EDITOR’S CHOICE
The Turnaround, by George Pelecanos, $24.99. In yet another gem of urban noir, best-seller Pelecanos (“The Night Gardener”) explores the possibility of making “the turnaround,” of starting over and building a new life, regardless of the past. . . . a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel of crime, friendship, aging and redemption. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
Fractured, by Karin Slaughter, $25. At the start of best-seller Slaughter’s heart-pounding sequel to 2006’s “Triptych,” wealthy housewife Abigail Campano returns home one day to Atlanta’s posh Ansley Park neighborhood to find a dead girl in the mansion’s upstairs hallway, the apparent killer nearby. Publishers Weekly
Sleeping Arrangements, by Madeleine Wickham, $24.95. Wickham (“The Gatecrasher”; also, the Shopaholic series as Sophie Kinsella) spins a delightful story of British families forced to spend their vacation together after a mutual friend promises them the same week in his Spanish villa. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America, by Thurston Clarke, $25. The hope he inspired, though eclipsed by his assassination on June 6, 1968, still proves instructive and pertinent, especially in this election year. Generous without being slavish, beautifully capturing Kennedy’s passion and dignity. Kirkus
Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment, by Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Joseph N. Cappella, $24.95. In this heavily researched analysis of the conservative media establishment, Jamieson and Cappella contend that Rush Limbaugh, the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal and “key players” at Fox News share evidence, arguments and “tactical approaches in their defense of conservatism and their attack on its opponents.” Publishers Weekly
Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen, by Christopher Capozzola, $35. Capozzola does an excellent job of rendering the jingoistic, dogmatic mind-set that characterized the country at a crucial time. The mobilization led 13 million American men ages 18 to 45 to enthusiastically swarm to local draft boards, and women planted “Victory Gardens.” Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
Run, by Ann Patchett, $14.95. This fifth novel by the author of the much-admired “Bel Canto” is engaging, surprising, provocative and moving. . . . an intimate domestic drama that nonetheless deals with big issues touching us all: religion, race, class, politics and, above all else, family. The Washington Post
Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, by Jed Horne, $16. (Horne’s) on-the-ground narrative emphasizes his ear for local idiom and his sharp eye for compelling detail. . . . Horne connects the horrors of the storm with relevant back stories very effectively. Library Journal
Before I Wake, by Robert J. Wiersema, $13.95. In this impressive debut, Wiersema crafts an intelligent, contemplative supernatural thriller replete with well-rounded characters, artful dialogue and a plot that . . . develops organically, revealing its secrets at just the right pace. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
The Ghost in Love, by Jonathan Carroll, $25. A man falls in the snow, hits his head on a curb and dies. But something strange occurs: The man doesn’t die, and the ghost that’s been sent to take his soul to the afterlife is flabbergasted. (October)
Highway to Hell: Dispatches From a Mercenary in Iraq, by John Geddes, $24.95. For the first time since the Blackwater scandals hit the world media, an insider tells the story of “contractors” in Iraq in his own words. (August)
