Climate disaster blockbuster 'The Displacements,' Joan of Arc epic: 5 new must-read books

In search of something good to read? USA TODAY's Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases. All books are on sale Tuesday.

'The Displacements'

By Bruce Holsinger (Riverhead, fiction)

What it's about: The world's first Category 6 hurricane upends the lives of the Larsen-Hall family, who are driven from their Florida home to a FEMA megashelter, where a frightening new society forms.

The buzz: "Brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly believable. Seems destined to be a blockbuster," says a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

'Take No Names' 

By Daniel Nieh (Ecco, fiction)

What it's about: Wanted man Victor Li has a good gig going: breaking into the storage units of the recently deported. One day he makes a killer find: a rare gem valuable enough to transform his life. But he’ll need to go to Mexico City to sell it, and there he discovers the gem is part of a much larger scheme.

The buzz: "A cutting thriller with nonstop action and twisty consequences," says Kirkus Reviews.

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'Joan'

By Katherine J. Chen (Random House, fiction)

What it's about: A secular reimagining and feminist celebration of the life of Joan of Arc that transforms the legendary saint into a flawed yet undeniable young woman.

The buzz: A starred review from Kirkus Reviews calls it "An elegant and engaging work of historical fiction."

'The Pallbearers Club' 

By Paul Tremblay (William Morrow, fiction)

What it's about: The psychological thriller tells the tale of a high school loner who founded an extracurricular club for volunteer pallbearers and now has written a memoir as an adult. And it turns out the girl he used to know who took pictures of corpses and was a magnet for the strange and unusual has some edits.

The buzz: Publishers Weekly calls it an "ambitious, metafictional pseudo-vampire thriller."

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'Acts of Violet'

By Margarita Montimore (Flatiron, fiction)

What it's about: From the author of "Oona Out of Order" comes a new novel about a woman named Sasha, whose famous magician sister Violet Volk vanished mid-act 10 years ago. Can she escape her sister's shadow in the public eye?

The buzz: "This spellbinding effort delivers its fair share of magic," says Publishers Weekly.

Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Displacements,' Joan of Arc epic: 5 new must-read books