Looking for a good post 9/11 thriller to fill up an afternoon? Check out Daniel Silva’s new novel, “The Messenger,” featuring his ongoing character Gabriel Allon. In nonfiction, another take on the tragedy that befell New Orleans almost a year ago is out. It’s called “Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City,” by Jed Horne. Two young friends who knew each other in the Caribbean are reunited later in life in Vancouver, Canada, in Shani Mootoo’s “He Drown She in the Sea” – in paperback. And, coming in October, look for another novel – this time something of a love story – from horrormeister Stephen King, called “Lisey’s Story.”
FICTION
The Messenger, by Daniel Silva, Penguin, 352 pages, $25.95|Another in the author’s series featuring art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon. Gabriel must infiltrate an organization set on attacking the Vatican.
The Banquet Bug, by Geling Yan, Hyperion, 288 pages, $24.95|
When a factory worker is laid off, he passes himself off as a journalist to attempt to live an easier life.
Cover of Night, by Linda Howard, Random House, 352 pages, $25.95|
Romance and suspense are mixed together in Howard’s tale of a woman who is caught in the middle of serious shenanigans when an entire small Wyoming town his held hostage.
NONFICTION
Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, by Jed Horne, Random House, 432 pages, $25.95|
Horne, metro editor of the Times Picayune newspaper, takes the reader through the storm and the catastrophic aftermath.
Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand, by James Barron, Times Books, 304 pages, $24.95|
The author traces the creation of a Steinway piano, a process of about a year. Not just for music-lovers, but also for those interested in craftsmanship and tradition.
What It Used to be Like: A Portrait of My Marriage to Raymond Carver, by Maryann Burk Carver, St. Martin’s, 356 pages, $25.95|
Divided into four decades, this is the story of a man and a woman who spent 25 years together, including descent into alcoholism and extramarital affairs.
PAPERBACKS
He Drown She in the Sea, by Shani Mootoo, Grove/Atlantic, 336 pages, $14|The story of two young friends who are reunited later in life. It’s set partially on a fictional Caribbean island during World War II and in present-day Vancouver, Canada.
1776, by David McCullough, Simon & Schuster, 386 pages, $18|
McCullough gained acclaim for biographies of Harry Truman and John Adams. This one centers not on a person, but on a year – the seminal year in the creation of the country.
Adventuring With Boldness: The Triumph of the Explorer, by Bruce C. Paton, Fulcrum, 247 pages, $14.95|Paton examines the exploits of nine explorers from the 18th and 19th centuries, concentrating on many small details.
COMING UP
Lisey’s Story, by Stephen King, Simon & Schuster, 528 pages, $28, October|
This is a story of a relationship based on abiding love. It’s also the story of where creativity comes from and how that source can have its dark side.
The Blog of War: Frontline Dispatches From Military Bloggers in Iraq and Afghanistan, by Matthew Currier Burden, Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, $15, paperback, September|The author gathers the best stories posted on the Internet from soldiers stationed in the two war theaters.
The Man Who Smiled, by Henning Mankell, New Press, 336 pages, $24.95, September|Another Inspector Kurt Wallander story finds him deep in a personal funk after killing a man in the line of duty. He pulls himself together to investigate the murder of a friend.
