Hitting the Shelves
206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs, $26.99. At the start of best seller Reichs’ outstanding 12th thriller to feature Dr. Temperance Brennan (after “Devil Bones”), Brennan finds herself bound and injured in an underground tomb. In flashbacks, Reichs fills in the how and why of the forensic anthropologist’s deadly predicament. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
Heart of the Assassin, by Robert Ferrigno, $25.95. Set in a future America divided into two major regions, Edgar-finalist Ferrigno’s final entry in his Assassin trilogy (after “Sins of the Assassin”) nicely ties up the wildly diverse plotlines that have motivated his many characters. Publishers Weekly
Amigoland, by Oscar Casares, $23.99. This exceptional first novel from Casares (“Stories: Brownsville,”) chronicles a Mexican- American road trip. Language, folklore and food all reinforce the paradox that the dividing line between Mexico and America is both real and fluid. In a dusty brown town, the journey of these three ordinary people provides a splash of color and spirit. Knowing, touching and true. Kirkus
NONFICTION
The Battle for America 2008: The Story of An Extraordinary Election, by Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson, $29.95. Political reporter Balz and author Johnson have produced an exhaustive yet fascinating review of the 2008 election, from the 2006 contending lineup through the 2009 inauguration, sure to catch the interest of those who follow politics, from Capitol Hill down. Publishers Weekly
The Hemingway Patrols, by Terry Mort, $26. One of celebrated novelist Ernest Hemingway’s more quixotic exploits opens a window into his soul in this sprightly biographical study. During World War II, Hemingway and a volunteer crew ran patrols on his boat, Pilar, looking for German submarines along the Cuban coast. Publishers Weekly
Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, by Tracy Kidder, $26. With an anthropologist’s eye and a novelist’s pen, Pulitzer Prize-winning Kidder recounts the story of Deo, the Burundian former medical student turned American emigre at the center of this strikingly vivid story. This profoundly gripping, hopeful and crucial testament is a work of the utmost skill, sympathy and moral clarity. Publishers Weekly
PAPERBACKS
Songs for the Missing, by Stewart O’Nan, $15. O’Nan (“Last Night at the Lobster”) here captures the emotional upheaval the disappearance of a young girl inflicts on her family and friends, writing with forceful clarity of their anxiety, mingled hope and fear, depression, anger, nostalgia and sense of loss. Library Journal
Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, by Barton Gellman, $18. This book draws a portrait of Cheney that will be highly familiar to most readers: that is, a portrait of the vice president as a steamrolling force for the war in Iraq and enhanced executive power. The New York Times
The Grift, by Debra Ginsberg, $14. Usually when Marina Marks, who’s made a career of faking psychic powers, looks into the future, all she can see is cash. But then she starts receiving eerily accurate visions in this rollicking novel of twists and turns. Redbook
COMING UP
Last Night at Twisted River, by John Irving, $28. After a 12-year-old boy mistakes the local constable’s girlfriend for a bear, the boy and his father are forced to run. The constable is fast on their trail. (October)
