The late Ed McBain’s final 87th Precinct novel, “Fiddlers,” is in bookstores, and you can look for Atlantic Monthly author Robert D. Kaplan’s “Imperial Grunts,” a look at the U.S. military on the ground around the world. In paperback, look for Francisco Goldman’s fine novel, “The Divine Husband.” In November, Michael Lavigne’s novel, “Not Me,” is set for release.
FICTION
“Fiddlers,” by Ed McBain, Harcourt, 259 pages, $25|The author’s last installment in the 87th Precinct series centers on how the cops are stymied by a serial killer who doesn’t fit a profile.
“Joplin’s Ghost,” by Tananarive Due, Atria, 481 pages, $25|A young woman just starting out a career in jazz is visited by what could be the spirit of ragtime music great Scott Joplin.
“Good Poems for Hard Times,” by Garrison Keillor, Viking, 337 pages, $25.95|The radio host has studied the archives of The Writer’s Almanac to collect what he feels are the most truthful, consoling and rousing poems.
NONFICTION
“Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground,” by Robert D. Kaplan, Random House, 421 pages, $27.95|The author shows us how American imperialism is implemented on the ground in places like the Philippines, Mongolia, Afghanistan and South America.
“Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood,” by Craig Lesley, St. Martin’s, 357 pages, $24.95|The author tells of growing up in the 1950s and experiencing betrayal, abandonment and, eventually, redemption.
“Behind the Lines: Powerful and Revealing American and Foreign War Letters – And One Man’s Search to Find Them,” by Andrew Carroll, Scribner, 497 pages, $30|This book features some 200 rare and previously unpublished war letters beginning with the American Revolution and continuing through the current war in Iraq.
PAPERBACKS
“The Divine Husband,” by Francisco Goldman, Grove, 468 pages, $14|The fictional story of a former nun who enrolls in a writing class taught by poet Jose Marti. Many years later an aging woman hires a college student to determine if she is the offspring of the couple.
“Shopaholic and Sister,” by Sophie Kinsella, Dial, 352 pages, $12|Becky Brandon returns to London after her honeymoon and discovers two things that will change her life – eBay and the fact that she has a long-lost sister.
“Looking for Jake,” by China Mieville, Del Rey, 302 pages, $13.95|A collection of stories from the fantasy writer, including some that have never been published and one set in Mieville’s fantasy world of New Crobuzon.
COMING UP
“Not Me,” by Michael Lavigne, Random House, 320 pages, $24.95, November|As his father suffers from Alzheimer’s, a man searches for the truth about his father’s dubious past.
“The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai,” by John Tayman, Scribner, 432 pages, $27.50, January|Here is the story of the American leprosy colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai and of the people who inhabit it.
“On the Road With Francis of Assisi: A Timeless Journey Through Umbria, Tuscany and Beyond,” by Linda Bird Francke, Random House, 288 pages, $24.95, November|The author retraces the route of Francis and by doing so serves up a travelogue through Northern Italy.
