It’s the season of thrillers, and there is good news for Stephen Coonts fans – the release of his new novel, “The Traitor.” If you ever wondered what ’60s LSD icon Timothy Leary was like, you can find out in Robert Greenfield’s “Timothy Leary: A Biography.” In 1994, two thieves made off with “The Scream,” one of the world’s most famous paintings. “The Rescue Artist,” from Edward Dolnick, explains how authorities turned to Charley Hill to find and return Edvard Munch’s masterpiece. In November, look for Nelson DeMille to bring back the irascible detective John Corey from his “The Lion’s Game” and “Night Fall” days to tackle more terrorists in “Wild Fire.”
FICTION
The Traitor, by Stephen Coonts, St. Martin’s, 384 pages, $25.95|This one features the laid-back CIA agent Tommy Carmeallini, who this time out is hot on the heels of a particularly bad guy who can bring the world to the brink of disaster.
Turing’s Delirium, by Edmundo Paz Soldan, Houghton Mifflin, 288 pages, $24 |Here is a political thriller from Bolivian author Soldan that features not only new technology, but also a seamless, fast-moving plot centered on a government decoding agency.
Between, Georgia, by Joshilyn Jackson, Warner, 304 pages, $22.99|The author of “Gods in Alabama” is back with another Southern tale with the usual assortment of offbeat characters. In this one, a feud threatens to destroy a sleepy little town.
NONFICTION
Timothy Leary: A Biography, by Robert Greenfield, Harcourt, 704 pages, $28|The counter-culture star comes under scrutiny by the award-winning author of biographies of Jerry Garcia and Bill Graham. Suffice it to say that Leary doesn’t come off as a decent human being.
Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, Grove/Atlantic, 256 pages, $24|The author, a British political theorist, attempts to explain the history of the political movement and to discuss why the concept of democracy has come to mean so much to so many around the world.
Willie Nelson: The Outlaw, by Graeme Thomson, Virgin, 288 pages, $24.95|Here is the life story of the 73-year-old pot-smoking country music icon who has released somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 albums and still plays 200 shows a year around the United States.
PAPERBACKS
The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece, by Edward Dolnick, Harper Perennial, 270 pages, $14.95
|Dolnick recounts the pursuit of two thieves who made off with “The Scream,” Munch’s famous painting, by Charley Hill, the man who is acknowledged as the world’s greatest art detective.
Dialogues, by Stephen Spignesi, Bantam, 368 pages, $12|In this debut thriller, a young woman who is accused of a heinous crime has a series of conversations with a doctor who has been appointed by the court to determine her competence to stand trial.
Crude: The Story of Oil, by Sonia Shah, Seven Stories Press, 230 pages, $15.95|Here is a nutshell history of the commodity that became more precious than coal and is at the root of the politics of the world.
COMING UP
Wild Fire, by Nelson DeMille, Warner, 496 pages, $26.99, Nov.|DeMille brings back acerbic detective John Corey to investigate the goings on at the Custer Hill Club, whose members are attempting to retaliate for the terrorist attacks in 2001 and are leading the world to chaos.
Diana, by Sarah Bradford, Penguin, 416 pages, $25.95, Sept.|The best-selling author of “America’s Queen” goes to new sources and firsthand accounts to write an exhaustive biography of one of the most recognizable public figures of the 20th century.
The Willow Field, by William Kittredge, Knopf, 320 pages, $24.95, Oct.|Kittredge offers up his first novel, an epic that takes the reader along with Rossie Benasco as he pushes cattle through the Rockies to Calgary and then settles down on a Montana ranch with the love of his life.
