The 20 Best Books to Read This Summer

A gorgeous debut that conjures one small town and the big emotions of its wealthiest family, the Briscoes, whose saga plays out over six days of pain, rage and love. - reviewed by Robin Micheli

(May) FICTION

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After leaving her French husband, Lorna Mott is eager to return to the vibrant San Francisco life she remembers. But things have changed. Can this woman of a certain age change too? - reviewed by Anne Leslie

(June) FICTION

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High drama at the beach, starring four sexy, surfing siblings and their deadbeat, famous-crooner dad. It's like the 1983 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue came to life, but with a plot. Irresistible. - reviewed by Mary Pols

(June) FICTION

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Raised in the North, Ailey spends summers in Georgia, unearthing stories of her Black, white and Indigenous ancestors that will profoundly shape the course of her life. Stunning. - reviewed by Emma Dries

(July) FICTION

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Nantucket's summer shatters when local darling Vivian Howe is killed. Will her murderer be found? Will her deepest secret be exposed? This is beach-book-queen Hilderbrand at her best. - reviewed by Claire Martin

(June) FICTION

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The author of How to Change Your Mind turns his attentions to three consciousness-altering drugs - opium, mescaline and caffeine (yes, it's a drug) - in this eye-opening exploration. - reviewed by Caroline Leavitt

(July) NONFICTION

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Growing up poor, Black and gay in small-town Ohio, Broome was despised by whites, some Blacks and even his father, who thought there was only one way to be a man. His memoir is a triumph. - reviewed by Benilde Little

(May) NONFICTION

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A daughter's poignant memoir about losing her mother, filtered through the prisms of their Korean American heritage and the love they shared for the cuisine of home. - reviewed by Kim Hubbard

(April) NONFICTION

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A woman accustomed to solitude forms something that feels like friendship with a mangy fox who keeps showing up outside her Montana home. And this was pre-pandemic! Quirky and moving. - reviewed by Kim Hubbard

(July) NONFICTION

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Investigating the never-solved murder of a young woman in 1970, the author uncovers intriguing truths about her family, her segregated community and the limits on female autonomy. - reviewed by Kim Hubbard

(June) NONFICTION

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Photographer Delta Dawn is one disturbing woman, especially when she inserts herself into a wealthy Manhattan family. A breathless psychological thriller about epic mind games. - reviewed by Ellen Shapiro

(May) MYSTERY/THRILLER

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After a journal surfaces in Florence, a professor obsessed with his great-grandfather's 1911 heist of the Mona Lisa is in hot pursuit - along with assassins and ruthless art dealers. - reviewed by Ellen Shapiro

(August) MYSTERY/THRILLER

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Funny and subversive, this debut about the trials of a Black assistant at a mostly white publishing house uses suspense, horror and satire to bring home the toll of workplace racism. - reviewed by Ellen Shapiro

(June) MYSTERY/THRILLER

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A star bankrolls a film on a hurricane-prone island with his fractured family and some shady characters. Good idea? A sudsy, savvy takedown of the Hollywood dream machine. - reviewed by Ellen Shapiro

(May) MYSTERY/THRILLER

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The Girl on the Train author returns with a dark, intricate tale of three women tied to a bloody murder on a London houseboat. You'll be gobsmacked by the end. - reviewed by Ellen Shapiro

(August) MYSTERY/THRILLER

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An elaborate Muslim wedding - katb el-kitab - is the elegant backdrop for a teen's soul-searching about love, sexism and racism within her own community. - reviewed by Sue Corbett

(May) KIDS/TEENS, 14 and up

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A hip cat narrates this playful, irreverent guide to all types of fine art - sculpture, surrealism, selfies (formally called portraiture). Museums, here we come! - reviewed by Sue Corbett

(May) KIDS/TEENS, 6-8

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Teen sleuth Stevie Bell is hired to solve a gruesome, decades-old murder mystery at summer camp. Bugs, romance and near misses with death follow. - reviewed by Sue Corbett

(June) KIDS/TEENS, 14-17

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A contemporary fairy tale starring a Japanese American teen raised in L.A. by bossy relatives who becomes convinced that a Hollywood starlet is her long-lost mother.  - reviewed by Sue Corbett

(May) KIDS/TEENS, 14-17

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Two powerless kids in ancient Greece - the daughter of an aristocrat and the son of a slave - transcend their circumstances in this masterful blend of history and mythology. - reviewed by Sue Corbett

(March) KIDS/TEENS, 10-14

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