Holiday books: 56 fabulous works of fiction and poetry

(Titan Books)

The legendary Laker turns his talents to fiction with this novel about Sherlock Holmes’ older (and, by Sherlock’s own admission, smarter) brother.

(Minotaur Books)

Los Angeles private eye Juniper Song is hired to tail an Armenian American surrogate mother who’s frantically looking for her best friend, a missing activist.

Make Me
A Jack Reacher Novel
Lee Child

(Delacorte)

The 20th book in Child’s Jack Reacher series finds the gruff investigator in a small town where he meets a detective whose partner has gone missing.

(Little, Brown and Company)

Connelly crosses the streams of two mystery series when ex-LAPD detective Harry Bosch decides to help out his half-brother, the Lincoln Lawyer.

(Harper Collins)

Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta investigates the mysterious death of a film producer’s daughter and a psychopath who might be trying to frame her niece.

(Mulholland Books)

The third novel featuring detective Cormoran Strike finds the P.I. on the trail of a man who sent a woman’s severed leg to his assistant.

“Playing with Fire” by Tess Gerritsen

(Penguin Random House)

An American violinist comes upon a compelling piece of sheet music in Rome, but playing it delivers terrifying results and a troubled past.

“The Golem of Paris” by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman.

(Penguin Random House)

An LAPD detective whose family is falling apart pursues an unsolved murder, and his investigation takes him to France.

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” by David Lagercrantz.

(Knopf)

Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, returns in the hands of a new author. This time, she helps a journalist track down a young hacker.

“Splinter the Silence” by Val McDermid

(Grove Atlantic)

An ex-cop and a psychologist are on the case when several women apparently kill themselves after falling victim to a cruel cyberbully.

“Those We Left Behind” by Stuart Neville

(Soho Press)

A Northern Irish teenager convicted of murdering his foster father is released from prison, and the late man’s son wants to exact revenge.

“Wake of Vultures” by Lila Bowen

(Hatchette Book Group)

In a fantastical version of the Old West, a biracial heroine is pursued by monsters after killing a dangerous stranger; the first in a planned series.

“Our Lady of the Ice” by Cassandra Rose Clark

(Saga Press)

Eliana Gomez, a private eye working in an Antarctic city populated by both humans and robots, is hired to protect a wealthy woman’s secret.

Son of the Black Sword
Larry Correia

(Baen)

This India-influenced fantasy series opener takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where demons rule the seas and human tyrants rule the land.

Ghost Summer
Stories
Tananarive Due

(Prime Books)

So Cal author Due’s first short-story collection, which includes an award-winning novella, spans science fiction, fantasy and horror.

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

(Scribner)

The master of horror’s 11th short story collection focuses heavily on end-of-life issues and includes King’s commentary about the tales.

“The Eternaut” by Francisco Solano Lopez & Héctor Germán Oesterheld

(Fantagraphics Books)

The legendary Argentine comic, continued by Lopez after creator Oesterheld was "disappeared," is a science fiction allegory being published for the first time in English.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
George R. R. Martin

(Bantam)

No, it’s not the eagerly awaited sixth book in Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, but it is a genuine George R.R. Martin prequel to “Game of Thrones.”

“Slade House” by David Mitchell

(Penguin Random House)

The “Cloud Atlas” author’s latest, which began as a Twitter project, is a short fantasy novel about a darkly mysterious house in England.

‘Radiance’ by Catherynne Valente

(Tor Books)

Set in an interstellar alternate-universe Hollywood, this novel pieces together the story of a second-generation filmmaker who mysteriously disappears on Venus.

“Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits” by David Wong

(St. Martin’s Press)

A science fiction thriller/satire by the author of “John Dies at the End,” Wong’s latest follows a young woman on the run in a cartoonish, frenetic near-future.

“The Selected Poems of Donald Hall”

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The former U.S. Poet Laureate, now 87, is known for his unpretentious poems about nature; he selected his favorite work for this collection.

Bright Dead Things

Poems

Ada Limon

(Milkweed Editions)

A finalist for this year’s National Book Award, this fourth collection from Sonoma native Limón tackles themes of identity, self, death and love.

(The Penguin Press)

Pulitzer Prize winner Oliver is best known for her verse about the natural world; her new collection focuses on the wonders of love.

“Bright Scythe” by Tomas Tranströmer

(Sarabande)

This collection by the Swedish Nobel Prize-winning poet, who died this year, is newly translated; the English versions are accompanied by the Swedish originals.

Saul Williams

(Simon and Schuster)

Saul Williams, a poet known for his careers in hip-hop and acting (“Slam”), returns to print with his first collection in nine years.