Hot Pick Fiction : Week of October 11

Mix and Match

Next week's hot picks include mysteries, thrillers, fantasies, literary fiction and the latest in what is likely to be a bumper crop of holiday stories. Mix and match!

Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Bradford delivers her 25th romantic suspense story just in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her first, now classic romance novel, A Woman of Substance.

Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn

Ace counterintelligence (and invincible) agent, Mitch Rapp, takes on al Qaeda in this 10th book in a stellar series.

The Humbling by Philip Roth

A once famous and aging actor confronts his waning confidence and reputation in this sorrowful novella reported to be similar to Everyman and Exit Ghost.

Golden Shrine by Harry Turtledove

Alternate history writer Turtledove sets this novel in a parallel Bronze Age; picking up where he left off in 2008's The Breath of God.

Home for Christmas by Andrew M. Greeley

Father Greeley offers his second Christmas tale, following 2004's Star Bright! Sure to be schmaltzy but that's what holiday stories are for.

Stained Glass by Ralph McInerny

Father Dowling is up against the possible closing of St. Hillary's, a murderer, and a powerful family of church patrons. The 28th in the Father Dowling mystery series.

The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell

British police detective, Inspector Wexford, confronts a man from his past, who he suspects is responsible for multiple murders. This is Rendell's 22nd mystery in the Wexford series; next after 2007's Not in the Flesh.

House of Reckoning by John Saul

A haunted house horror/suspense tale featuring unloved foster child, Sarah Crane, and classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient plagued by visions. Saul's a good horror fiction choice if you need a respite from the vampire genre.