Dear Burning Questions,
I'm certain you get this one quite often, so how about it: is P.D. James working on a new novel?

Alice Sullivan
Los Angeles, California

The well-known English mystery writer—who became Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991—has indeed completed another novel starring Commander Adam Dalgliesh. The Murder Room will be published by Knopf in November. This time the commander must discover the truth behind a murder connected with a private London museum. Complications arise that intrude on Dalgliesh's personal life and his new relationship with Emma Lavenham.

STILL GOING

Dear Burning Questions,
Is David Gerrold still writing? Will he ever publish book five in the War of Chtorr series?

J. Judd
Sauk Village, Illinois

A prolific science fiction writer, Gerrold has written more than 20 novels, including the four in the Chtorr series. He is also a screenwriter, with several "Star Trek" episodes to his credit, including the famous "Trouble With Tribbles" episode.

BQ contacted Gerrold to find out what's happening with the Chtorr series. (It's been nearly 10 years since the publication of book four.) The author says other projects, including the adoption of his son, Sean, in 1992, caused him to put the Chtorr series on hold, but he still has plans to finish it. Here's what he had to tell us about his progress. "Book five, A Method for Madness, is on track for a 2004 publication [by Tor]. I'm also contracted to do A Time for Treason, book six in the series."

DATE WITH FATE

Dear Burning Questions,
I love Amy Tan's books—does she have anything new in the works?

Susan McCloud
Payson, Arizona

Anyone who's ever wondered just how much of Tan's fiction is inspired by fact will enjoy The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings. Part memoir, part philosophical exploration, Tan's first nonfiction book will be published by Putnam next month. Fans needn't fear she's veered too far from her usual territory of mother/daughter relationships—the book explains how Tan's ideas about fate compare to her mother's more traditionally Chinese notions on the subject.

SURVEY SAYS . . .

We were overwhelmed by the volume of responses we received to reader questions in our August issue about favorite long-lost books. A big thank you to everyone who wrote in to help. Keep your pencils (and keyboards!) ready for the first round of our Book Detectives contest, coming in November.

Lost at sea . . . The story of a young girl abandoned on a Canadian island that Grace Godwin seeks is Marguerite de la Roque: A Story of Survival by Elizabeth Boyce, published by Veritie Press (1975). (A special thanks to librarians Katherine Malmquist and Nancy Skabar, who supplied the publisher info.) A more recent young adult novelization of Marguerite's story is Paradise: Based on a True Story of Survival by Joan Elizabeth Goodman.

Lady killer . . . The unlikely hitwoman Rose-Ann Tuck is looking for is Susan Melville, the star of Evelyn E. Smith's Miss Melville series, which began in 1986 with Miss Melville Regrets. Many people were interested in finding out whether there were more Melville books in the works—Suzanne Banville of Fairhope, Alabama, writes that the fifth title, Miss Melville Runs for Cover, was Smith's last before her death in 2000. While BQ's betting that the Melville series was what Rose-Ann was after, several readers informed us that John Sandford's Certain Prey and Mortal Prey also feature a female contract killer, Clara Rinker.

Get a clue . . . Nancy Leigh's African-American sleuth (who is not a welfare mother but a cleaning lady raising her niece and nephew) is Blanche White, the star of a series by Barbara Neely which begins with Blanche on the Lam (1992). Blanche has many devoted fans among BookPage readers, including Lynn Frost of Little Rock, who writes, "This is a great series, with a sharp, funny, politically astute protagonist."

Circus time . . . Last but not least, Joan Nye's mystery book about a daring young man on the flying trapeze turned out to be fantasy writer Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Catch Trap (1979). Yes, we should have known. Michael Link of Columbus, Ohio, described it best: "This was one of her few forays into mainstream fiction. Its unsensational and sensitive portrayal of a gay relationship is noteworthy for its time."

DEATH TRAP

Dear Burning Questions,
I would really like to know if Ian Rankin has written any new books. He writes great police procedurals set in Scotland.

Pauline Dolan
Las Cruces, New Mexico

You're not the only one who appreciates Rankin's well-plotted Inspector Rebus novels. Winner of the British Crime Writers Association's Gold Dagger Award, Rankin has devoted fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Three different walking tours of Edinburgh have been created around Rankin's novels—the Inspector Rebus walking tour includes a visit to Rebus' favorite pub, the Oxford Bar. Other accolades for this Scottish author include an Order of the British Empire awarded by Queen Elizabeth during the 2002 Golden Jubilee.

Little, Brown will publish Rankin's next Rebus novel, The Question of Blood, in February. This time Rebus must investigate the murder of two 17-year-old students at a high-class Edinburgh boarding school. Solving the mystery gets more complicated when Rebus is accused of involvement in the suspicious death of a man he hated.