Next week in fiction, two buzzy titles arrive: NBA finalist Dana Spiotta returns with her third novel and British author Glen Duncan delivers a literary werewolf thriller for adults. In nonfiction, Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her kidnapping and 18 years as a captive of her abductor and will appear on major evening and morning news shows, while journalist Ben Mezrich returns with a real-life NASA-related adventure.

Watch List

Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta (Scribner) is the third novel by this National Book Award finalist, about a conflicted artist in Southern California and his sister, who is convinced he’s a genius. PW says its “clever structure, jaundiced affection for Los Angeles, and diamond-honed prose” make this “one of the most moving and original portraits of a sibling relationship in recent fiction.” It also gets an early review in New York magazine, which calls it “good, sly fun, but … also tender, rueful, and shrewd.”

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (Knopf)  is a literate page-turner about a 201-year-old werewolf who is the last of his kind. It’s getting a big push from the publisher, buzz from early readers, and has been mentioned at BEA’s Shout and Share as well as on our very own GalleyChat. This one’s a fun (and dirty!) read.

Rising Star

Iron House by John Hart (Thomas Dunne Books) is the story of two orphaned boys separated by violence. It’s the fourth literary thriller by this award-winning writer, whose last book (The Last Child) was a bestseller. This one has an announced 200,000-copy first printing and is the #1 Indie Next pick for August.

Usual Suspects

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (Bantam) is the long awaited fifth installment of the epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire series. It already had a strong fan base that was expanded by HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on the first book. Its been in the Amazon Top Ten for a month. Recent news stories about  spoilers surfacing on fan sites on the Web are just adding to the excitement.

Quinn by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s) is a follow-up to Eve that delves deep into the life and psyche of Eve Duncan’s lover and soul mate, Joe Quinn. As a ruthless killer closes in, long-held secrets are gradually revealed. LJ, PW and Booklist all say it’s a pulse-pounder.

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner (Atria) is the story of four women whose lives intertwine in creating a child through reproductive technology. LJ says, “fans of Marian Keyes, Anna Maxted, and other authors of serious chick lit will thoroughly enjoy this title for its humor mixed with a sympathetic portrayal of real women’s lives and challenges.”

Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel by Kim Harrison (Del Rey) brings the authors popular urban crime fantasy series to visual form.

Young Adult Fiction

Dragon’s Oath by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin) is the first in a new mini-series of novellas, and tells the story behind the fencing instructor in the bestselling House of Night series.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic) concludes the Wolves of Mercy Falls werewolf trilogy.

Nonfiction

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (Simon & Schuster) is a memoir by a woman who was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 and endured 18 years of living with her abductor and his wife, bearing and raising his child before she was discovered in 2009. This one has an impressive news lineup. It’s on the cover of the July 18 issue of People, with an excerpt and a brief Q&A with Diane Sawyer about her  two-hour interview with Dugard, to air on ABC’s PrimeTime July 10th. Sawyer says that her spirit “will astonish you” and that “everything she says makes you stop and examine yourself and your life.” She is also scheduled for Good Morning America on July 12th.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich is the story of a fellow in a NASA program who schemed to steal rare moon rocks as a way to impress his new girlfriend. The author wrote Accidental Billionaires (the basis for the movie The Social Network). Our own view is that the details about the space program will be catnip for space junkies (and even those who are not – the James Bond stuff they have at the Johnson Space Center is amazing), but the central character doesn’t have the celebrity value of Mark Zuckerberg, so it may not draw a wider audience. It is currently being developed for a movie, by the same production team that created Social Network, but with Will Gluck (Easy A) directing, rather than David Fincher.

I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards (Houghton Mifflin) is the story of Google’s rise from the perspective of the company’s first director of marketing. PW says, ” The book’s real strength is its evenhandedness” and that it’s “more entertaining than it really has any right to be,” though Kirkus finds it less focused than it could be, given all the other books written about Google.

Of Thee I Zing: America’s Cultural Decline from Muffin Tops to Body Shots by Laura Ingraham and Raymond Arroyo (Threshold) criticizes the contemporary American culture of consumerism.

The UK’s Guardian just released the “world exclusive international teaser trailer” for the film adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy.

We can’t post it here, since it is a world exclusive and all, so link here to view it.

Directed by Tomas Alfredson, it stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Ciaran Hinds. It is scheduled to open in the US on Nov. 18 of this year (it releases earlier in the UK).

Penguin recently re-released the paperback, featuring the words “Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture” on the cover.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John le Carre Retail Price: $16.00 Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) – (2011-06-07) ISBN / EAN: 0143119788 / 9780143119784

Despite Harlan Coben’s best-selling status, only one of his books has made it to the big screen. Tell No One, (Delacorte, 2001), was adapted as a 2006 French thriller directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Francois Cluzet and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Now that book is getting a second, Hollywood version. Ben Affleck has just signed to direct an English-language version. It will be a while before it hits screens, however; Affleck is currently directing Argo, planned for release in 2013.

Below is the trailer for the French film:

The lead-up to summer continues with more thrillers and series in fiction, Erik Larson’s latest, and the early release of a memoir by a former member of Navy Seals team that hunted Bin Laden.

Watch List

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø (Knopf) is a thriller about a Swedish expert (UPDATE; as is pointed out in the comments, that should be “Norwegian expert”) on serial killers in a country that prides itself on not having any – and a strong contender for the Stieg Larsson mantle. Library Joural raves “this work is being compared to Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow among others. Apt comparisons, but they don’t go far enough. This is simply the best detective novel this reviewer has read in years.” It’s also Nesbo’s first book since Stieg Larsson’s publisher picked him up. The Washington Post ran a major feature about him on Thursday, sending The Snowman up Amazon’s sales rankings (to #145 from #361). It’s also the #3 Indie Next pick for May.

Faith by Jennifer Haigh (HarperCollins) explores the impact of sexual misconduct allegations on a Catholic priest’s family. It’s the latest from the author of Mrs. Kimble, a debut that’s beloved by many librarians. The new novel has been eliciting strong enthusiasm on on our GalleyChat. People magazine gave it 3.5 of 4 stars in the 5/18 issue, calling it “haunting” and “heart-wrenching.” It gets a 150,000-copy first printing.

Usual Suspects

Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader (Forge) finds National security adviser Jack McClure and Alli Carson, the psychologically damaged daughter of the recently deceased U.S. President, in their third adventure, this time involving international terrorism and sex slavery. Library Journal says, “Buy a copy for the name recognition from the author’s work on Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series, but don’t expect rave responses from readers.”

Buried Prey by John Sandford (Putnam) is the 21st novel to feature Lucas Davenport of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and finds him reopening the case that made his name when new evidence emerges. PW says, “Expert plotting and a riveting finish make this one of Sandford’s best.”

Nonfiction

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson (Crown) is a work of literary nonfiction about the experiences of U.S. ambassador to Germany William E. Dodd and his family in Berlin in the early years of Hitler’s rule. Early reviews have been strong, but some librarians say it’s slower going than Larson’s beloved The Devil in the White City.

Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal by Howard E Wasdin (St. Martin’s) is by a former member of the counterterrorism unit that killed Osama bin Laden (see our earlier story). Unsurprisingly, publication was pushed up to make the most of the current news cycle. The author has been on several TV shows, including a Dateline special on NBC.

Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man by Chaz Bono (Dutton) is a memoir of the author’s 40 year struggle to reconcile his gender identity and the body he was born into, as the child of Cher and Sonny Bono. LJ notes that “interest will be sparked as much by Bono’s high profile as by his story.”

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler is the latest from the stand up comedian and late-night talk show host on the E! network.

Movie Tie-in

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, the classic chidren’s story of  a house painter who receives a large crate of Antarctic penguins, is being made into a movie. In this incarnation, however, Mr. Popper (Jim Carey) is a modern day businessman with a swanky NYC apartment. The  movie opens 6/16 (trailer here).

With Mother’s Day and Memorial Day approaching, new titles are dramatically on the increase – particularly fiction and celebrity memoirs. Here’s a look at what’s ahead for next week.

Watch List

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (Ecco) is a picaresque novel about two hired guns, the fabled Sisters brothers, set against in the California Gold Rush. Librarians have been buzzing about it on Galley Chat and it’s a May Indie Next pick.

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon (Grand Central) is an unlikely love story about a young white woman with a developmental disability and an African-American deaf man, both locked away in an institution in Pennsylvania in 1968, who fall deeply in love and escape together, finding refuge with a retired schoolteacher. It’s the #1 Indie Next Pick for May. It’s also the author’s fiction debut (although she wrote a well-received memoir, Riding in the Bus with My Sister).

The Moment by Douglas Kennedy (Atria Books) is the tale of a travel writer’s loves and betrayals, set in Cold War Berlin, by an American-born author who’s better known abroad (his nine previous novels have sold over five million copies, and he was awarded France’s Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). Kennedy spoke at a ALA MidWinter, at a panel hosted by LJ‘s Barbara Hoffert, who said “if other readers end up as engrossed as I was, then this is the year that Kennedy becomes a household name in America.” Early reviews are also positive, and it gets a 100,000-copy print run.

The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson (S&S) chronicles the lives of the Erickson family as the children come of age in 1970s and ’80s America, as they grow out of their rural Iowan roots. It’s the #5 May Indie Next pick, and Entertainment Weekly gives it an A-: “even minor characters receive the full attention of the author’s prodigious talents; each one is drawn so vividly that they never feel less than utterly real.”

Returning RA Favorites

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (Viking/Penguin) gets a 350,000 printing and is the #8 Indie Next pick for May.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell (Random House) is the #2 Indie Next Pick for May.

The Butterfly’s Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe (GalleryBooks) gets a 100,000-copy printing.

Usual Suspects

Sixkill by Robert B Parker (Putnam) is the last Spenser novel completed by Parker before his death in January 2010, and has a 300,000-copy print run. But this is not the last we’ll see of Parker – there are two revamped series coming. On September 13, Parker’s Jessie Stone series will continue with Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues, by a writer producer and screenwriter Michael Brandman, who co-wrote and co-produced the television movies featuring Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone. And in Spring 2012, the longrunning Spenser PI series will continue, written by Ace Atkins, whose last few novels have been published by Putnam. He begins a new series of his own with The Ranger, starting in June.

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (Ace Books) Sookie Stackhouse #11

The Devil’s Light by Richard North Patterson (Scribner)

10th Anniversary by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little Brown)

Celeb Memoirs

There are several celebrity memoirs coming out next week – in fact, May is such a big month for them that USA Today featured several in a round up (remember when we thought the genre was dead?).

If You Ask Me: And of Course You Won’t by Betty White (Putnam)

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke (Crown Archetype) is slated for a lot of media. USA Today has an early interview, and Van Dyke will appear on Entertainment Tonight on May 3, The View on May 4, NPR’s Morning Edition on May 4 or 5, and the Today Show on May 5.

Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir by Steven Tyler (Ecco) is on the cover of the May 2 issue of People. On May 4, Tyler will be on Good Morning America.

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant (Knopf) is a memoir by the dapper film star’s only child, from his brief marriage to Dyan Cannon. Kirkus is not a fan: “It sounds like a lovely life, but it makes for an irritating reading experience.” On May 1, Parade will run an excerpt and the author will appear on CBS Sunday Morning.

From This Moment On by Shania Twain (Atria) is the mega-selling country singer’s memoir of her hardscrabble Canadian childhood. She will be on Oprah on May 3 and the Today Show on May 4;  plus a show called “Why Not? With Shania Twain” will debut on OWN May 1.

More Nonfiction

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma (Grand Central) wowed the crowd at MidWinter ALA and at the AAP Author Buzz panel. Indies like it, too. It’s on the May Indie Next list and is one of the indies’ most-ordered titles for summer.

A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother by Janny Scott (Riverhead Books) is written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter.

Children’s

The Kane Chronicles: Book Two: Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

(Hyperion Books)

The librarian buzz on GalleyChat has made us a believer that S.J. Watson’s debut psychological thriller Before I Go To Sleep (Harper, 6/14) will be a hit.

As a result of the buzz, advance readers editions are now scarce, but the HarperCollins library marketing team has rounded up 25 copies for EarlyWord readers. Enter your name for a chance to win( Deadline: Wednesday, May 3, 11:59 p.m., Eastern; only open to librarians in the U.S.)

Watson, who lives in the UK, will make one of his few US appearances at the ALTAF Mystery and Horror program on Sunday, June 26, 10:30 to noon during ALA.

Before I Go to Sleep is also available as an ebook from NetGalley (one big advantage of eGalleys; everyone on your RA team can read the title at once — no passing around scarce print copies).

While you’re on NetGalley, Kayleigh George at HC Library Marketing suggests you also consider the following titles (quotes are from the publisher’s descriptions):

Long Gone, Alafair Burke, 9780061999185, July 1; Burke’s first stand-alone, “a dark and twisting psychological thriller with the intensity and depth of Harlan Coben’s Tell No One and Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know.”

Domestic Violets, Matthew Norman, 9780062065117, Sept 1; “In the tradition of Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta … a darkly comic family drama about love, loss, and ambition.” Pbk Original.”

Miss Timmins School for Girls, Nayana Currimbhoy, 9780061997747, June 21; “a  debut novel set in India during the monsoon of 1974…the story of a conventional young girl who leaves her cloistered small town home to teach at a remote boarding school run by British Missionaries.” Pbk Original

The Woodcutter, Reginald Hill, 9780062060747, Aug 1; by the author of the Dalziel & Pascoe series, “a stand-alone psychological thriller that combines the macabre suspense of Thomas Harris and the brilliant narrative of P.D. James, in a story about a mysterious ex-con looking for vengeance in his hometown.”

Waiting for Robert Capa, Susan Fortes, 9780062000385, July 7; an “English Patient-style novel about the real-life romance between the photojournalists Robert Capa and Gerda Taro during the Spanish Civil War.” Pbk Original

The week leading in to the Easter holiday weekend is dominated by repeat authors, including a new David Baldacci.

GalleyChat RA Pick

The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips (Random House) is the author’s fifth novel. About a long-lost Shakespeare play, PW gives it a starred review, and calls it “a sublime faux memoir framed as the introduction to the play’s first printing—a Modern Library edition, of course.” It got mentions in our recent GalleyChat: one participant called it “quirky and rompish” and likened it to Michael Crummey’s Galore. Entertainment Weekly gives it an A- in the new issue, “Phillips invests the metafictional gamesmanship with bracing intelligence and genuine heart. The fun starts with the opening line — ‘I have never much liked Shakespeare’ — and the energy never flags as the book develops into both a literary mystery and a surprisingly effective critique of the Bard.”

Usual Suspects

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci (Grand Central) is a new mystery with former Secret Service agents and current private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell.

Eve by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s Press) features forensic sculptor Eve Duncan in her 11th investigation, and the first installment in a new trilogy, in which she works to solve a case that has haunted her for years; the abduction and murder of her own seven-year-old daughter Bonnie. Fans will not have long to wait for the other books in the trilogy; Quinn is coming this July, followed by Bonnie in October.

The Priest’s Graveyard by Ted Dekker (Center Street) is the story of a vigilante priest and a woman dedicated to avenging the man she loved. Booklist says it’s “skillfully written, surprising, and impossible to put down. It might, in fact, be his best novel to date.” It arrives complete with its own book trailer.

Quicksilver: Book Two of the Looking Glass Trilogy by Amanda Quick (Putnam) is a paranormal romance, the latest in her Arcane Society series.

The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice (Pamela Dorman Books) is a portrait of three sisters who come home to Martha’s Vineyard one last time and has a 100,000-copy print run. Rice was a featured author at the ALA MidWinter Author Tea.

Nonfiction

Reading My Father: A Memoir by Alexandra Styron (Scribner) is William Styron’s youngest daughter’s exploration of his talent, and whether it justified his alcohol abuse and the debilitating depression that cast a long shadow over his wife and four children. Entertainment Weekly gives it an A-.

Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen (Portfolio) gives an insider’s account of the dawning of the digital age. “Allen offers a clearheaded diagnosis of Microsoft’s problems, including its complicated future,” says BusinessWeek, adding that “Allen can be a scatterbrain. That quality slips into his writing.” An excerpt in Vanity Fair, made advance headlines because of Allen’s pointed criticism of former partner, Bill Gates. Allen will appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Young Adult

Twelfth Grade Kills #5: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer (Penguin) is the final installment in this series about a teenage vampire who has spent the last four years trying to handle the pressures of school while sidestepping a slayer out for his blood.

Universal has acquired the rights to Daniel Silva’s series of best selling thrillers featuring spy/art restorer Gabriel Allon. The producers anticipate that this will be a franchise, but they haven’t decided which book will be filmed first. (Deadline, 4/1/11)

Silva’s tenth book in the Allon series, Portrait of a Spy, (Harper) is coming in July.

In reviewing Charles Cumming’s Trinity of Spies in the NYT BR, Jacob Heilbrunn delineates the many novels that have drawn their inspiration from  the real-life British Cold War spy scandal and ends with the unexciting assessment that this book is “…a notable addition to the accounts of the Cambridge spies.”

Patrick Anderson in the Washington Post offered more fulsome praise,

Cumming writes smart, seductive prose, and he’s gifted at revealing the subtleties of personality. Scene after scene crackles with excitement, tension and suspense. The novel’s ingenious plot is almost as complicated as real life, but as one astonishing revelation follows another, the book is all but impossible to put aside.

He compares the author to other spy masters,

With this novel, Cumming joins Alan Furst, David Ignatius and Olen Steinhauer among the most skillful current spy novelists, and he bears comparison with masters such as John le Carre and Graham Greene.

People magazine also rated the book highly, giving it four of four stars; “a smashing Cold War thriller for the 21st century.”

The Trinity Six Charles Cumming Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2011-03-15) ISBN / EAN: 0312675291 / 9780312675295

USA Today says British writer Scott Mariani’s DaVinci-Code-style US debut, The Mozart Conspiracy releasing tomorrow from Touchstone with a 125,000 first printing, hits thrilling, suspenseful notes.

The book is actually the second in the author’s Ben Hope books. The sixth in the series, The Lost Relic, was released there in January and became a best seller.

….
Large type from Thorndike, June, 9781410438003; $30.99
Audio; Recorded Books

Below is our weekly roundup of titles to watch next week, by authors you may not have heard about yet, but are poised for success, as well as our list of “usual suspects.” The week brings a large number of new books from big-name authors, including Harlan Coben and Alexander McCall Smith.

Titles to Watch

Spiral by Paul McEuen (Dial) is a techno-thriller that New York Times critic Janet Maslin compared favorably to Michael Crichton in his prime in a review that jumped the book’s pub date, as we mentioned earlier this week.  Today’s Wall Street Journal anoints the author a “publishing star,” although an “unlikely” one (McEuen is a Cornell physics professor) and points out that the book was a best seller in Germany, where it was published in translation last fall. Film rights have also been sold.

The Mozart Conspiracy by Scott Mariani (Touchstone) is this British author’s U.S. debut, though it’s actually the second installment in his thriller series featuring ex-SAS warrior Ben Hope. PW calls it “a fast, exciting read in The Da Vinci Code tradition,” though Kirkus adds “apart from the rumor that he was poisoned, though, don’t expect to learn much about Mozart.” It has a 125,000-copy first printing. Orders are in line with modest holds at libraries we checked.

The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton (Ballantine) is the story of four friends who met in law school in the early 1980s and have maintained their ties through decade of marriage, children, divorce, and various career twists, until they must confront a buried secret. Library Journal is on the fence, comparing it unfavorably to the author’s 2008 bestseller The Wednesday Sisters: “Instead of true characterization, Clayton resorts to literary quotes, legalese, and Latin verbiage to give her characters unique voices. Still, fans of Elizabeth Noble, Ann Hood, Elin Hilderbrand, and other luminaries of female friendship fiction will find much to captivate them.” Libraries we checked have modest orders in line with modest reserves to date.

(more…)

New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin today jumps the pub date of a techno-thriller coming next week, Paul McEuen’s debut, Spiral. Although she doesn’t seem to like the book personally, she clearly expects it to be a big seller.

She says Spiral, “…sounds like something written by Michael Crichton in his prime. It’s actually better than a lot of what Mr. Crichton wrote once his prime was over.”

(more…)

Serial killer Gretchen Lowell scared the pants off readers in Chelsea Cain’s first three thrillers (Heartsick, Sweetheart and Evil at Heart). What actress wouldn’t want to play her?

January Jones, who plays a different kind of scary on the TV series Mad Men, has optioned the books, with plans to play Gretchen…

(more…)

The writer Trevanian spoofed the spy genre in the 1970’s with a series of four novels; The Eiger Sanction, The Loo Sanction, The Main and Shibumi.

Nicholai Hel, a handsome and charming assassin who is fascinated with Eastern culture, is the main character in the cult classic Shibumi. He reappears today in a prequel, Satori by Don Winslow (Savages). The Wall Street Journal interviews Savage about reimagining this classic.

Satori Don Winslow Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 512 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing – (2011-03-07) ISBN / EAN: 0446561924 / 9780446561921

The earlier book was re-released in 2005.

Shibumi: A Novel Trevanian Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 480 pages Publisher: Broadway – (2005-05-10) ISBN / EAN: 1400098033 / 9781400098033