The Early Word: New Books for the Week of January 1

With most of the bookstore shelf-stuffing timed for the seasonal shopping crowd that has pretty much come and gone by now, January is usually slim pickin’s for new releases, the first week even more so. But for those bound and determined to exchange those bound, indeterminately-given gifts, there are a few notable titles available this week that may fit the bill, especially for fiction.

Fiction:

The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lilian Jackson Braun

Cats may have nine lives, but you may be forgiven if you think they have more, and more whiskers still, as Braun’s 29th entry of her popular The Cat Who… mystery series chronicles a returning James Qwilleran and his novelistic felines, Koko and Yum Yum.

The Hunters: A Presidential Agent Novel by W.E.B Griffin

The Hunters marks the author’s third installment in his timely series. International intrigue abounds as U.N. oil-for-food bureaucrats and armed, black-clad "Ninjas" figure. So go figure.

The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, But Could Have, and May Yet by Jill Conner Browne

Promises some big-ass chick-lit empowerment and ribaldry of the page-turner variety.

When Darkness Falls by James Grippando

A tense hostage crisis in Miami drives the action in Grippando's sixth thriller to feature criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck. This one centers on hostages, hush money, and the ever-present Miami vice. 

Non-Fiction:

The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Laura Schlessinger

For those whose New Year's resolutions included subjecting yourself to browbeating sanctimony…

Article Author: Gordon Hauptfleisch

Gordon Hauptfleisch is a Blogcritics Books Editor, freelance writer, and book reviewer for San Diego Union Tribune Books (R.I.P.). For many years he worked in and managed bookstores and record stores, and most recently was purchasing manager for San Diego Technical Books. …

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