I can’t believe I missed this, but Sebastian Faulks — the author of Human Traces and, most recently, Engleby — was asked by Ian Fleming Publications to write a novel under the name of Ian Fleming, the late creator of James Bond. The result, Devil May Care, has received mostly favorable reviews from readers. Faulks was a good choice, having written in Fleming’s style in his book, Pistache.

A bit newer is Dark Horse, a novel by Ralph Reed — yes, that Ralph Reed, the right wing political consultant. He now writes fiction, and this one is about (naturally) a presidential campaign. Also new this week is This Charming Man, which — in addition to sharing a title with a classic Smiths song — is a novel by Irish writer Marian Keyes about four women who have their lives shaped by one man.  The man, Paddy de Courcy, is a rising star in Irish politics who ends up entering (and almost destroying) the lives of these four women. As usual, Keyes (this is her ninth novel) tackles serious subjects with wit, not a heavy hand.

For those looking for something more serious, at least in tone, there’s The Selected Essays of Gore Vidal, to be released tomorrow.