In fiction, look for “Death Without Company,” Craig Johnson’s literate mystery set in small-town Wyoming with a cast of wacky and interesting characters. Frederic Brown is out with a new biography of controversial novelist Gustav Flaubert. In paperbacks, you can check out the late American Indian author Vine Deloria’s last work, “The World We Used to Live in: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men.” Coming in May from Oprah favorite Jacquelyn Mitchard is a new novel, “Cage of Stars.”
FICTION
Death Without Company, by Craig Johnson, Viking, 271 pages, $23.95|Wyoming author Craig Johnson’s sophomore effort (“The Cold Dish”) continues the story of Sheriff Walt Longmire and his eccentric circle of friends and co-workers as they seek to unravel a murder in an assisted-living home.
Two Little Girls in Blue, by Mary Higgins Clark, Simon & Schuster, 336 pages, $25.95|In this tale of a kidnapping and murder, with a little telepathy thrown in, Clark shows she knows how to tug at the heartstrings of all parents.
Untold Stories, by Alan Bennett, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 672 pages, $32.95|Here is a wide-ranging collection of short stories, essays, memoirs, diaries and commentary from one of England’s best-known actors and playwrights.
NONFICTION
Flaubert, by Frederick Brown, Little, Brown, 640 pages, $35|From the author of noted biographies of Jean Cocteau and Émile Zola comes this examination of the life of the author of “Madame Bovary,” Gustave Flaubert, who was tried for offending public morality after the novel’s publication.
Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer, by Stephen Singular, Simon & Schuster, 304 pages, $23|Former Denver Post reporter and veteran crime writer Singular takes a look at the sadist and killer who terrorized Wichita, Kan.
Flavor of the Month: Why Smart People Fall for Fads, by Joel Best, University of California Press, 222 pages, $19.95|The author contends that while passing fads like the Hula-Hoop do little harm, institutionalized fads, such as those telling us how to raise our children, can do lasting harm.
PAPERBACKS
The World We Used to Live in: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men, by Vine Deloria Jr., Fulcrum, 220 pages, $16.95|In this final book by the late American Indian scholar, he uses historical writings from the 17th century to the 20th century to relate stories of medicine men.
The Good Wife, by Stewart O’Nan, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 311 pages, $14 |The highly acclaimed author (“A Prayer for the Dying,” “The Night Country”) tells the story of a woman who waits for 28 years for her husband to get out of jail.
The Portrait, by Iain Pears, Riverhead, 224 pages, $13|A simple but forceful story told by a narrator bent on revenge against a man he once considered a friend and mentor.
COMING UP
Cage of Stars, by Jacquelyn Mitchard, Warner, 304 pages, $24.95, May|Mitchard (“The Deep End of the Ocean,”) is back with a story of a young Mormon girl who must decide between retribution and forgiveness after she witnesses the murder of her two sisters.
The Din in the Head, by Cynthia Ozick, Houghton Mifflin, 256 pages, $24, June|The novelist and critic offers up a series of essays that focus on the joys of great literature, particularly the novel.
Proof Positive, by Phillip Margolin, HarperCollins, 400 pages, $24.95, July|Margolin brings back his heroine of “Wild Justice” and “Ties That Bind,” attorney Amanda Jaffe, in this tale of a crime-scene investigator who fakes crime scenes.
