New and noteworthy
USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.
1 A Great Reckoning
by Louise Penny ( Minotaur, fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S
In the ABOUT: new Chief Inspector Gamache mystery, our hero tries to root out corruption at a Quebec police academy in the midst of a murder.
Penny’s crime series THE BUZZ: has been steadily building an audience; the last two books, The Long Way Home and The Nature of the Beast, made it to No. 5 on USA TODAY’s Best- Selling Books list.
2 Tales of the Peculiar
by Ransom Riggs ( Dutton, fiction, on sale Saturday) An WHAT IT’S ABOUT: illustrated collection of fairy tales set in the world of Riggs’s best- selling Miss Peregrine youngadult fantasy series. The book THE BUZZ: arrives on “Loop Day” ( fans will know what that means!) and ahead of Tim Burton’s film adaptation Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children ( out Sept. 30).
3 Dog Man
by Dav Pilkey ( Scholastic, fiction, ages 7 and up, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Giggly graphic novel for kids ( and the start of a new series) unleashes a crimefighting canine superhero. THE BUZZ: Dog Man is a spinoff from Pilkey’s hugely successful Captain Underpants series.
4 The Kingdom of Speech
by Tom Wolfe ( Little, Brown, non- fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S In his ABOUT: first non- fiction book in 16 years, Wolfe argues that speech, not evolution, is responsible for mankind’s achievements.
“Clever, funny, THE BUZZ: serious, satirical, and instructive,” says Publishers Weekly.
5 Elizabeth and Michael
by Donald Bogle ( Atria, nonfiction, on sale Tuesday) Puts a WHAT IT’S ABOUT: spotlight on the close friendship between two megastars, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor. THE BUZZ: “Consistently absorbing,” says Kirkus Reviews.