>RIPTIDE Catherine Coulter

The title refers to a comfy manor house on the New England coast. But the heroine of this thriller—on the lam from both the law and a stalker—eventually finds it to be a nest of treachery. (Putnam, $23.95)

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST, AS AN OLD MAN Joseph Heller The final novel by the late Catch-22 author, who died last year, is, as it happens, about an eminent writer writing his last novel. Great humor abounds. (Simon & Schuster, $23)

DRIVING OVER LEMONS Chris Stewart In this zesty book, subtitled An Optimist in Andalucia, the British author describes making a life and a home for his family in sunny southern Spain. (Pantheon, $22)