6 new paperbacks for reading list By Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times Published: January 24, 2021, 6:04am Share: "A Beautiful Crime" by Christopher Bollen. (Harper) It’s a new year, and time for hope and self-examination and … maybe some new books? Visit your local bookstore and wish them well for 2021 — and don’t miss that new-in-paperback table, which might hold these recommended titles and many more. • “A Beautiful Crime” by Christopher Bollen (HarperCollins, $16.99). “What makes the crime in Bollen’s stylish new novel so beautiful is that the perps’ plan works out even better than they’d hoped — at least for a while,” wrote Washington Post reviewer Dennis Drabelle of “A Beautiful Crime” last year. In a plot that sounds very Patricia Highsmith-influenced, the tale focuses on two young New Yorkers and co-conspirators determined to carry out a fraudulent plan including some questionable silver and a crumbling palazzo in Venice, Italy. At a time when we can’t visit Venice ourselves, Drabelle suggests, “you might want to settle for a few cuticle-biting hours” with this book.