Editor’s Choice
The Keepsake, by Tess Gerritsen, $26. Bestseller Gerritsen’s at times lackluster series heroines prove they can shine in her solid seventh thriller to feature Detective Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles. As usual, Gerritsen delivers an intricate plot that will keep readers guessing. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
The Road Home, by Rose Tremain, $24,99. A displaced European’s Candide-like progress through contemporary London is charted in this ambitious novel from the Whitbread Award-winning British author (The “Colour”). One of the best from the versatile Tremain, who keeps on challenging herself and rewarding readers. Kirkus
Badlands, by Richard Montanari, $26. Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano take on a high-profile cold case in Montanari’s superior thriller, which combines a genuinely creepy villain with fully fleshed-out victims. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium, by Dick Meyer, $24.95. Meyer is gleefully critical and very sincere in his concern for the state of American life; his practical suggestions urging readers to turn the tide of self-hate and phoniness are a must-read for anyone fed up with modern life. Publishers Weekly
Nothing to be Frightened Of, by Julian Barnes, $24.95. Elegant and eloquent, Barnes (“Arthur & George”) arrives a touch belatedly on a well-worked scene: English writers pondering and arguing the existence of God. Barnes inclines toward the golden mean: “I don’t believe in God,” he writes, “but I miss Him.” Kirkus
Something for the Pain: One Doctor’s Account of Life and Death in the ER, by Paul Austin, $24.95. What makes this inspiring medical memoir stand out is the courageous measure of Austin’s humanity in taking on the endless weight of suffering, and what he becomes to his co-workers, his patients, his family and his community. Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
Beside a Burning Sea, by John Shors, $14. Shors’ sophomore effort (following “Beneath a Marble Sky”), set on an island in the South Pacific during three weeks in 1942, features achingly lyrical prose, even in depicting the horrors of war. Publishers Weekly
Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin, $15. Even for readers already familiar with Martin’s solemn side, “Born Standing Up” is a surprising book: smart, serious, heartfelt and confessional without being maudlin. The New York Times
Mine All Mine, by Adam Davies, $14. The third novel from Davies (“Goodbye Lemon,” “The Frog King”) is a hilarious caper narrated by down-on-his-luck good guy Otto Starks. Parts are laugh-out-loud funny. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, by H.W. Brands, $35. Historian Brands, who has written a biography of Andrew Jackson, tells the story of the man generally regarded, by Democrats and Republicans alike, as the greatest 20th-century American president. (November)
Divine Justice, David Baldacci, $27.99. The popular thriller author returns with a story of the most wanted man in the country, an assassin whose former associates want him dead. (November)
