New and noteworthy
USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.
1Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton ( Harper, fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: “Newly discovered” work by the late author of
Jurassic Park involves dinosaurs, only this time it’s the 1870s and the subject is the “Bone Wars” between two real- life paleontologists in the American West.
THE BUZZ: It’s an Indie Next pick of independent booksellers. “A rollicking good story,” says Susan Tunis of Bookshop West Portal in San Francisco. 2 In Their Lives: Great Writers on Great Beatles Songs Edited by Andrew Blauner ( Blue Rider Press; non- fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Essays by a chorus of voices ( 28 writers and musicians) on popular Fab Four songs. THE BUZZ: Contributors include Roz Chast on She Loves You, Jane Smiley on I Want to Hold Your Hand and David Duchovny on Dear Prudence; with “a note from Paul McCartney.” 3Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan ( Doubleday, fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Members of an Asian clan converge to stake their claim on grandma’s massive fortune. THE BUZZ: Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians is heading to the big screen starring Michelle Yeoh and Constance Wu. 4The Frozen Hours by Jeff Shaara ( Ballantine, fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The brutal 1950 Battle of the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War is the setting for this work of historical fiction. THE BUZZ: Shaara’s novels about the Civil War, World War I and World War II have been USA TODAY best sellers. 5 The Heirs by Susan Rieger ( Crown, fiction, on sale Tuesday) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: When their attorney father dies, his two grown sons discover that dad may have had a mistress and another family. THE BUZZ: “Incisive,” says Publishers Weekly in a starred review.