Editor’s Choice
Delicate Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff, $23.95. Tales of ordinary transformations and everyday occurrences are made magical in a collection of nine stories by Groff (“The Monsters of Templeton”). The details make the difference in this sophomore effort. They range from specific realities . . . to dreamlike metaphor. Groff’s skill makes commonplace occurrences seem compelling. Kirkus
FICTION
A Darker Place, by Jack Higgins, $26.95. When world-famous Russian novelist Alexander Kurbsky decides to leave for the West in best-seller Higgins’s suspenseful 16th thriller to feature former IRA man Sean Dillon (after “Rough Justice”), Kurbsky turns for help to Dillon and other members of the British prime minister’s “private army.” Publishers Weekly
Revelation, by C.J. Sansom, $26.95. (Series protagonist) Matthew Shardlake’s fourth adventure is packed with fascinating historical detail and contemporary lessons. The mystery is cleverly woven, and slowly building tension will keep readers involved until the denouement. Kirkus
NONFICTION
In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past, by Henry Louis Gates Jr., $27.50. In this companion book to a two-part PBS series, Gates (“Colored People”) combines rigorous historical research with DNA analysis to recreate the family trees of African-American celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones, as well as intellectuals, authors, comedians, musicians and athletes. Kirkus
Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King, by Lisa Rogak, $25.95. Rogak (“A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein”) has produced an unauthorized biography of one of America’s most popular novelists. Using King’s novels and movies, as well as numerous articles and interviews and other books and websites about the author, Rogak covers all of the major events of King’s life and career. Library Journal
Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement From the New Deal to Reagan, by Kim Phillips-Fein, $26.95. Looking beyond the usual roster of right-wing Christians, anticommunist neocons and disgruntled working-class whites, this incisive study examines the unsung role of “a political movement of businessmen” in leading America’s post-1960s rightward turn. Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
The Sum of Our Days, by Isabel Allende, $14.99. A loving tribute to an unorthodox family. In Allende’s acclaimed memoir “Paula,” the Chilean-born novelist told the story of her tumultuous life in the form of a letter to her beloved, recently deceased daughter. This follow-up picks up the story where the previous book left off, in the guise of keeping the spirit Paula informed of the goings-on in her noisy, exuberant, sometimes tragic extended family. Kirkus
The Commoner, by John Burnham Schwartz, $14.95. Inspired by real stories of the Japanese imperial family, Schwartz’s (“Reservation Road”; “Bicycle Days”) intimate and striking novel fictionalizes the life of Haruko, empress of Japan, who narrates a touching and complicated tale of breaking traditions and facing the reality of living as royalty. Library Journal
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, by Daniel Yergin, $22. Yergin (“Shattered Peace”), a much-quoted energy consultant, (in this Pulitzer Prize-winner) offers a timely, information-packed, authoritative history of the petroleum industry, tracing its ramifications, national and geopolitical, to the present day. Publishers Weekly
COMING UP
Strong Enough to Die, by Jon Land, $24.95. Former Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong returns in another thriller in which she tries to redeem her past by teaming up with an outlaw to solve a perplexing case. (May)
