Books: New and Noteworthy

• The publisher moved up the on-sale date of Oprah Book Club pick 'Hattie'
• Preston & Child are back with a new "Helen" thriller.
• J.R.R. Tolkien's grandson, Simon, has written a spy thriller set during the London Blitz

We scope out the hottest books on sale the week of Dec. 9.

1. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis (Knopf, fiction, on sale now)

What it's about: Debut novel about the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North, as told through the eyes of young Hattie Shepherd and her children.

The buzz: Knopf moved up the planned publication of Hattie from Jan. 18 to Dec. 5 after Oprah chose it for her Book Club 2.0, raving: "I can't remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison."

2. Two Graves by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central, fiction, on sale Dec. 11)

What it's about: In this conclusion to the pair's "Helen Trilogy," Agent Pendergast pursues his wife Helen's kidnappers to Mexico – then later investigates a string of bizarre murders in Manhattan hotels.

The buzz: "Helen" is hot: Book One in the trilogy, Fever Dream, reached No. 10 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, while its sequel, Cold Vengeance, climbed to No. 8.

3. Orders From Berlin by Simon Tolkien (Minotaur, fiction, on sale Dec. 11)

What it's about: A thriller set against the backdrop of the London Blitz in 1940, as a double agent deep inside M16 plots the assassination of Winston Churchill.

The buzz: "Exciting…(Tolkien) has upped his game," says Publishers Weekly. Oh, and Tolkien is the grandson of J.R.R., much in the public eye these days with The Hobbit hitting theaters.

4. A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Parts by Sebastian Faulks (Henry Holt, fiction, on sale Dec. 11)

What it's about: The author of Birdsong and Charlotte Gray (made into a movie starring Cate Blanchett) returns to the subject of war in five linked stories.

The buzz: "Delicately crafted," says Kirkus Reviews. The novel is also an Indie Next pick, recommended by independent booksellers.

5. The Valley of the Shadowby Carola Dunn (Minotaur, fiction, on sale Dec. 11)

What it's about: In this "Cornish Mystery," Eleanor Trewynn discovers a half-drowned Indian man on the Cornwall coast, which leads to the sordid world of refugee smuggling.

The buzz: Independent booksellers are fans and have chosen Valley as a December Indie Next pick. "Dunn gives us a thoroughly enjoyable, cozy suspense novel — one with a social conscience," says Carol Schneck Varner of Schuler Books & Music in Okemos, MI.