'THE ELIZAS,' by Sara Shepard. The dysfunctional, unreliable heroines of "Girl on a Train" and "The Woman in the Window" have a new sister-in-arms: Eliza Fontaine, protagonist of this adult novel by the author of the YA juggernaut "Pretty Little Liars." Suffering from memory loss, Eliza is unnerved when she believes her fictional plots are happening in real life. (Atria, $26)
'NOIR,' by Christopher Moore. The author of "Lamb" and "Fool" imports noir fiction to San Francisco in this humorous pastiche of the hard-boiled genre associated with Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The story opens _ as these stories always do _ when a "tasty bit of trouble" (blonde variety) wanders into the watering hole where Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin tends bar. (William Morrow, $26.99)
'THE ART OF THE WASTED DAY,' by Patricia Hampl. A cri de coeur and a leisure-lover's manifesto, this book makes the case for doing less and reflecting more. Along the way, the author floats down the Mississippi River and goes on retreat at a California monastery, while considering the examples of Gregor Mendel and Michel de Montaigne. (Viking, $26)
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