Javier Marías is the author of 15 novels and three collections of short stories. His work has been translated into 46 languages. “Berta Isla” was first published in Spain in 2017 and in Britain last year in Margaret Jull Costa’s provocative translation.

“Chances Are …” is Richard Russo’s first stand-alone novel in a decade. It also makes use of a literary form that is rarely found among the author’s works. However, it still spills over with the humanity that is the cornerstone of Russo’s work, even as it reminds us, as he most frequently do…

Once again, retired Virginia circuit court judge Martin Clark proves how adept he is at writing the contemporary legal thriller. “The Substitution Order” is his newest since “The Jezebel Remedy” in 2015, and he continues to give more widely read authors like John Grisham a run for their money.

Sequels are often notoriously disappointing. How lucky, then, that “Hope Rides Again: An Obama Biden Mystery” isn’t. 

“Knife,” the 12th Harry Hole (pronounced “Hooley”) thriller from Jo Nesbø, pretty much begins where “The Thirst,” the most recent Hole case, leaves off. 

The cover of “Giraffes on Horseback Salad” calls it “The Strangest Movie Never Made!” 

It’s going to be difficult to find a novel more timely than Oscar Cásares’ “Where We Come From.” This latest book from the author of “Brownsville” and “Amigoland” is an affecting study of family, and at the same time, is a book whose premise seems straight from the headlines.

“The Flight Portfolio,” the new novel from the author of the best-selling “The Invisible Bridge,” is a literary epic, intimate romance and page-turning historical thriller.

The advice comes from sports figures and entrepreneurs, and is often movingly down-to-earth.

Growing into their worlds — essentially “growing up” — is still hard for the characters that populate the works of Karen Russell. Witness any of the eight astonishing stories in “Orange World and Other Stories,” her latest book.

“Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells,” the new book from Time magazine travel writer Pico Iyer, is a poignant meditation on the evanescent nature of life in general and of traditional Japan in particular.

Of all the writers who have speculated as to why Harper Lee abandoned her true-crime book, I believe that Casey Cep comes closest to the truth.

The crime at the core of “Murder by the Book” by Claire Harman stunned London for months. Yet Harman’s book is not so much focused on the uncovering of a murderer as it is on dissecting the London not only of Queen Victoria, but the London of Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray as well.

“Cemetery Road” is the new book from Greg Iles, author of the Natchez Burning Trilogy. That trilogy brought to a close the exploits of Mississippi lawyer Penn Cage (who first appeared in “The Devil’s Punchbowl”) and his efforts to put to rest the Double Eagles, a clandestine offshoot of the …

“Landfall,” the newest historical novel from Thomas Mallon, brings his recent political trilogy to an inspired close. “Watergate” (2012) has Richard Nixon at its center. The subtitle of “Finale” (2015) is “A Novel of the Reagan Years.”

“The Parade,” the new novel from Dave Eggers, is about progress; it is a subtle contemplation of the dire effect that progress can have on its surroundings. This is all tied up in a plot that is worthy of, say, an absurdist like Samuel Beckett.

Nathan Englander’s new novel “kaddish.com” is a contemporary fable of redemption and forgiveness. It quietly pays tribute to classic works of Bernard Malamud and Philip Roth, as well as Englander’s own exquisite novel from 2017, “Dinner at the Center of the Earth.”

A dozen stand-alone essays come together to turn “Black Is the Body,” the new book from scholar Emily Bernard, into a most exquisitely written and poignant memoir, a memoir that questions identity, race and what it is to be a woman in America.

“Lost Children Archive,” the latest novel from Valeria Luiselli, is as timely as it is challenging. It confronts the current American political landscape even as it gauges echoes of the waning American dream.

How art can both enhance and hinder our lives in unexpected ways is the absolute essence of “The Weight of a Piano” by Chris Cander. The novel’s chapters alternate between the experiences of one woman whose troubled life is kept at bay by the music she can draw from the piano and the experie…

Let’s just get this out of the way as soon as possible. It is highly unlikely that “‘Broadsword Calling Danny Boy’: Watching ‘Where Eagles Dare,’” Geoff Dyer’s new book, resembles any book that anyone has ever come across.

Dani Shapiro is the author of five novels and four previous memoirs. “Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love,” her new book, is likely to become her best known as well as be remembered as her most moving.