In 1951, before Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in the Johns Hopkins Hospital “colored” ward, doctors took a small sample of her tumor. The tissue sample, taken without Lacks’ knowledge, stunned scientists when the cells successfully grew in the research lab. This marked the first time a line of human cells had survived without a human body. Lacks’ cells, later known as HeLa, proved extremely robust and flourished in the lab environment. Since their initial harvest, at least 50 million metric tons of the cells have been grown, and have contributed to advances and breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases like polio and AIDS. Yet, Lacks’ family were never told of (or compensated for) this research, and only learned of her miraculous afterlife in the 1970′s when the scientists at Johns Hopkins contacted the family in hopes of further testing. Science writer Rebecca Skloot combines Lacks’ personal history and her family’s reaction to the situation, along with scientific accounts, to tell a compelling story in her new book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown, 330pgs).
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By Robert B. Parker
Putnam Adult | 288pgs
Release Date: February 23, 2010

A body found in a trunk sends police chief Jesse Stone on the trail of the mob in Split Image, the ninth installment of Robert B. Parker’s immensely popular series. When a lackey for “retired” crime boss Reggie Galen turns up dead, Stone initially believes the case to be a straight-forward mob hit. As a second body is found on Paradise Beach, this time that of a high-ranking mobster, the investigation becomes more complicated. Battling the pressures of the case, and his personal demons, Stone takes comfort in his friendship with PI Sunny Randall (star of Parker’s widely read series, Spare Change, etc.). Randall is in town to track down a young girl involved with a shady religious cult. As their cases unravel, and the investigators get closer to the truth, the pair learn they have much in common and form a deeper personal bond.
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Upon reading James Ellroy’s L.A. Confidential, former journalist Henry E. Scott developed a deep fascination of Confidential magazine (fictionalized in the novel as Hush-Hush magazine). The result, Shocking True Story: The Rise and Fall of Confidential, “America’s Most Scandalous Scandal Magazine” (Pantheon, 240pgs), delineates the history of the original scandal rag that gave birth to today’s purveyors of titillating tales, such as Us Magazine, Entertainment Tonight and TMZ. Publisher Robert Harrison introduced the bi-monthly magazine in 1952, its blazing yellow and red masthead and catchy headlines gleefully exposing the infidelities, sexual orientation and political leanings of the day’s biggest stars. Through his research, Scott was surprised to find that each published article was carefully fact checked, and most of the stories reported the facts accurately. Though more respectable publications, like Time, derided the scandal sheet as “a cheesecake of innuendo, detraction, and plain smut”, the public devoured every issue and circulation soon rose to more than 3 million.
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By Joe Hill
William Morrow | 384pgs
Release Date: February 16, 2010

After a night of hard partying, a hungover Ignatius Perrish wakes to find a pair of horns growing from his forehead in Horns, the new supernatural thriller by Joe Hill. The horns mark another bizarre and unwelcome experience for Ig, whose life has been a living hell for the past year. Born into a family of prestige and power, he had previously been living a charmed, happy life with his true love, Merrin Williams. But after Merrin is viciously raped and murdered, Ig’s life falls apart, as he becomes the prime suspect in her death. Though he is never prosecuted, due to lack of evidence, the court of public opinion has found him guilty and condemned him. The people of Gideon, New Hampshire believe that Ig’s freedom is not a testament to his innocence, but rather to his parents’ deep pockets. Ig is shocked to learn that curious powers accompany the grotesque horns; people blurt out their deepest, most private thoughts, at his touch. He’s soon hellbent on using his dark powers to bring Merrin’s true killer to justice and exacting a satisfying revenge.

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By Mark Lee Gardner
HarperCollins Publishers | 336pgs
Release Date: February 09, 2010

Western historian Mark Lee Gardner weaves the life stories of Sheriff Pat Garrett and outlaw Billy the Kid (William Bonney) together in the twin biography To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West. Drawing from extensive research and historical documents, Gardner separates myth from the truth, following the lawman’s intense quest to bring the notorious criminal to justice. From Billy the Kid’s initial capture in Las Vegas in December of 1880, to his reckless daylight escape from a courthouse in April of 1881, Gardner documents one of the Old West’s most iconic rivalries. “I am not going to leave the country,” states the Kid upon his escape, “and I am not going to reform, neither am I going to be taken alive again.” These words prove to be prophetic.
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Historian Alison Weir builds a case for Anne Boleyn’s innocence in the charges of adultery and treason that lead to her death sentence, in her new book The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn (Ballantine, 464pgs). Boleyn has remained a striking historical figure through the centuries, and volumes have been written about her life and marriage to King Henry VIII. “She’s the Other Woman in an eternal triangle,” states Weir in an interview with NPR, “and Katherine of Aragon is the Good Wife whom Henry dumps for her.” In this latest book, Weir conducts “a forensic investigation” of the queen’s downfall and focuses on the last four months of her tragic life.
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By Frank Cottrell Boyce
Walden Pond Press | 320pgs
Release Date: January 19, 2010

Twelve-year-old Liam is prematurely forced into the role of a grown up in Cosmic, bestselling author Frank Cottrell Boyce’s third children’s book. His huge summer growth spurt and facial hair make him look more like a dad than a kid, and Liam, along with friend Florida, take advantage of this fact when they enter a contest as father and daughter. The pair win a trip on the first rocket ship to carry civilian passengers into space, with Liam serving as the “adult chaperon” to four other children. When the spaceship soars out of control 239,000 miles away from earth, it is up to Liam, with his new found maturity and finely honed World of Warcraft skills to save the day. This humorous, science fiction adventure, is also a touching story that examines the true meaning of maturity and the responsibility of fatherhood.
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By Patti Smith
Ecco | 304pgs
Release Date: January 19, 2010

Patti Smith, the “Godmother of Punk”, details her path to fame and her enduring relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in Just Kids. Before the musical and artistic success, the pair met as young drifters in New York City, during the social upheavals of the late ’60′s. They made a pact to care for each other, in good times and bad, and foster each other’s dreams. Smith’s poetic prose tells of their days living at the Hotel Chelsea, long nights at Max’s Kansas City, and time spent with friends Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and William Burroughs. As they both gained celebrity, Smith for her music and poetry, and Mapplethorpe for his provocative photography, their bond strengthened. What started out as a youthful romance grew into a deep, lasting friendship that would be a source of support and inspiration throughout the artists’ lives.
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By Robert Crais
Putnam Adult | 320pgs
Release Date: January 12, 2010

In The First Rule, Robert Crais’ second novel to feature Joe Pike as the lead character, the private detective fights to clear an old friend’s name. Frank Meyer appears to be a successful business and family man, until the day his home is invaded and he and his family are brutally murdered. A shadow of doubt is soon cast over Meyer’s character when the LAPD discovers his link to Pike, and their history as professional mercenaries. Adamant that his friend was on the straight and narrow, Pike works to solve Meyer’s murder in his characteristic strong, aloof style. With the help of partner Elvis Cole, Pike descends into the underworld of Eastern European organized crime, to find the truth and prove Meyer’s innocence.
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By Elizabeth Gilbert
Viking Adult | 304pgs
Release Date: January 5, 2010

Elizabeth Gilbert is forced to reconcile her doubts about the institution of marriage in Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, the sequel to her 2006 breakout hit Eat, Pray, Love. The memoir opens with Gilbert and Felipe, the Brazilian-born Australian man she met in Indonesia, still blissfully in love. But, upon returning to Dallas, the couple gets a bitter shock when Felipe is detained and then deported by Homeland Security. The only way for him to re-enter the country is for the couple to marry, something they both vowed never to do again. Essentially, “sentenced to marry by the Homeland Security Department,” the pair spend the next year traveling the world while waiting for Felipe’s visa to be approved. Gilbert immerses herself in matrimonial research, interviewing women around the globe, and trying to come to terms with her ambivalence towards marriage.
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