5 books you won't want to miss this week, including Brad Taylor's new thriller

Jocelyn McClurg | USA TODAY

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

1. Operator Down by Brad Taylor (Dutton, fiction, on sale Jan. 9)

What it’s about: Special agent Pike Logan and his team stumble onto an attempted military coup in Africa when they search for a missing Mossad agent.

The buzz: The last thriller in the Logan series, 2017’s Ring of Fire, hit No. 15 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list.

3. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (Putnam, fiction, on sale Jan. 9)

What it’s about: After visiting a psychic in 1969 who claims to know exactly when someone will die, the four adolescent Gold siblings (keeping the predicted dates of their deaths secret from one another) chart the rest of their lives.

The buzz: It’s the No. 1 Indie Next pick for January of independent booksellers. “If there’s any justice in bookselling, this book will find the massive audience it so deserves,” says Erika VanDam of RoscoeBooks in Chicago.

3. Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan (Random House, non-fiction, on sale Jan. 9)

What it’s about: Drawing on her own experiences, Corrigan pens essays on why it’s not always easy to find the right words to say to loved ones.

The buzz: “Moving and deeply personal,” says Kirkus Reviews.

4. Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates (Picador, fiction, on sale Jan. 9)

What it’s about: A young married couple must deal with a violent attack that happened to the wife years earlier, perpetrated by the husband’s childhood friend.

The buzz: “An edgy, intelligent thriller that explores the aftermath of a senseless crime,” says Publishers Weekly in a starred review.

5. Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys (Atria, fiction, on sale Jan. 9)

What it's about: In 1939, as war lurks, a young Englishwoman running from her past boards an ocean liner bound for Australia.

The buzz: Sports a blurb from The Girl on the Train author Paula Hawkins: "Thrilling, seductive, and utterly absorbing.”