This week, Baltimore mystery writer Laura Lippman releases her new book Life Sentences. Among the new books:

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (William Morrow, $24.99) Author Cassandra Fallows thinks her next best-seller lies with the story of a childhood friend accused of killing her infant son.

Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster, $25) Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch — in court-ordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous subject. She reluctantly takes the case of a suspicious husband who wants his wife tailed, thinking it will be easy work. But with each passing hour, Izzy finds herself with more questions than hard evidence.

The Difference: New Research Unlocks the 10 Secrets to Becoming Truly Wealthy by Jean Chatzky (Crown Business, $24.95) Jean Chatzky shares the secrets her groundbreaking research of the self-made wealthy has uncovered so that anyone can break through the barriers that stand between them and true financial freedom.

Amazon.com; Publishers Weekly