Books: New and noteworthy

USA TODAY's Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. Chase Your Shadow: The Trials of Oscar Pistorius by John Carlin (Harper, non-fiction, on sale now)

What it's about: Journalist's first-hand account of the athlete's trial for murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp (Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide).

The buzz: Carlin also wrote Playing the Enemy, the basis for the film Invictus, which starred Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.

2. The Lost (Witch and Wizard Series) by James Patterson and Emily Raymond (Little, Brown, fiction, on sale Dec. 15)

What it's about: Book five in the middle-grade series finds Whit and Wisty Allgood fighting a crime wave in their city.

The buzz: The first four Witch and Wizard books have all made USA TODAY's Top 50.

3. Woman With a Gun by Phillip Margolin (Harper, fiction, on sale now)

What it's about: Did a woman in a famous photo (her accessories were a gun and a bridal gown) kill her rich husband on her wedding night?

The buzz: "Margolin … deliver(s) one of his cleverest cases," says Kirkus Reviews.

4. Ted and I by Gerald Hughes (Thomas Dunne Books, non-fiction, on sale now)

What it's about: A memoir by the older brother of English poet Ted Hughes, perhaps best known for his troubled marriage to fellow poet Sylvia Plath.

The buzz: "Gerald's fond recollections may give critics and fans new insight," says Publishers Weekly.

5. The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson (St. Martin's Press, fiction, on sale now)

What it's about: A poor young Englishwoman in 1910 Paris is drawn into the city's darker side by a dangerous brother and sister.

The buzz: "A charming, fast-paced thriller," says People magazine.