Editor’s Choice
The Race, by Richard North Patterson, $26. Patterson’s latest absorbing thriller centers on a timely topic, a heated presidential primary. Initially readers will recognize similarities between actual political figures and Patterson’s characters, but once the story starts cooking, the characters step beyond their molds. Booklist
FICTION
The Wandering Ghost, by Martin Limon, $24. Army CID agents Ernie Bascom and George Sue-o are sent to South Korea’s DMZ, 20 miles north of Seoul, to investigate the disappearance of Cpl. Jill Matthewson, the first female MP ever assigned to the 2nd Division. This is Limon’s fifth Bascom/Sue-o mystery. Booklist
Fatal Revenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson, $27.95. This thought-provoking sequel to 2004’s “The Runes of Earth” opens with a bang… This emotional continuation of the Thomas Covenant saga is what Donaldson’s fans have been hoping for. Booklist
NONFICTION
Frankenstein: A Cultural History, by Susan Tyler Hitchcock, $25.95. A thoroughly entertaining look at the iconic monster. How did the unwed, 18-year-old mother of a toddler come to invent this nightmare creature with neck bolts, flattop head and that power unibrow? Booklist
The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus, by Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein, $25.95. Cousteau’s electrifying, masterwork at once celebrates “life’s miracles” and warns us that unless we stop ransacking “nature’s irreplaceables,” we may go the way of the dinosaurs. Booklist
Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full, by Conrad Black, $40. Black brings sympathy and eloquent clarity to his task. The result is a vibrant biography of personal and political accomplishment that, though great and heroically achieved, was often marred by self-inflicted wounds. Booklist
PAPERBACKS
The Book of Samson, by David Maine, $13.95. In two previous novels, Maine showcased a great gift for fleshing out the lives of biblical characters (Noah and his relations in “The Preservationist”; Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel in “Fallen”). He returns to the Bible for this pleasurable first-person account of the life of Samson. Booklist
Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, by Ken Jennings, $14.95. Jennings, perhaps the most famous “Jeopardy!” winner of all, completed a record 74-game winning streak over a six-month period in 2004. Steeped in the world of trivia, he offers an in-depth history of the young sport. Booklist
Richard Temple, by Patrick O’Brian, $14.95. In 1962, several years before he set sail with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, O’Brian wrote this novel, now published in the U.S. for the first time. Readers won’t find anything here in the seafaring line, but they will find the same razor-sharp observation that characterizes O’Brian’s later and more familiar work. Booklist
COMING UP
The Palace of Illusions, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, $23.95. The novel by the author of the bestselling “Queen of Dreams,” “Mistress of Spices,” “Sister of My Heart” and “The Vine of Desire,” traces the life of Panchaali, the wife of the five Pandava brothers in the Indian epic Mahabharat. (February)
Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership, by Madeleine Albright, $26.95. The former secretary of state offers ideas about how to confront the array of challenges that the next president will face. (January)
