The Best 25 Books of Summer
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz: If you liked HBO’s The Undoing (Hanff Korelitz’s previous novel, You Should Have Known, became the basis for the hit series), then you’ll be happy to know she’s returned with a literary thriller filled with deceit and betrayal set in the publishing world, where a fame-hungry writer steals a book and a vindictive reader uncovers the truth. May 11 The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent: For a hilarious, chaotic rom-com bursting with Scottish charm, The Summer Job follows Birdy Finch to a sleepy resort on a Scottish loch. She’s there for the summer job her best friend gave up. The only problem? She’s not exactly the star sommelier she’s posing as, and the resort isn’t as sleepy as she imagined. May 18 Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Author of TV-bound Daisy Jones & the Six, Reid welcomes you to 1980s California, during which four siblings—the offspring of notorious singer/playboy Mick Riva—throw their annual end-of-summer party (even Rob Lowe has attended). But before the ill-fated night goes up in flames (literally), generations of secrets, loves and yearnings will come bubbling to the surface. June 1 The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris: In this edgy, satirical thriller, Nella encounters microaggressions and racism daily as her publishing company’s sole Black employee. But when another young Black woman is hired, hostility and menacing events begin. June 1 The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin: After meeting in the terminal ward’s art class, two women (one 17 and one 83) bond through life, love and friendship in this uplifting and heartstring-tugging story. June 1 Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford: One of the most talked about memoirs of the year, Ford’s Somebody’s Daughter reflects on her complex childhood with an incarcerated father, her feelings of isolation, an abusive relationship, her search for unconditional love and her journey to “find the threads between who you are and what you were born into.” June 1 One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston: Fans of McQuiston’s bestselling Red, White & Royal Blue will want to grab this much-anticipated, time-bending queer romance about a 23-year-old and her subway crush who’s literally displaced from the 1970s. Grab it for the impossible (or is it?) escapism and stay for the big-hearted rom-com. June 1 An Unlikely Spy by Rebecca Starford: Set within WWII London, Evelyn is a young Englishwoman tasked with stopping a network of Nazi sympathizers and their plot to invade Britain. Part espionage thriller part, part historical novel that brings wartime England alive, An Unlikely Spy also looks at the effects secrecy and social hierarchy have on personal relationships. June 1 Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon: Is having this big, swoon-worthy love all it’s cracked up to be? And more importantly, is it worth the heartbreak that might come with it? National Book Award finalist Yoon answers those questions and more when we meet Evie and X, two people learning to waltz, foxtrot and fall in love at a local dance studio. June 1 The President’s Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton: In their second collaboration, Patterson and Clinton blend matters of national security with every parent’s nightmare when former Navy SEAL and commander in chief Matthew Keating sets out on a one-man special-ops mission to save his abducted teenage daughter. June 7 Animal by Lisa Taddeo: Taddeo’s first novel (a byproduct of reporting on her nonfiction bestseller Three Women), Animal captures female rage that’s so often suppressed when main character Joan transforms from prey to predator. June 8 The Maidens by Alex Michaelides: Michaelides (The Silent Patient) is back with a thriller set among the ancient halls of Cambridge University, where a psychotherapist is certain that charismatic Greek tragedy professor Edward Fosca (beloved by the all-female secret society the Maidens) is a murderer. June 15 Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan: In the summer of 1979, two cousins find an unmistakable bond and infinite freedom at a sprawling bohemian estate—until one disappears. Twenty years later, a piece of the past resurfaces. June 29 Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Mary McCartney and Stella McCartney: Paul and his daughters Mary and Stella are honoring their late wife and mother’s passion for meat-free meals in a new cookbook with intimate photos, memories and more than 90 plant-based recipes, including Linda’s “American-Style” Pancakes and Chili Non-Carne. “Years ago, before anyone had woken up to the idea of environmental, health and animal welfare issues,” Paul says, “Linda was blazing the trail with vegetarianism.” June 29 The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel: Yona was kidnapped from her wealthy German parents as a child, kept in isolation and raised off the land in eastern Europe. After her kidnapper dies in 1941, she finds a group of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution and teaches them to forage, make shelters and hide their tracks. But when she’s betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past, present and search for an identity all collide. July 6 Embassy Wife by Katie Crouch: It’s a dusty state of affairs in Embassy Wife, in which two American women in Namibia—one the wife of a diplomat and the other a trailing spouse—learn the truth about their husbands, corruption, international conflict and their own country. July 13 While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory: Another rom-com addition to the Guillory-verse follows ad-man Ben and movie star Anna, who script a Hollywood romance for the sake of the spotlight. But when will they realize it’s no longer an act? July 13 The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones: What happens when a destination wedding goes all wrong? Welcome to the sunny coast of Portugal, where six friends, including the bride and groom, learn that everyone’s keeping secrets—and a few hidden agendas. August 3 Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman: Drought, wildfire and corruption are here to stay in this dark, near-future tale of an East Coast author overseeing the film adaptation of his novel in Hollywood, the troubled marriage he intends to save and the catastrophe looming in this sun-scorched city. August 3 Billy Summers by Stephen King: The king of horror and suspense is back. This time, he’s introducing us to Billy Summers, a top sniper, decorated Iraq war vet and a hired killer who will only target the bad guys. Now he wants out though. With one more job to get done, what could go wrong? August 3 In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead: Looking for an eerie campus setting? This chilling suspense novel has murder, friendship and defiance when six people return to their college reunion a decade after one of their close friends was murdered. Long-buried secrets are bound to come up. August 3 In the Country of Others by Leila Slimani: By the author of The Perfect Nanny, In the Country of Others is the first volume in a planned trilogy about a spirited young Frenchwoman named Mathilde and her interracial marriage with a Moroccan man around the Second World War. As their cultures clash, Mathilde begins to defy her new country’s repressive gender norms in a fight for independence. August 10 Velvet Was the Night by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia: The new noir thriller from the author of Mexican Gothic, Velvet Was the Night is set among political unrest in 1970s Mexico City as a daydreaming secretary and a lonesome enforcer follow the suspicious disappearance of a neighbor. August 17 A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins: From the bestselling author of Girl on the Train, more deceit, revenge, murder, thrills, chills, twists and turns. Do we have your attention yet? Three women—Laura, Miriam and Carla—seek to right the wrongs that have been done to them. Each is damaged in her own way, but are any of them damaged enough to kill? August 31 The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang: If you loved The Kiss Quotient, Hoang is back with a new story of unexpected love. Quan Diep is the motorcycle-riding CEO of an up-and-coming retail business. Anna Sun is a violinist who’s gone viral. As Anna peels away Quan’s dangerous exterior (and her own closed-off shell), will the two open themselves up for love? August 31 Next, 26 of the Best Books From Summer 2020
