Editor’s Choice
The Glass Rainbow, by James Lee Burke, $25.99.
The first half of this book is standard Robicheaux, almost formulaic — a winning formula, but a formula all the same. In the last half, however, Burke kicks into another gear: superb suspense leading to a gripping, set-piece finale that is a masterpiece of texture and mood, with the high-energy climax in the foreground both contrasted against and supported by the intensely lyrical, heavily melancholic prose. Booklist
FICTION
Live to Tell, by Lisa Gardner, $26.
Boston police detective D.D. Warren returns in another gripping thriller. A family is murdered, apparently by the father — who, it seems, barely failed to take his own life after killing his wife and young children. But soon there are questions, the most pressing of which is, why would this man, apparently out of the blue, slaughter his own family? Is it possible that someone else was the killer, perhaps another member of the family? Booklist
Corduroy Mansions, by Alexander McCall Smith, $24.95.
Set in present-day London, Smith’s charming first in a new series offers a variation on his 44 Scotland Street books, centering on the eccentric occupants of Corduroy Mansions and their offbeat doings. The wry humor Smith elicits from the collision of lives and their repercussions will bring smiles to the faces of many readers.Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements, by Sam Kean, $24.99.
Kean views the periodic table as one of the great achievements of humankind, “an anthropological marvel” full of stories about our connection with the physical world. Funny, even chilling tales are associated with each element, and Kean relates many. Publishers Weekly Fortune’s Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis, by Fred Goodman, $28.
Bronfman, who lost billions in failed deals, has a great passion for the entertainment industry, yet he faces huge difficulties because WMG has been “blown off its foundation” by “the gale force of cyberspace.” What does the future hold if free digital copies are available of any recording? Publishers Weekly
Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America, by Eric Jay Dolin, $29.95.
The fascinating story of the fur trade, full of heroism, greed, violence and political conflict. A delightful history, reminding readers that while noble ideals led to the settling of the United States, the fur trade paid the bills. Kirkus
PAPERBACKS
Under the Dome, by Stephen King, $19.99.
This book gravely threatens Stephen King’s status as a mere chart-busting, pop-cultural phenomenon. It has the scope and flavor of literary Americana, even if King’s patch of American turf is located smack in the middle of the Twilight Zone. The New York Times Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters, by Scott Rosenberg, $15.
Salon co-founder Rosenberg offers an elegantly accessible history and defense of a now-ubiquitous Internet phenomenon, the blogosphere. Rosenberg suggests that blogging’s “outpouring of human expression” should “delight us.” This fair and fascinating account should delight, as well. Kirkus
COMING UP
Washington, a Life, by Ron Chernow, $40.
National Book Award-winning biographer Chernow takes the reader through Washington’s boyhood, his feats in the French and Indian War, the creation of Mount Vernon, his stint in the Continental Army and his time as America’s first president. (October)
