5 new books you won't want to miss this week: Lee Child, Joanna Gaines, Liane Moriarty
USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.
1. “Past Tense” by Lee Child (Delacorte, fiction, on sale Nov. 5)
What it’s about: In the latest in a best-selling thriller series, Jack Reacher stumbles across the New Hampshire town where his father was born; in a parallel narrative, a Canadian couple whose car breaks down check into a strange motel.
The buzz: “Superb … Child’s spare prose continues to set a very high bar,” Publishers Weekly says in a starred review.
2. “Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave” by Joanna Gaines (Harper Design, nonfiction, on sale Nov. 6)
What it’s about: The HGTV star whose decorating taste was on display on “Fixer Upper” writes a coffee-table book showcasing her design style.
The buzz: Gaines’ “Magnolia Table” cookbook made its debut at No. 1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list in May.
3. “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriarty (Flatiron, fiction, on sale Nov. 6)
What it’s about: Frances Welty, a romance writer whose career and love life are on the downswing, hopes to “heal” at a remote wellness resort called Tranquillum House, where the nine guests soon wonder what they’ve signed on for.
The buzz: Nicole Kidman, who stars in the hit HBO adaptation of Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies,” has snapped up film and TV rights for “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
4. "Forever and a Day" by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, fiction, on sale Nov. 6)
What it’s about: Horowitz (“Magpie Murders”) continues the saga of James Bond in this prequel to Ian Fleming’s “Casino Royale,” an origin story that explains how the British secret agent became 007.
The buzz: This is Horowitz’s second Fleming estate-commissioned Bond novel; the first was 2015’s “Trigger Mortis.”
5. "Churchill: Walking With Destiny" by Andrew Roberts (Viking, nonfiction, on sale Nov. 6)
What it’s about: Biography of British statesman Winston Churchill draws on previously unavailable material, including the wartime diaries of her father made available by Queen Elizabeth II.
The buzz: “Fascinating … the most comprehensive single-volume biography of Churchill that we have in print,” Kirkus Reviews says in a starred review.