Editor’s Choice
Divine Justice, by David Baldacci, $27.99. In Baldacci’s fourth novel (after “Stone Cold”) in his Camel Club series, Oliver Stone (a.k.a. John Carr, ex-CIA assassin) is wanted dead by his enemies and alive by his friends. Baldacci fans will welcome this latest tale about the charismatic Stone and his exceedingly loyal friends. Library Journal
FICTION
Serena, by Ron Rash, $24.95. Depression-era lumber baron George Pemberton and his callous new wife, Serena, are venality incarnate in Rash’s Gothic fourth novel (after “The World Made Straight”), set, like the other three, in Appalachia. Publishers Weekly
Friendly Fire, by A.B. Yehoshua, $26. Celebrated Israeli novelist Yehoshua (“A Woman in Jerusalem”) explores the power of grief and bitterness in a blunt drama studded with political, historical and religious significance. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by James Meacham, $30. Every so often a terrific biography comes along that shines a new light on a familiar figure in American history. So it was with David McCullough’s John Adams, so it was with Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin, so it is with Jon Meacham’s Andrew Jackson. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando, by Stefan Kanfer, $26.95. Marlon Brando, Hollywood’s first rebel, is a favorite subject of biographies (over 18 bios and an autobiography have already been published). Kanfer (“Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball”) has written the defining biography of Brando. Publishers Weekly
Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War, by Edwin Burrows, $27.50. A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian revisits the story of the brutal, degrading treatment of American prisoners of war during the Revolution. It’s the story of thousands of nameless Americans who gave their lives for liberty. Kirkus
PAPERBACKS
The Appeal, by John Grisham, $14. Unlike a lot of novels and TV docudramas that selectively latch onto facts to create a false picture, “The Appeal” delivers a real picture of a real problem. And it all goes down easily because Grisham spins it around such a gripping tale. The New York Times
Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound At a Time, by Valerie Bertinelli, $15. Bertinelli offers a peek behind the sunny facade the popular TV star has long projected about her life and a showbiz career that began at age 14. She narrates her personal memoir with an honest, straightforward and simple reading that matches her writing style. Publishers Weekly
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography, by David Michaelis, $19.95. In this painstakingly and thoroughly researched biography, Michaelis (“N.C. Wyeth: A Biography”) brings to light and allows readers to reimagine the life of one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century. Library Journal
COMING UP
So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government, by Robert G. Kaiser, $27.95. Washington Post reporter Kaiser tells the story of the huge growth of lobbying in Washington and how it undermines the government, affecting our politics. (January)
