Summer books

For your reading leisure

By Todd Leopold
CNN Entertainment Editor

(CNN) -- Summer is usually associated with either thick, doorstop-sized books or slick, juicy mysteries -- the kind of books you tote to the beach and read, at your leisure, to pass away the long, sunny hours.

But summer reading need not fit any category. Here are 12 new book releases that should make your reading time worthwhile:

"Death in Holy Orders" by P.D. James

She's considered the reigning queen of the literate mystery, and with "Death in Holy Orders," P.D. James does not disappoint. A young theology student dies at his cloistered college. Enter Adam Dalgliesh, England's most erudite detective, to solve the crime. This is James' 11th Dalgliesh book and the series shows no signs of running out of steam. (April 10)

Review

"Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old who is definitely not Harry Potter. He's a criminal mastermind who kidnaps a fairy in order to receive a huge ransom. Trouble is, the fairy is part of an undercover police unit, and more than Fowl bargained for. The author has called his book " 'Die Hard' with fairies." Hollywood must agree -- they've already snapped up the rights to this hard-nosed children's fantasy. (May)

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"The Final Season" by Tom Stanton

Summer means baseball, and no summer would be complete without a baseball book. Stanton's work takes a look at the final season of Detroit's Tiger Stadium, the landmark ballpark at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. He attended all 82 home games and weaves a tale of tradition, loss, fathers, sons and the glory of leather and horsehide on a golden summer afternoon. (May)

"John Adams" by David McCullough

This biography, McCullough's first book since the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Truman" (1992), finds the author in familiar territory: profiling a courageous but under-appreciated American statesman. McCullough's book is large and comprehensive, but like his others, should find a ready readership. (May 22)

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"Positively 4th Street" by David Hajdu

This year marks Bob Dylan's 60th birthday as well as 40 years since he moved from Minnesota to the lively streets of Greenwich Village in New York City. Hajdu's book concentrates on a quartet of influential friends from that time: Dylan, folksinger Joan Baez, her sister Mimi Baez Farina, and writer/singer Richard Farina. The latter is one of the more enigmatic figures of the '60s, a promising author who died in an accident just as his debut novel was published. Hajdu brings their time back to life. (June)

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"Gunman's Rhapsody" by Robert B. Parker

Parker made his name with the stories of Boston detective Spenser. Now he goes back in time to the Old West, indeed to a legendary event of the Old West: the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. "Gunman's Rhapsody" tells the tale of Wyatt Earp, his rival Johnny Behan, and the woman they both love. But love, in this case, breeds violence. It may take place in the shadow of saloons instead of Pru Center, but it's still Robert B. Parker. (June 4)

"Bitterroot" by James Lee Burke

On the other hand, there's James Lee Burke, creator of detective Dave Robicheaux and now Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland. In "Bitterroot," the third Holland opus, the Texan is invited to Montana to visit a Vietnam veteran friend. The friend's daughter is raped by three violent bikers, but the friend is fingered for the crime. Holland has to work everything out. As with many of Burke's books, there's a quiet power to the violence -- and tragedy. (June 12)

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

You've got an ex-con named Shadow. You have a mysterious stranger named Mr. Wednesday. You have secrets, and myths, and terror. You have, in short, a novel by Neil Gaiman, the author behind the "Sandman" graphic novels and "Neverwhere." Enter at your own risk. (June 19)

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"Seven Up" by Janet Evanovich

Evanovich has followed her heroine, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, through six novels. In this seventh book, Plum is given a job by her cousin Vinnie to pick up an old man causing trouble in their town of Trenton, New Jersey. Naturally, things get sticky -- and silly. Evanovich is terrific at balancing comedy and violence, and "Seven Up" follows in the Plum tradition. (June 19)

"The Fourth Hand" by John Irving

Irving's new novel concerns a New York television journalist who loses his hand to a lion, in view of millions, while reporting a story in India. Into his life enters a renowned Boston hand surgeon with marital problems and a Wisconsin housewife who wants to give the journalist her husband's hand after he dies. Though "typical Irving" is an oxymoron -- how can works as different as "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and "A Son of the Circus" be typical? -- this book is expected to feature the Dickensian plot twists and eccentric characters Irving is known for. (July 3)

"Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles R. Cross

He was the unwilling symbol of his generation, the defiantly angry Nirvana leader whose bitter, melodic songs -- "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "All Apologies," "Come As You Are" -- gave birth to the grunge movement. In 1991, Kurt Cobain became a star. By 1994, he was dead, a suicide victim. Cross, the former editor of Seattle music fanzine The Rocket, goes beyond the music to find out what made Cobain tick. (August)

"The Wild Blue" by Stephen Ambrose

Ambrose has become the United States' unofficial go-to historian, writer of bestsellers about Lewis and Clark (1996's "Undaunted Courage"), the transcontinental railroad (2000's "Nothing Like It in the World), and -- especially -- World War II. In "The Wild Blue," he revisits the "Good War" via the training and missions of the men who flew the B-24 bomber over Germany. (August 14)

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