FICTIONTHE BAD PLACE by Dean R. Koontz...

FICTION

THE BAD PLACE by Dean R. Koontz (Berkley: $5.95). Family matters take a bizarre twist when a husband-and-wife detective duo try to prevent a clan from rubbing out one of its own.

RUMMIES by Peter Benchley (Fawcett: $5.95). The behavior of the director at a tony alcohol rehabilitation clinic abruptly sobers up one of its more challenging clients.

SILVER WEDDING by Maeve Binchy (Dell: $5.95). London couple’s 25th anniversary is tarnished by the rust of untreated family wounds.

THE CHILDREN OF SEGU by Maryse Conde (Ballantine: $9.95). “Segu” sequel fixes on effects of 19th-Century colonialism on this West African country.

NONFICTION

THE LONELY LIFE by Bette Davis (Berkley: $4.95). At the time of her death in 1989, Davis was putting the finishing touches on the five new chapters of this 1962 autobiography.

BORDERLAND: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939 by John R. Stilgoe (Yale University: $18.95). Sociological data extracted from real-estate ads, newspapers, journals and diaries provide the historical context to these post-WWII phenomena.

BIRTH WITHOUT VIOLENCE by Frederick Leboyer (Fawcett Columbine: $12.95). French obstetrician’s once-radical theory of simulating and extending the protective environment of mothers’ wombs to the delivery room is now routinely practiced in hospitals.

HARD LEARNIN’ by Darryl Strawberry with Don Gold (Berkely: $4.50). L.A. Dodger fans are dreaming of Strawberry fields forever with the arrival of this native son whose low was a bout with alcohol and whose highs include aspirations to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.