Books: New and Noteworthy

• Can 'The Twelve' equal Justin Cronin's big hit 'The Passage'?
• Patricia Cornwell is back with her 20th Scarpetta mystery.
• The Rolling Stones mark their 50th anniversary with a book

We scope out the hottest books on sale the week of Oct. 14.

1. The Twelve by Justin Cronin (Ballantine, fiction, on sale Oct. 16)

What it's about: Cronin revisits his post-apocalyptic fictional world and follows survivors hunting the 12 original "virals" who destroyed life as we know it.

The buzz:The Passage reached No. 5 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, and spent 17 weeks on the list. Can book two in the trilogy sate the expectations of fans?

2. The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam, fiction, on sale Oct. 16)

What it's about: Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta investigates the disappearance of a woman on a dinosaur dig.

The buzz: This is Cornwell's 20th Scarpetta mystery. Doubt she imagined she'd have 12 No. 1 USA TODAY best sellers when she penned the first one, Postmortem, in 1990.

3. The Rolling Stones 50 by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood (Hyperion, non-fiction, on sale Oct. 16)

What it's about: The band – can it really be 50 years since they first appeared on stage? – celebrates a big anniversary with this official volume stuffed with remembrances and illustrations.

The buzz: Likely to be on every Stones' fan's Christmas list – if they can wait that long.

4. We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy by Yael Kohen (Sarah Crichton Books, non-fiction, on sale Oct. 16)

What it's about: Follows the evolution of women in comedy, from Joan Rivers to Amy Poehler.

The buzz: Are women funny? Just ask comedian-authors Tina Fey and now Lena Dunham, both of whom scored big book deals and laughed all the way to the bank.

5. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn (Harper, fiction, on sale Oct. 16)

What it's about: After Queen Elizabeth, wearing a hoodie, decides she needs to escape Buckingham Palace, her royal attendants set out on a search party.

The buzz: "An imaginative glimpse into the queen of England's psyche as she rebels against her routine," says Kirkus Reviews.