Bookworm

What You See in the Dark (Algonquin) Manuel Muñoz imagines a crime of passion set in the Central Valley, which he deviously juxtaposes with the mayhem of Hitchcock's Psycho.

When David Foster Wallace died, he left behind drafts of a rich and complex novel. Writers Rick Moody and David Lipsky discuss Wallace's achievement, The Pale King...

Widow: Stories (Bellevue Literary Press)Michelle Latiolais wrote some of these stories before the death of her husband, some later. Her emotional register changed markedly after his death...

The New Yorker Stories (Scribner)This collection, which spans the years 1974-2006, contains all of the Anne Beattie stories published in the New Yorker – from the very first one, accepted after 17 rejections....

A second program with Carlos Fuentes, this one about culture and politics: Will narco-politics defeat government? Will a "New Deal" be negotiated to help the ni-nis? (Part I of this two-part conversation airs on March 17.)

Destiny and Desire (Random House) The great Mexican writer modestly confides that yes, he has completed a new novel but it's really the same story, just with new characters... (Part I of this two-part conversation airs on March 24.)

The Intimates (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)Ralph Sassone, a first novelist, on the vicissitudes of — what else — the first novel.

When the Killing's Done (Viking)T.C. Boyle's newest novel contains elements of sea-adventure story and eco-thriller. Bringing together the themes of his life's work, he explores the interstices of the green-movement and the animal rights community...

House of Prayer No. 2: A Writer's Journey Home (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday)Busy writing for film and television, for his first book in over a decade, Mark Richard provides a decidedly unconventional autobiography, a spiritual journey through some of the most unusual underworlds the soul can encounter...

The Lotus Eaters (St. Martin's Griffen) Ten years ago when Tatjana Soli began to write her novel about female journalists in Viet Nam, she was warned that it might not sell. Instead, this prophetic tale about America's foreign wars was chosen one of the most important books of last year...