Here are some books that have crossed our desks recently.
HARDBACKS
"TOUGH CUSTOMER," by Sandra Brown, Simon and Schuster, $26.99 (f)
Colleagues, friends, and lovers know Dodge Hanley as a private investigator who doesn't let rules get in his way. That's why he's the first person Caroline King asks for help when a deranged stalker attempts to murder their daughter — the daughter Dodge has never met. The alarming situation goes from bad to worse when the stalker begins to claim other victims and leaves an ominous trail of clues. Sensing the killer drawing nearer, Dodge realizes that this time he's in for the fight of his life.
More hardbacks recently released:
"Three Stations: An Arkady Renko novel," by Martin Cruz Smith (f): Renko investigates the death of a young woman found at the perimeter of Moscow's main rail hub; everyone wants to call it a simple drug overdose except Renko turns up some inexplicable clues and soon the death of a young woman involves him with Moscow's rich and famous, many of them fighting to retain their cash in the face of Putin's crackdown. "The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches From the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam," by Eliza Griswold (nf): Griswold examines the complex relationships between religion, land, resources, local conflicts, global ideology, politics, and contemporary martyrdom on the 10th parallel, along which half the world's Muslims live, as well as 60 percent of the world's Christians. "Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue With His Century, Vol. 1: Learning Curve (1907-1948)" by William H. Patterson Jr. (nf): Patterson was offered access to Heinlein's letters, notes, family and friends, and has spent years researching the significant events in the life of one of America's most celebrated science fictions writers for this authorized biography.
"Tradition and the Black Atlantic: Critical Theory in the African Diaspora," by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (nf): Gates, citing the British cultural studies of the 1970s and 1980s and the cultural wars in America, appeals for a multiculturalism in which differences are both accepted and celebrated. "Earth & Ashes," by Atiq Rahimi, translated by Erdag M. Goknar (f): Set in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, Dastaguir, along with his newly deaf grandson, struggle to reach his son at the coal mine where he works to deliver the devastating news that their village has been destroyed by Russians. "Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology," by David Abram (nf): The book draws readers into their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the kinship between the body and the Earth.
"The Good Daughters," by Joyce Maynard (f): Two baby girls are born on the same day in the same small hospital. But they are born into families that are completely different. This event will resonate through the lives of the girls and their families for decades. "Not By Chance Alone: My Life as a Social Psychologist," by Elliot Aronson (nf): Autobiography of the man who's made a career out of exploring how people interact with each other, and who's performed ground-breaking research on critical topics such as cognitive dissonance, and pioneering the "jigsaw classroom." "Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession," by Craig Childs (nf): Childs explores archaeology's darker side and its transgressions against the very cultures it tries to preserve, asking: To whom does the past belong?
PAPERBACKS
This work of fact-based fiction that reveals firsthand what life was like in one of Mao's most notorious labor camps. Between 1957 and 1960, nearly 3,000 Chinese citizens were labeled "Rightists" by the Communist Part and banished to Jianiangou in China's northwestern desert region of Gansu to undergo "re-education" through hard labor. In 1997, Xianhui Yang traveled to Gansu and spent the next five years interviewing more than 100 survivors of the camp. Here, he presents 13 of their stories, which have been crafted into fiction in order to evade Chinese censorship.
"100 ESSENTIAL AMERICAN POEMS," by Leslie Pockell, Thomas Dunne Books, $14.99 (f)
Fondly remembered works by such familiar figures as Longfellow, Poe and Whitman, and popular classics like "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and "Casey at the Bat" are included in this collection. It also features passionate outcries from poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes and poems by such women as Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay.
"TOMORROW WE DIE," by Shawn Grady, Bethany House, $14.99 (f)
Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic who's spent the week a few steps behind the angel of death. When Trestle responds to a call about a man sprawled on a downtown sidewalk CPR revives the man long enough for him to hand Trestle a crumpled piece of paper and say, "Give this to Martin," before being taken to the hospital. Unwilling to just let it drop, Jonathan is plunged into a mystery that soon threatens not only his dreams for the future but maybe even his life.
More paperbacks recently released:
"Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures From the Undead," by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate (nf): A great way to add spooky and silly to your crafting skills — each "creature" takes less than two hours to make, and the instructions cover the stitching, supplies and step-by-step instructions to fulfill your darker soft side.
REPRINTS
"Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" by Michael J. Sandel (nf). "Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, 1958-2009," by J. Randy Taraborrelli (nf): Updated with a new chapter of the star's final days and aftermath of his death. "The Secret Lives of Boys: Inside the Raw Emotional World of Male Teens," by Namoina Saval (nf).
YOUNG READERS
"ROSE SEES RED," by Cecil Castellucci, Scholastic Press, $17.99 (young adult)
Set in New York in the 1980s, this story of two ballet dancers — one American, one Russian — recounts the unforgettable night they spend in the city, and celebrates the friendship they form despite their cultural and political differences.
"TOMIE DEPAOLA'S MOTHER GOOSE," Putnam, $25.99 (ages 3-5)
Tomie dePaola's collection of traditional rhymes is both cheerful and humorous. Two hundred rhymes star both the familiar Mother Goose cast of characters and those not as well known. American poems are also sprinkled throughout. As usual, dePaola's illustrations are spot on.
— compiled by Kari Morandi