “Legends of the Fall.’
“Until I Find You,” by John Irving (Random House, $27.95, July) The protagonist, Jack Burns, is an actor, but his life was formed when he and his mother, a tattoo artist, searched for Jack’s church organist father through North Sea ports and European cathedrals.
“Velocity,” by Dean Koontz (Bantam, $27, June) The suspense veteran presents a damned if you do, damned if you do something else plot.
“The Wonder Spot,” by Melissa Bank (Viking, $24.95, May) Following up “The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing,’ Bank offers a tale of one woman’s quest for her own identity.
“Zorro,” by Isabel Allende (HarperCollins, $24.95, May) The author, known for her historical fiction, creates the origins of a legend.
NONFICTION
“1776,” by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster, $35, May) The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian looks at one momentous year in the founding of the nation.
“American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (Knopf, $35, May) This is the first full-scale biography of the “father’ of the atomic bomb.
“Magical Mystery Tours: My Life With the Beatles,” Tony Bramwell (St. Martin’s, $24.95, in stores) Bramwell knew three of the Beatles before they were the Beatles. He stayed close, and here is his story.
“Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers, Who They Were, Why They Did It,” by Terry McDermott (HarperCollins, $25.95, May) From an L.A. Times reporter comes a deeply researched look at the lives of the 9/11 hijackers.
“Winning,” by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch (HarperBusiness, $27.95, in stores) The book lays out the answers to questions people face every day of their lives, both on the job and off.
“The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century,” by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26, in stores) The author of “The Lexus and the Olive Tree’ shows us the joining of terrorism and corporate globalization.
—————————————-
