Big Names in September

I am starting with a nonfiction title this month because Steve Harvey has been so tremendously popular with Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man that his new one Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success may get the same reaction. This title is coming on September 8th and tries to help readers identify their particular talents and use them well.

Margaret Atwood is coming out with her first collection of short stories since 2006. This one, Stone Mattress: Nine Tales arrives on September 16. Atwood has been very popular with The Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace among many others and is sure to be popular with those who read literary fiction.

Ken Follett wraps up his "Century" trilogy with Edge of Eternity on September 16. It follows the five entwined families (American, German, Russian, English and Welsh) up through the end of the century. His eye for historical detail is amazing and the plots are always fast moving. Those who have read the first two are sure to want this one.

Walter Mosley gives us another Easy Rawlins mystery with Rose Gold which arrives on September 23. Think Patty Hearst era when a black ex-boxer heads a revolutionary cell, Scorched Earth, that kidnaps the daughter of an arms manufacturer. The FBI asks Easy to get involved.

James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge have another Michael Bennett thriller coming on September 29. Burn has Bennett coming back to New York City to take over the Outreach Squad in Harlem. A call reports well dressed men attending a party in a condemned building and then a charred body is found inside. Fast paced as usual.

Blood on the Water by Anne Perry continues her William Monk series. For those who like British historical mysteries, Perry is a must read. Monk views the explosion of a pleasure boat carrying over 200 people who die. Monk should have handled the investigation but it was turned over to the commissioner of the Metro Police who quickly caught and tried an Egyptian man who is sentenced to die. Monk presents evidence that he was not the one who committed the crime. The investigation is then turned over to Monk but is in horrible disarray. Perry has made the bestseller list with her last 3 Monk titles. Will this one make it too?

We have not heard from Jan Karon for a while and on September 2, she gives us Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good: The New Mitford Novel. Father Tim returns to Mitford after his retirement and vacation in Ireland. He brings and attracts those who are struggling with issues. There hasn't been a Mitford novel since 2005. Let's see how this goes.

Jonathan Kellerman joins his son, Jesse Kellerman to give us The Golem of Hollywood on September 16.
This is still a fast paced thriller but it adds in some mystical incidents dealing with The Golem of Prague (created by a 16th century rabbi to avenge the Jews). Detective Jacob Lev is the new protagonist and he is assigned to a murder in the Hollywood Hills that has left behind only the severed head. He ties this into a serial killer who practices his killing across the country.

Hilary Mantel has won award after award for her Thomas Cromwell series (Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies). On September 30, she gives us some short stories in The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and Other Stories. While waiting for her completion of the series, you might want to give these a try.

Lee Child has another Jack Reacher novel coming on September 2. Personal has the army tracking Reacher down again because someone is taking shots at the French President. There is only one person who could be doing it and Reacher is the only one who can stop him. Reacher fans rejoice.

Clive Cussler also has The Eye of Heaven coming on September 2. Sam and Remi Fargo uncover a Viking ship preserved in ice and carrying pre-Colombian artifacts from Mexico. As they try to figure out how this could be, they find themselves being chased through the jungles of Central America by all sorts of people up to no good.

Catherine Coulter has another 'Brit in the FBI' titles written with J.T. Ellison coming out on September 30. The Lost Key has FBI Agent Nicolas Drummond and partner Mike Caine investigating a Wall Street stabbing death.

Finally, and perhaps this isn't the biggest name but an interesting idea that puts her on this list, Sophie Hannah. Hannah was approached by Agatha Christie's estate about writing a new Christie mystery. The Monogram Murders arrives on September 9. Hannah has chosen to write a Hercule Poirot novel. A puzzle mystery indeed which starts when a young women interrupts Poirot's supper to tell him she is going to be killed. Sounds interesting to me and I have put it on my list.