Editor’s Choice
Rules of Deception, by Christopher Reich, $27.95. The un-put-downable sixth spy novel from best-seller Reich (“The Patriots’ Club”) shows he’s the equal of such masters of suspense as Ken Follett and Frederick Forsyth. The twisting story line revolves around Jonathan Ransom, a 37-year-old surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, whose wife is killed while mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
Keeping the World Away, by Margaret Forster, $24.95. A haunting painting entrances the women into whose hands it falls over the course of a century. Forster (“Is There Anything You Want?”) continues her tradition of examining literary and artistic lives with this look at painter Gwen John (1876-1939). A subtly crafted, satisfying read. Kirkus.
Moscow Rules, by Daniel Silva, $26.95. Silva stalwart Gabriel Allon is back, investigating the murder of terrorism analyst Ephraim Rosner by a Muslim immigrant in Amsterdam. The plot thickens with the kidnapping of the U.S. ambassador’s daughter in London. Library Journal
NONFICTION
Why I Came West, by Rick Bass, $24. In the summer of 1987, nature writer Bass stumbled into the Yaak Valley in northwestern Montana and fell in love. The book reads best as a series of variations on the theme of how our relation to the wilderness is essential to our being human. Bass is an eloquent defender of his precious valley. Publishers Weekly
Society’s Child: My Autobiography, by Janis Ian, $26.95. The roller-coaster ride may be typical for celebrity autobiography, but fans will appreciate the candor with which Ian discusses these hardships and her gradual path to happiness as an independent singer-songwriter in Nashville. Publishers Weekly
On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam, by Joyce Hoffman, $27.50. Hoffman celebrates the groundbreaking achievements of the female reporters — radio, print and TV — who covered America’s longest, most problematic war. Kirkus
PAPERBACKS
Mixing It Up: Taking On the Media Bullies and Other Reflections, by Ishmael Reed, $15.95. Reed (“Reckless Eyeballing”), an important novelist, poet, playwright, and critic of American society, has never been afraid of a fight and has taken on many contenders. This book collects his provocative and eye-opening discussions of mass media’s hypocrisy, lies and greed. Library Journal
The Savior, by Eugene Drucker, $14. A violinist in the last days of Nazi Germany is plucked out of his narrow existence by the SS to participate in a cruel experiment in a concentration camp . . . (T)he drawing card of this well-crafted tale is that Drucker is alternately first and second violinist of the renowned Emerson String Quartet. Library Journal
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin, $15.95. It isn’t constitutional theory or laws that rule the high court, argues this group profile, but quirky men and women guided by political intuition. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
The Widows of Eastwick, by John Updike, $24.95. More than 30 years have passed since Updike’s “The Witches of Eastwick.” The three divorcees, Alexandra, Jane and Sukie, have left town, remarried and become widows. (October)
