Books: New and noteworthy

Paste BN’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. X by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood Books /Putnam, fiction, on sale Aug. 25)

What it’s about: Can P.I. Kinsey Millhone prove her case against a serial killer before she becomes his next victim?

The buzz: Grafton’s popular Alphabet mystery series is getting close to the end zone. The previous title, 2013’s W Is for Wasted, was a No. 1 Paste BN best seller.

2. The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone, fiction, on sale Aug. 25)

What it’s about: The author of The Other Boleyn Girl focuses on Kateryn (as it’s spelled here) Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII.

The buzz: Our obsession with Henry and the Tudors continues unabated: witness the popularity of the Masterpiece adaptation of Wolf Hall on PBS.

3. The Face That Changed It All by Beverly Johnson (Atria, non-fiction, on sale Aug. 25)

What it's about: A memoir by Johnson, one of the women who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging them.

The buzz: Johnson was the first black supermodel to be on the cover of Vogue.

What it’s about: A wolf of Wall Street in the 1980s loses it all; by the author of A Reliable Wife.

4. The Fall of Princes by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin, fiction, on sale Aug. 25)

What it’s about: A wolf of Wall Street in the 1980s loses it all; by the author of A Reliable Wife.

The buzz: “Goolrick is a superb writer,” says Kirkus Reviews.

5. Kissinger’s Shadow: The Long Reach of America’s Most Controversial Statesman by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan, non-fiction, on sale Aug. 25)

What it’s about: Makes the case that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, now 92, is the architect of an “imperial Presidency.”

The buzz: “This book should receive major attention,” says Booklist.