Publishers like to save their big blockbuster books for the fall and, this year, they are bringing us a particularly rich autumn harvest. Here are some upcoming novels from some of our favourite authors:
• John Grisham — Rogue Lawyer (October): Sebastian Rudd is not a typical lawyer. His office is a customized, bulletproof van and his clients are the scum of the Earth — satanic cult members, imprisoned crime lords and so forth. But he believes everyone deserves a defence, by fair means or foul. He’s one of Grisham’s most colourful characters.
• David Baldacci — The Guilty (November): In this fourth Will Robie novel, the government’s most professional assassin has failed in his assignment and needs to revisit his past to recover his talents. This means returning to his hometown and his long-estranged father, whose own life has led to a charge of murder. With the help of Jessica Reed, Robie must investigate the case.
• Stephen King — Bazaar of Bad Dreams (November): The master of horror offers a collection of recent fiction that has never before appeared in book form. King includes a memory or an autobiographical comment on each of the stories.
• James Patterson — Cross Justice (November): In his 23rd outing, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina home for the first time in more than 30 years. A cousin has been accused of a string of murders and Cross fights to prove his innocence and at the same time confront a truth about his past.
• Nora Roberts — Stars of Fortune (November): In this first book of a new trilogy (The Guardians), Roberts tells of three stars that were created by the goddesses of the moon and fell to Earth. Sasha Riggs, reclusive and haunted artist, and seer, brings together a team to find the stars.
• Rhys Bowen — Away in a Manger (November): Molly Murphy Sullivan is looking forward to the holidays when she meets a beggar girl singing in the street and is drawn into the mystery of who she and her brother are and how they have been reduced to begging. The investigation will lead her to the highest levels of polite New York society.
• John Sandford — Saturn Run (October): Partnering with photographer/sci-fi buff Ctein, Sanford comes up with something completely different: a science fiction novel set in 2066 about a Chinese-American race to the planet Saturn to collect what seems to be an extraterrestrial ship. The science is hard science, the plot is suspenseful and, science fiction or not, the characters and dialogue are up to Sandford’s usual high standards.
• Janet Evanovich — Tricky Twenty-Two (November): In her newest outing, Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum engages in a comic Kitman College caper involving Zeta fraternity. It includes Ranger, Morelli and the rest of the gang.
• Lisa Scottolini — Corrupted (October): In the 14th of the Bennie Rosato and Associates novels, Bennie finds herself with a client she defended before as a juvenile. But this time, the charge is murder. Bennie is forced to relive one of the most difficult times of her life while working to establish her client’s innocence.
• Michael Connelly — The Crossing (November): Connelly once again teams Harry Bosch with his half-brother Mickey Haller. Haller has a client accused of murder whom he’s sure is being set up. Bosch is retired from the LAPD now but he takes the case, even though it may lead inside the police department.
These can all be placed on hold right away at your local public library. Enjoy.
--A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Martin Boughner works at Port Moody Public Library.
