FICTION

Bank, Melissa. The Wonder Spot. Viking. Jun. 2005. 368p. ISBN 0-670-03411-8. $24.95. CD: Penguin Audio.

Pitched as both literary fiction and high-class chick-lit, this follow-up to Bank's blockbuster The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing features feckless Sophie Applebaum of Surrey, PA. With a 12-city tour.

Benedict, Elizabeth. The Practice of Deceit. Houghton. Jun. 2005. 288p. ISBN 0-618-56371-7. $23.95.

When therapist Eric Lavender discovers that lawyer wife Colleen has been hiding some nasty secrets, she makes sure he runs afoul of the law. From the author of Almost, an NPR Best Book of the Year; with a four-city tour.

Brown, Dale. Act of War. Morrow. Jun. 2005. 384p. ISDN 0-06-075299-8. $25.95. CD: HarperAudio.

It's international terrorists, set to attack the world's oil refineries, vs. ruthless terrorist hunters with high-tech weapons and a certain disregard for the law.

Bujold, Lois McMaster. The Hallowed Hunt. Eos: Morrow. Jun. 2005. 480p. ISBN 0-08-057462-3. $24.95.

The Hallow King is near death, crazy Prince Boleso has been murdered, and Lord Ingrey must save the kingdom. From a multiple Nebula, Hugo, and Locus award winner

Clowes, Daniel. Ice Haven. Pantheon. Jun. 2005. 88p. ISBN 0-375-42332-X. $18.95.

This graphic novel transports us to the nutty Midwestern town of Ice Haven. With a six-city tour.

Connolly, John. The Black Angel. Atria: S. & S. Jun. 2005. 320p. ISBN 0-7434-8786-9. $25.

What's the mysterious Black Angel, and how is it connected to a young woman's disappearance, a church of bones, and the bloodbath at a monastery? Connolly stalwart Charlie Parker finds out. The entire first printing will be autographed; with a 12-city tour.

Cunningham, Michael. Specimen Days. Farrar. Jun. 2005. 288p. ISBN 0-374-29962-5. [ISBN 978-0-374-29962-0]. $24. Cassette/CD: Audio Renaissance.

Three characters seen in three different settings: the Industrial Revolution; the 21st century, as terrorists pockmark New York with bombs; and 150 years into the future.

Deaver, Jeffery. The Twelfth Card: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel. S. & S. Jun. 2005. 416p. ISBN 0-7432-6092-9. $25. Cassette/CD: S. & S. Audio.

Because high schooler Geneva Smith is researching ancestor Charles Singleton, a former slave with a singular secret, she's being targeted by a killer whom Deaver's popular Rhyme-Sachs duo aim to stop. With a 12-city tour.

Evanovich, Janet. Eleven on Top. St. Martin's. Jun. 2005. 320p. ISBN 0-312-30626-1. $26.95. CD: Audio Renaissance....