The Next Generation

Bill Clinton and James Patterson have the #1 book in the country with The President’s Daughter, sequel to the 2018 blockbuster The President Is Missing. PW starred the first book, calling it “a page-turning thriller that rivals the best work of such genre titans as Brad Meltzer and Vince Flynn.” By contrast, “the authors don’t sweat the details” in this “disappointing follow-up,” according to our review of the new book. “Too many convenient coincidences propel the plot.” Comparative first-week print unit sales suggest a second-term slump.

Father Figures

The Bench, #2 on our picture book list, originated as a Father’s Day poem that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, wrote for her husband, Prince Harry, after the birth of their son in 2019. The author said in a statement that Christian Robinson’s artwork captures “the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life,” and that she worked with Robinson, a 2016 Caldecott Honoree, to “depict this special bond through an inclusive lens.”

Target Readership

With Tom Clancy: Target Acquired, #6 in hardcover fiction, Don Bentley becomes the latest author to assume the identity of military and espionage novelist Clancy, who died in 2013. Bentley has two previous novels to his credit, and with this new book, he appears to be hitting his stride. In “the exciting eighth Jack Ryan Jr. thriller,” our review said, “the action builds to a terrific, multiple point-of-view battle scene in the air and on the ground in Syria. Bentley proves himself a worthy successor to Tom Clancy.”

NEW & NOTABLE

THE COLLECTED WORKS OF JIM MORRISON
Jim Morrison
#8 Hardcover Nonfiction
Readers of a certain age who passed around dog-eared copies of No One Here Gets Out Alive will gravitate toward this hefty anthology, whose contents include previously unpublished poetry, song lyrics, and more from the Doors frontman.

CASTLE SHADE
Laurie R. King
#18 Hardcover Fiction
“Set in 1925, King’s thrilling 18th adventure featuring Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, takes the couple to Bran Castle in Transylvania, home of Marie, Queen of Roumania, who’s in need of their services,” our review said. “This is a treat for old fans and newcomers alike.”