As the year turns—happy 2012!—a powerful front of popular fiction is moving in on us. Look for an escapist downpour over the next two weeks, with releases from Tami Hoag, Eloisa James, Dean Koontz, Robin Cook, James Patterson, William Gibson, Donna Kauffman, Sara Paretsky, John Lescroat, James Grippando, Janet Evanovich, and Tod Rob Smith, as well as the latest from bestselling Young Adult mischief-maker Daniel Handler (and that's just the picks!). Plus: advice for the money-illiterate and the unself-conscious, and two promising authors debut for the younger set.
December 27
Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag (Dutton, $26.95; ISBN 978-0-525-95239-8)
The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James (Avon, $7.99; ISBN 978-0-06-202128-1).
The Innocent by Taylor Stevens (Crown, $24; ISBN 978-0-307-71712-2).
A Vine in the Blood by Leighton Gage (Soho Crime, $24; ISBN 978-1-61695-004-0).
77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz (Random, $28; ISBN 978-0553807714). Review forthcoming.
Death Benefit by Robin Cook (Putnam, $26.95; ISBN 978-0-399-15746-2)
January 1
Sugar Rush by Donna Kauffman (Kensington/Brava, $14; ISBN 978-0-7582-6634-7).
January 2
Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown, $27.99; ISBN 978-0-316-09740-6).
January 3
The Hunter by John Lescroart (Dutton, $26.95; ISBN 978-0-525-95256-5).
Breakdown by Sara Paretsky (Putnam, $26.95; ISBN 978-0-399-15783-7).
Liberation Square by Ashraf Khalil (St. Martin's Press, $25.99; ISBN 978-1-250-00669-1).
The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money by Carl Richards (Penguin/Portfolio, $24.95; ISBN 978-1-59184-464-8)
Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That: A Modern Guide to Manners by Henry Alford (Hachette/Twelve, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-446-55766-5).
Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly (St. Martin's $27.99; ISBN 978-0312651312).
The Confession by Charles Todd (Morrow, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-06-201566-2).
Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson (Penguin, $26.95; ISBN 978-0399158438). Review forthcoming.
Need You Now by James Grippando (Harper, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-184030-2).
The Retribution by Val McDermid (Atlantic Monthly, $25; ISBN 978-0-8021-2017-5).
Iago by David Snodin (Holt, $30; ISBN 978-0-8030-9370-4).
January 5
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-446-55076-5).
Children’s & YA
December 27
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, illus. by Maira Kalman (Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-12725-7).
January 1
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure by Shana Corey, illus. by Hadley Hooper (Scholastic, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-545-34278-0).
January 3
Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel and Friends, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-312-64189-4).
