Editor’s Choice
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks, $24.99. In his 13th book, bestselling Sparks (“At First Sight,” etc.) limns the far-reaching implications of several seemingly ordinary choices made by Beaufort, N.C., veterinarian Travis Parker and his next-door neighbor, Gabrielle Holland, a physician’s assistant and recent arrival. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
Heartsick by Chelsea Cain, $23.95. Lurid and suspenseful with well-drawn characters, plenty of grisly surprises and tart dialogue, it delivers what readers of this particular kind of thriller expect. The New York Times
The Bishop at the Lake by Andrew M. Greeley, $24.95 In Greeley’s winning sixth Blackie Ryan novel (after 2006’s “The Bishop in the Old Neighborhood”), Ryan’s boss, the archbishop of Chicago, sends Ryan to check up on Malachi Howard-Nolan, a fellow priest who’s jockeying for a prestigious appointment. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman, $24.95. Ackerman (“A Natural History of the Senses”) tells the remarkable WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who, with courage and coolheaded ingenuity, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Publishers Weekly
The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx, with Ian Gittins, $32.50. Nikki Sixx was the bass player and lead songwriter of Mötley Crüe. Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, $15.95. A masterpiece … “The Race Beat” is a riveting piece of social history that balances both its subjects brilliantly … There has never been a better study of the importance of a free press. The Philadelphia Inquirer
Twilight by William Gay, $14. “Twilight” is almost textbook Southern Gothic, with its elements of the grotesque and perverse, its psychological extremes and its fixations on violence and sex. Gay successfully uses this form’s ability to unsettle readers, forcing them to see anew darker aspects of humanity. Washington Post
Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made by Jim Newton, $17.99. Los Angeles Times editor and reporter Newton delivers the definitive biography of Earl Warren (1891-1974) for this generation. Newton’s masterful narrative synthesizes Warren in all his contradictory guises. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri, $24.95. The author of the much-lauded “The Death of Vishnu” returns with a tale about modern India, mixing themes of a country in turmoil and maternal love. (February)
Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman by Caryl Flinn, $34.95. The first story of how a stenographer from Queens, N.Y., became the queen of the Broadway musical in its golden age. (November)
The Reserve by Russell Banks, $24.95. Vanessa Cole, a beautiful and wild heiress, and her affair with a local artist during the years leading up to World War II. (February)
