Striving to be a best selling author is a goal many beginning authors dream of, but even best selling novelists sometimes fall by the way side and are forgotten. There are times when an author has a best seller debut novel, but the next one falls flat. Lots of so called classics are no longer read or come and go in popularity. Being a best selling author doesn’t necessarily make you the best author, but name recognition does influence all of us into at least thinking about reading even genres of books that we wouldn’t necessarily read. Some of the top mystery authors include J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), James Patterson, David Baldacci, CJ Box, Lee Child, Stuart Woods, Michael Connelly, Karin Slaughter, Louise Penny, John Sandford, Catherine Coulter, Janet Evanovich, Danielle Steel, and on it goes. So let’s talk about which of these authors have a new book coming out.

Reading right now:

Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston’s new novel “Old Bones” marks the beginning of a new series for these best selling authors. Child and Preston look to the Donner party for inspiration for their new book. As if the Donner story wasn’t horrifying enough, they decide to ratchet it up a notch. Our hero is the curator of the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology, Nora Kelly, who agrees to lead a team to search for the “Lost Camp” of the Donner Party based on information from a recently discovered diary of one of the victims. When they find the lost camp, they also discover “old bones” which lead to violence and a new horror. Rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to the case which spirals out of control.

On hold right now:

Get ready for “A Minute to Midnight” coming out in November and is David Baldacci’s second book in his Atlee Pine series. Pine is an FBI Agent haunted by the kidnapping of her twin sister Mercy thirty years ago. When Pine finds her past controlling her present, she decides to go back to her hometown to find out what really happened that night.

“Blue Moon” by Lee Child is the 24^th book in his Jack Reacher series. Once more Reacher is on the road and, of course, finds trouble in the form of an elderly couple who has made some very bad decisions which lands all of them in the middle of a turf war between rival Ukrainian and Albanian gangs.

Michael Connelly’s latest Harry Bosch novel is “The Night Fire.” Connelly has written 21 Bosch books and is now writing books with Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard working together and “The Night Fire” is the second book with them as partners. After Bosch’s mentor John Jack Thompson dies, the widow gives Bosch a murder book which Thompson stole from the LAPD 20 years ago when he left the department. The old case involved the unsolved murder of a troubled young man who died in an alley used for drug deals. Bosch brings the murder book to Ballard and together they try to find out what happened to this young man and why Thompson was driven to steal the murder book.

Other forthcoming novels from best selling authors include the 26^th novel in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series called “Twisted Twenty-Six.” Craig Johnson’s 15^th book in the Walt Longmire series “Land of Wolves” comes out Sept. 17. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro’s new book “19^th Christmas” is the 19^th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. “Bloody Genius” is the 12^th book in John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers series. 

Other Mysterious Things:

Patricia Cornwell’s new series is hopefully the start of something great. After years of success with her Kay Scarpetta character, Cornwell is introducing a cybercrime investigator Captain Calli Chase who works with NASA and the space program to stop a sabotage attempt. The first book comes out next month and is titled “Quantum.” The second novel in the series is planned and comes out in August 2020 (title is “Spin”).