Look for a new novel from James Lasdun, author of the widely acclaimed “The Horned Man,” who is back with a new one centered on the Cold War titled “Seven Lies.” Historian Joe Jackson tells of two men who discovered oxygen in “A World on Fire.” New in paperback is Kem Nunn’s suspenseful “Tijuana Straits.” Look in the coming months for a fictional story of Arthur Conan Doyle’s relationship with a vicar’s son, “Arthur & George.”
FICTION
“Seven Lies,” by James Lasdun, Norton, 204 pages, $23.95|Stefan Vogel flees East Germany for the United States, where the fabrications he builds up over the years return to haunt him.
“The Town That Forgot How to Breathe,” by Kenneth J. Harvey, St. Martin’s, 471 pages, $24.95|When Joseph Blackwood and his daughter move to the small fishing village of Bareneed, Newfoundland, they come face to face with the town’s violent secrets.
“The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems,” by Billy Collins, Random House, 88 pages, $22.95|The former poet laureate offers up his first collection in three years, one that showcases Collins’ usual wit and charm.
NONFICTION
“A World on Fire: A Heretic, An Aristocrat and the Race to Discover Oxygen,” by Joe Jackson, Viking, 414 pages, $27.95|The story of two scientists, rivals who almost simultaneously discovered oxygen and established the basis for what was to become the science of chemistry.
“Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” by Tab Hunter with Eddie Muller, Algonquin, 378 pages, $24.95|In this tell-all memoir, Hunter relates how he became a star at Warner Bros. merely by taking off his shirt, and how a gay actor dealt with Hollywood in the ’50s.
“Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History,” by Charles Williams, Palgrave, 298 pages, $29.95 |The author discusses the life of France’s hero of World War I who went on to lead France into a compromise with the Nazis during their occupation of France in World War II.
PAPERBACKS
“Tijuana Straits,” by Kem Nunn, Scribner, 306 pages, $15|A suspenseful novel of loss and redemption set in the wild and rugged borderland between the United States and Mexico. The author was nominated for a National Book Award for “The Dogs of Winter.”
“The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History,” by John M. Barry, Penguin, 546 pages, $16|A fascinating look at how the pandemic spread and how physicians and researchers rallied to mobilize against a global health crisis, the flu epidemic of 1918-1919.
“Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw,” by Norman Davies, Penguin, 752 pages, $18|Not to be confused with the ghetto uprising of the year before, the Polish resistance rose up in a failed effort to throw the Nazis out of Poland.
COMING UP
“Arthur & George,” by Julian Barnes, Knopf, 400 pages, $24.95, January|Arthur grows up in a family with a disgraced father to become the creator of Sherlock Holmes. He crosses paths with vicar’s son George in this novel.
“Irish Crystal,” by Andrew M. Greeley, Forge, 304 pages, $24.95, February|In the latest story featuring Nuala Anne McGrail, the Department of Homeland Security attempts to deport Nuala from Chicago on the basis of vague suspicions.
“Al Qaeda in Europe: The New Battleground of International Jihad,” by Lorenzo Vidino, Prometheus, 384 pages, $27, November|The author provides an overview of how terrorists raise money, communicate and hide in the suburbs of London, Paris and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
