"4th of July" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company; May 2; $27.95)
Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club attempt to solve a fourth case - this time to save one of their own. Boxer is put on trial after firing her weapon during a late-night showdown, but she's also trying to solve a series of murders in a picturesque town.
"Appaloosa" by Robert B. Parker (Putnam Adult; June 7; $24.95)
Parker takes his readers to the untamed territories of the West during the 1800s.
Appaloosa is a small, dusty town that suffers at the hands of a renegade rancher who has little regard for the law.
Two journeymen lawmen who are used to cleaning up after such men arrive in town, but this time they find an unusually wily opponent who raises the stakes by playing with emotions.
"Rococo: A Novel" by Adriana Trigiani (Random House; June 21; $24.95)
"Rococo" is a comic tale of a small Italian American town poised for an unexpected makeover when the acclaimed interior decorator of Our Lady of Fatima, N.J., assumes he is the only man to renovate the local church.
Trigiani's best-sellers include the Big Stone Gap trilogy, "Lucia, Lucia" and "The Queen of the Big Time."
"Miracle" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press; June 28; $20)
The storm of the century hits northern California, bringing together three strangers. The storm's wake knocks down the barrier a widower had built around himself since his wife's death, sparks friendship for a woman when she most needs it and brings a wonderful opportunity for the carpenter who repairs homes of the other two.
"Lifeguard" by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown and Company; July 11; $26.95)
The latest thriller from best-selling author Patterson is about a lifeguard for whom everything is going right until everything goes wrong.
Ned Kelley had a beautiful woman and a million dollars almost in his grasp; his share of a robbery score, when the woman is killed, his co-conspirators are massacred and he becomes the prime suspect.
"Origin in Death" by J.D. Robb (Putnam Adult; July 12; $24.95)
The latest in the In Death series finds Detective Eve Dallas tracking the cold-blooded killer of a father and son in 2059 in New York City.
Robb is the name Washington County author Nora Roberts uses to write her futuristic romantic suspense novels.
"Straight Into Darkness" by Faye Kellerman (Warner Books; Aug. 22; $25.95)
A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus novel about a city stalked by a killer so ruthless no one is safe - not even the police.
Nonfiction
"1776" by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster; May 24; $32)
"1776" tells the story of the fight for independence against the British empire. McCullough does so in 400 pages as compared to the 1,120 pages of his best-selling "Truman."
The book is based on extensive research in American and British archives, allowing McCullough to tell the story through various personalities on both sides of the war.
"Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas" by Michka Assayas (Riverhead; April 21; $23.95)
A series of conversations about music, Bono's band, U2, family, politics, faith, commitment, service and passion with singer and activist Bono.
Assayas is a music journalist and friend of Bono's.
"Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow; May 1; $25.95)
This book by University of Chicago economist Levitt has been on The New York Times best-seller list for at least four weeks.
Levitt studies everyday issues such as crime and child-rearing and comes up with some head-turning conclusions.
"Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America" by Morgan Spurlock (Putnam Adult; May 19; $21.95)
Spurlock, star of "Super Size Me" and the upcoming FX series "30 Days," delves further into the experience he shared in his Oscar-nominated documentary.
