Indie booksellers will get their first glimpses of winter and spring galleys at the upcoming regional trade shows. But other retailers and the media don't have to wait for the publishers to call. Read on for an early consensus on the 16 most tantalizing adult books, selected by five booksellers from a list of more than 70 galleys available this fall. Click here for the complete list.Debut FictionBeat the Reaperby Josh Bazell (Little, Brown, Jan. 7, 2009)Pitch: In this debut thriller, a doctor with a past, a secret and a gun has 24 hours to save himself and beat the reaper.Buzz: “From the first page, this book just grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go. Everybody I've talked to about it feels the same way,” said Gerry Donaghy. “It's like Elmore Leonard with the strangely moral nihilism of Chuck Palahniuk.”Galley: Available at SIBA and NCIBA; e-mail karen.torres@hbgusa.com. Author appearance at the SIBA dinner.The Piano Teacherby Janice Lee (Viking, Jan. 26, 2009)Pitch: Set in Hong Kong during WWII and its aftermath, this debut follows the intertwined lives of a provincial English piano teacher and a wealthy Eurasian society belle.Buzz: Characters and setting sound intriguing, Campbell and Hensley agreed.Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail carolyn.coleburn@us.penguingroup.comDog on Itby Spencer Quinn (Atria, Feb. 10, 2009)Pitch: This new suspense series features a lovable and wise dog narrator.Buzz: “Loved it!” said Hensley. “Chet, the dog, is excellent—wise beyond his dog years.”Galley: Available at all shows; wendy.sheanin@simonandschuster.comThe Millionaires: A Novel of the New Southby Inman Majors (Norton, Jan. 19, 2009)Pitch: A brilliant novel of new money and old manners that crosses The Great Gatsby with the spirit of Tom Wolfe, by the author of Wonderdog.Buzz: “Wonderdog was great—especially the vicious dachshunds. This sounds like Majors is taking on bigger subjects, and his writing will sustain it,” said Hensley.Galley: Available at all regional shows; e-mail grademacher@wwnorton.com. Author signing at SEIBA on September 26.Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasiby Geoff Dyer (Pantheon, April 14, 2009)Pitch: Set at the Venice Biennale and on the banks of the Ganges, Dyer's fourth novel delivers a dead-on evocation of romantic longing and the possibility of neurotic enlightenment.Buzz: “Dyer is always out there thoughtfully trying something new,” said Campbell. “He's a talented writer, and this sounds fascinating.”Galley: Available at PNBA; e-mail lhelman@randomhouse.comThe Weight of Heavenby Thrity Umrigar (HarperCollins, March 3, 2009)Pitch: Umrigar's fourth novel is an emotionally charged story about unexpected death, unhealed wounds and the price one father will pay to protect himself from pain and loss.Buzz: “My staff and I loved Umrigar's The Space Between Us , and I look forward to another special book,” said Rubin.Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail elizabeth.harper@harpercollins.comLark and Termiteby Jayne Anne Phillips (Knopf, Jan. 6, 2009)Pitch: Phillips returns after nine years with the story of a West Virginia family in the '50s, grappling with war, ghosts, secrets, love and dreamsBuzz: “I haven't seen this yet, but have always loved her books—it's been too long,” said Hensley.Galley: Available at GLBA, MBA, MPBA, NAIBA, PNBA, NEIBA, SEIBA; e-mail lhelman@randomhouse.comBig Books

The Women
by T.C. Boyle (Viking, Feb. 9, 2009)
Pitch: National Book Award finalist Boyle portrays architect Frank Lloyd Wright's struggle against the bounds of aesthetic, social and moral convention, through the eyes of four very different women who loved him.
Buzz: Boyle and Wright are a felicitous combination, said four of our five booksellers, and the book is likely to be helped by the recent success of Nancy Horan's novel Loving Frank .
Galley: Available at SCIBA; e-mail carolyn.coleburn@us.penguingroup.com

Revolutionary Road
by Richard Yates (Vintage, Nov. 25)
Pitch: Hailed as a masterpiece of realistic fiction on its publication in 1961, this is the story of a talented suburban couple living on the assumption that greatness is just around the corner.
Buzz: “If we learned anything last holiday season, it was that literary movie tie-ins enjoy very strong sales,” said Langer, echoing three other booksellers. “Considering its 1961 pub date, this will attract a totally new audience, not only for the movie but for the novel.”
Galley: Available at NEIBA and NCIBA; e-mail aschnitzer@randomhouse.com

The Hour I First Believed
by Wally Lamb (HarperCollins, Nov. 11)
Pitch: After 10 years, the author of two #1 bestselling novels returns with the story of a couple that relocates from Colorado to Connecticut after the wife survives the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School.
Buzz: “Columbine could be a tough subject, but Lamb's connections with his characters make it work,” said Hensley, concurring with Langer, who had also just finished reading the novel.
Contact: Available at all shows; e-mail elizabeth.harper@harpercollins.com

A Most Wanted Man
by John le Carré (Scribner, Oct. 7)
Pitch: A compelling and relevant novel set in contemporary Hamburg that plays up le Carré's facility for portraying Germany, rival intelligence operations and protagonists who discover their moral integrity.
Buzz: Any galley by le Carré is to be treasured—not only for its story but as a collector's item, said Roberta Rubin.
Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail wendy.sheanin@simonandschuster.com
Narrative Nonfiction

Champlain's Dream
by David Hackett Fischer (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 14)
Pitch: The first biography of explorer Samuel de Champlain in many years, written by a Pulitzer Prize—winning historian and published on the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec.
Buzz: “Fischer has a great track record; this should be one of the big histories that work well during the holidays,” said Langer, concurring with Rubin and Campbell.
Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail wendy.sheanin@simonandschuster.com

Don't Stop Believin'
by Brian Raftery (Da Capo Press, Dec. 8)
Pitch: A social, cultural and personal history of the worldwide karaoke phenomenon in paperback original format.
Buzz: “It would be unwise to underestimate the fanaticism of karaoke devotees,” Donaghy said and Hensley agreed. “If the book treats the subject with the right balance of reverance and cheek, it could be an entertaining read,” added Donaghy
Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail avjulia.hall@perseusbooks.com

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
by David Grann (Doubleday, Feb. 2009)
Pitch:New Yorker writer Grann retraces the 1925 journey of British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett, who never returned from his search for a large, complex civilization in the jungle.
Buzz: “This has the makings of a great story, and it is told by a great writer,” said Campbell. “Could be the big nonfiction guy's adventure title of the season.”
Galley: Available at GLBA, MBA, MPIBA, NAIBA, NCIBA, NEIBA, PNBA and SIBA; e-mail tdoughty@randomhouse.com

Don't Mind if I Do
by George Hamilton (Touchstone, Oct. 14)
Pitch: The self-deprecating sophisticate tells his Hollywood story, from the end of the studio era to surviving Dancing with the Stars.
Buzz: “George Hamilton is one celebrity who understands his camp appeal. As long as he keeps his tongue buried in his cheek, this could be a fun read,” said Donaghy.
Galley: Available at all shows; e-mail wendy.sheanin@simonandschuster.com

With thanks to the following booksellers:
Tom Campbell, co-owner, Regulator Bookshop, Durham, N.C.

Gerry Donaghy, backlist czar, Powell's Books, Portland, Ore.

Sessalee Hensley, fiction buyer at Barnes & Noble

Cathy Langer, lead buyer, Tattered Cover, Denver, Colo.

Roberta Rubin, owner, The Book Stall, Winnetka, Il.