Log In


Reset Password
Books

Books: New and noteworthy

USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (Henry Holt, non-fiction, on sale Sept. 23)

What it’s about: Was controversial Gen. George S. Patton, who died in 1945 after a car crash in Germany, murdered?

The buzz: O’Reilly and Dugard’s “Killing” books (Kennedy, Lincoln) have been huge hits: Killing Jesus landed at No. 1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list last fall.

2. Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs (Bantam, fiction, on sale Sept. 23)

What it’s about: Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is called in on a cold case involving child murders when the killer resurfaces.

The buzz: The Fox series “Bones,” based on Reichs’ books, returns for a 10th season on Sept. 25.

3. Skink – No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf, fiction, on sale Sept. 23)

What it’s about: Teenager Richard enlists Skink, the one-eyed guy he just met on the beach, to help find his cousin, who’s run off with a guy she met online.

The buzz: The humorist’s debut young-adult novel stars Skink, a popular character who’s graced Hiaasen novels including Sick Puppy and Skinny Dip .

4. Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean by Jane Lynch, illustrated by Tricia Tusa (Random House Books for Young Readers, fiction, for ages 3-7, on sale Sept. 23)

What it’s about: Picture book, told in rhyme, about young Marlene’s efforts to reform her bullying ways.

The buzz: Who better than “Glee’s” Sue Sylvester to stand up to playground bullies?

5. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs (Scribner, non-fiction, on sale Sept. 23)

What it’s about: Hobbs, Peace’s roommate at Yale, tells the story of his promising friend who returned to Newark’s drug trade and was murdered at age 30.

The buzz: It’s an Indie Next pick of independent booksellers. “A beautiful eulogy to a friend,” says Shawn Donley of Powell’s Books in Portland.

© 2014 USA TODAY. All rights reserved.



Reader Comments