Books: New and noteworthy

USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell (Doubleday, non-fiction, on sale March 28)

What it’s about: A biography of the 37th president, who resigned in disgrace because of the Watergate scandal.

The buzz: “Full of fresh, endlessly revealing insights,” says Kirkus Reviews.

2. The Black Book by James Patterson and David Ellis (Little, Brown, fiction, on sale March 27)

What it’s about: A murder leads investigators to a Chicago brothel that caters to the elite, amid customer panic that the madam’s black book is missing.

The buzz: The last collaboration between Patterson and Ellis, The Murder House, landed at No. 1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list in 2015.

3. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (Dial Press, fiction, on sale March 28)

What it’s about: A teenage girl raised by her dad learns more about her mysterious parents, including her father's criminal past.

The buzz: It’s an Indie Next pick of independent booksellers and a Barnes & Noble selection for best new fiction of March.

4. Tuesdays With Morrie: 20th Anniversary Edition by Mitch Albom (Broadway, non-fiction, on sale March 28)

What it’s about: Based on conversations Albom had with his favorite college professor, Morris Schwartz, in the months before Morrie's death from ALS.

The buzz: Broadway Books says Morrie has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since 1997; it also was made into a TV movie in 1999 starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria.

5. Phenomena by Annie Jacobsen (Little, Brown, non-fiction, on sale March 28)

What it’s about: The subtitle explains it: The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.

The buzz: A “fascinating exposé of governmental research,” says Publishers Weekly.