The millions of fans of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy have something to be very happy about this season: the start of a new trilogy, companion to the first, called “The Book of Dust.” Pullman’s invented universe is a wonder to behold, but so is the meticulously drawn world of New York City in Julia Wertz’s graphic homage, “Tenements, Towers & Trash.” Speaking of garbage, Joe Ide’s new mystery starts in a junkyard with evidence that points to murder; can his charismatic leading man, Isaiah Quintabe, crack the case? Books about Russian history and current events round out our list this week, from biographies of Lenin and Stalin to Masha Gessen’s study of post-Soviet life, “The Future Is History.”

Radhika Jones

Editorial Director, Books

LA BELLE SAUVAGE, by Philip Pullman. (Knopf, $22.99.) Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy, written nominally for young adults but just as suited to older ones, sold nearly 18 million copies, was translated into 40 languages, and was adapted for both stage and screen. “La Belle Sauvage” is the first volume of a new trilogy that starts before “His Dark Materials” begins and will continue, the author says, nearly a decade after it finishes. “It’s a stunning achievement, the universe Pullman has created and continues to build on,” our reviewer Sarah Lyall writes. “All that remains is to sit tight and wait for the next installment.”

TENEMENTS, TOWERS & TRASH: An Unconventional Illustrated History of New York City, by Julia Wertz. (Black Dog & Leventhal, $29.99.) Wertz has become a cult favorite for her graphic memoirs, which take on serious themes — her alcoholism and chronic illness — while leaving room for silly stoner humor. Her new book is a departure, focusing on her great love, New York. “It’s a passionate anatomy of the city,” our critic Parul Sehgal writes, “a book of dramatic streetscapes and hidden histories — mostly of infamous women, like the 19th-century celebrity abortionist Madame Restell, who catered to socialites and built her Fifth Avenue mansion a block away from a Catholic church, supposedly to taunt the faithful.”

RIGHTEOUS, by Joe Ide. (Mulholland, $26.) “Last year, Joe Ide became the best thing to happen to mystery writing in a very long time,” with his debut, “IQ,” our reviewer Janet Maslin writes. “He writes thumbnail descriptions that rival Elmore Leonard’s,” and “His dialogue, much of it unprintable here, has bite that puts him in the Winslow/Lehane league.” This follow-up again concerns Ide’s leading man, Isaiah Quintabe, this time investigating the death of his brother, who may not have been all he seemed. “Righteous,” like “IQ,” has “an ending that will make you hope for the arrival of another installment, pronto.”