FICTION

MUTATION by Robin Cook (Berkley: $4.95). Geneticist’s experiment has gone awry--instead of a child to love, he conjures up one to fear.

ANGRY CANDY by Harlan Ellison (Plume: $8.95). Seventeen short, eloquent, plaintive stories about death.

WHEAT THAT SPRINGETH GREEN by J. F. Powers (Washington Square: $8.95). Conflicting experiences of an urban priest finally are resolved when he is called upon to provide direction to his assistant.

ON THE EDGE by Peter Lovesey (Mysterious Press: $4.50). In London, two women who worked together during World War II renew their friendship and plot to “cement” their husbands.

THE GUEST OF HONOR by Irving Wallace (Dell: $5.95). An extramarital affair reaches to the Oval Office, threatening to ignite an international incident.

NONFICTION

THE LIVING CITY by Roberta Brandes Gratz (Touchstone: $10.95). Demonstrations of how cities are combating the legacy of decline that began several decades ago, sometimes under the auspices of the government.

ALCOHOL AND THE WRITER by Donald W. Goodwin MD (Penguin: $7.95). Examination of why this disease is a recurring theme among an uncommonly high number of prominent American authors.

NEVER SATISFIED by Hillel Schwartz (Anchor: $10.95). Our collective preoccupation with dieting reflects social parameters as much as any concern for optimum health and beauty.

UNDERCOVER by Donald Goddard (Dell: $4.95) and DESPERADOS by Elaine Shannon (Signet: $4.95). Both stories involve DEA agents who went undercover: One, in the United States, survives to recount his story; the other, in Mexico, does not.

MURDER IN LITTLE EGYPT by Darcy O’Brien (Onyx: $4.95). Dr. Dale Cavaness escaped culpability in the 1977 murder of his son, Mark, but when Sean, his second son, was killed, the doctor’s name moved to the head of the list of suspects.

SELF-HELP / REFERENCE

THE 8-WEEK CHOLESTEROL CURE--REVISED EDITION by Robert E. Kowalski (Perennial: $9.95). Widely believed to be the forerunner of the current belief that heart disease, the No. 1 killer, can be avoided. Includes four new chapters for women, children and the elderly.

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO HEALTH INSURANCE by Kathleen Hogue, Cheryl Jensen and Kathleen McClurg Wiljanen (Avon: $4.95). What you don’t know about your health-insurance policy can hurt you, according to this guide through the labyrinth of plans, coverage and rising costs.