Here are 28 books to bring to the beach this summer

 

Mary Beth Keane (fiction, Scribner, out now)

Malcolm Gephardt has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss at the Half Moon retires, he stretches his finances to buy the place.

Now, he finds himself struggling to stay afloat.

Meanwhile, his wife Jess is facing the reality that motherhood might not be in the cards for her.

From the bestselling author of “Ask Again, Yes.” 

Ore Agbaje-Williams (fiction, GP Putnam’s Sons, out now)

A wife, her husband, and her best friend — the wife has it all, even if her husband hates her snarky BFF, Temi, and can’t bear to be around her.

But over the course of one day, confessions are made — and the delicate balance of their personalities is completely upended. 

Emma Cline (fiction, Random House, out now)

Alex has been coasting all summer, staying with an older man at his house on the East End of Long Island.

Alex is broke but charming and attractive — she’s been relying on that to get by.

But when a misstep at a dinner party results in her being cut off by the older man, she’s desperate.

As the summer winds down, she spends the next week bouncing from one person to the next.

Liv Constantine (fiction, Bantam, out now)

DC philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are starting a new life together after the deaths of their spouses two years ago.

Sloane needs a hip replacement — a development of her lupus — that necessitates the hiring of a home health aide.

She finds the perfect fit in Athena Karras.

But Sloane starts to deteriorate after the surgery and begins to suspect the worst of Athena.

Why all the questions about the private foundation she manages?

And what about the looks between Athena and her husband? 

Emma Rosenblum (fiction, Flatiron Books, out now)

The summer community of Salcombe on Fire Island is tight-knit; in between drinks at the beach and tennis games, everyone is trying to figure out other people’s secrets.

But when a body is discovered off the boardwalk, it looks like the season is off to a rocky start. 

Steven Rowley (fiction, GP Putnam’s Sons, out May 30)

It’s been 28 years since Jordan Vargas and his friends graduated from college, and five years since they saw each other last.

Over the years, they’ve reunited periodically to throw each other living “funerals,” to remind themselves that life is worth living.

But this time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will change everything. 

Byron Lane (fiction, Henry Holt, out May 30)

Barnett Durang is getting married soon at his mother’s farm in their small Louisiana town, and hundreds of guests will be arriving to celebrate.

His mother knows he’s gay, but not that she’ll be hosting a huge wedding on short notice!

In a Southern town where not everyone is happy for the two men getting married, will they be able to pull off this big gay event with enough glamour and glitz? 

T.J. Newman (fiction, Avid Reader Press, out May 30)

Just in time for summer travel, former flight attendant TJ Newman is back with another thriller that will make you never want to fly again.

This one is about a commercial jet that crashes into the ocean, sinking to the bottom — and the extraordinary rescue effort to save the surviving passengers. 

Katie Bishop (fiction, St. Martin’s, out June 6)

When she was 17, Rachel had a magical summer love affair on a Greek island with a man named Alistair, 20 years her senior.

She’s now married to someone else, but she’s never stopped thinking about it.

When she decides to reconnect with the other girls she met that summer — but as she does, details of her relationship — and of the way that summer ended — rise to the surface. 

Helen Schulman (fiction, Knopf, out June 6)

On a summer night in Paris, a chance encounter brings two women together, one is an American TV star hiding out in the city in the hopes of putting Hollywood and a lot of personal trauma behind her.

A quick friendship forms, with devastating results.

The plot is ripped from the headlines; the journey on which it takes the reader is clever and creative. 

Matthew Norman (fiction, Dell, out June 6)

Billy Perkins has a job as a music teacher, an apartment above a record shop, and a teenage son he’s crazy about.

When his paths cross with Margot Hammer, the former drummer of the band the Burnt Flowers (and Billy’s youthful crush), sparks fly. 

Ashley Audrain (fiction, Pamela Dorman Books, out June 6)

Four suburban families are in shock when a young boy from the neighborhood falls from his bedroom window in the middle of the night.

He’s now in a coma, his mother sitting vigil by his hospital bed as the other families trade information about the events leading up to the tragedy. 

Richard Ford (fiction, Ecco, out June 13)

Readers were introduced to Frank Bascombe almost 40 years ago with “The Sportswriter” and have followed his life course ever since, through divorce, parenthood, and friendship.

Most recently, he is a caregiver to his son Paul, recently diagnosed with ALS.

As he faces his mortality, he reflects on what it means to be happy. This series should not be missed.

Dominic Smith (fiction, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, out June 13)

The town of Valetto sits on a hilltop in Umbria, its residents dwindling to just 10.

That includes the 3 Serafino widows, who live in their medieval villa.

When their historian nephew Hugh returns to claim the cottage on the property that was left to him, he receives a surprise: Someone else has already laid claim to it, saying it was left to her by the family patriarch, long dead. 

Fiona Davis (fiction, Dutton, out June 13)

It’s 1956, and 19-year-old Marion Brooks has her life mapped out for her, with a boyfriend who’s about to propose and a quiet life in the suburbs beckoning.

She throws caution to the wind and joins the famous Rockettes.

Meanwhile, the city is rocked by a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber.” 

Clemence Michallon (fiction, Knopf, out June 20)

Widower Aidan Thomas is a well-liked man in his small upstate town, always ready to help out when needed.

But he’s got a secret: He’s a kidnapper and serial killer who has murdered 8 women, with a 9th woman named Rachel, imprisoned in a shed.

Told through the eyes of Rachel, his teen daughter Cecilia, and Emily, a townswoman with a crush on him, this is a riveting debut. 

Caroline O’Donoghue (fiction, Knopf, out June 27)

Rachel and James meet when they’re working at a bookstore in Cork, and they become immediate BFFs.

James invites Rachel to be his flatmate, and the two embark on all sorts of adventures — until Rachel falls in love (or lust) with her married professor, and it turns out he’s got eyes for James.

Poignant and witty. 

Ana Menendez (fiction, Counterpoint, out June 27)

Told through the eyes of a Miami Beach apartment building that has seen it all over the decades, as it witnesses the different residents who sleep within its walls.

Many people have called Apartment 2B home, from a war bride to a Cuban concert pianist to a Tajik building manager, and more. 

Mai Nguyen (fiction, Atria, out July 4)

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a life for themselves with their family nail salon in Toronto.

But when a glitzier nail salon opens up right across the street, it looks like trouble ahead — and their landlord has just increased their rent.

They enlist the help of their daughter, son, and niece to band together and save the business — even if it means resorting to some good old-fashioned sabotage. 

Chandler Baker (fiction, Flatiron Books, out July 18)

Darby, Mary Beth, and Rhea are all on a quest to reclaim the parts of themselves that have been totally taken over by motherhood — namely, everything.

But the kids have different ideas.

There’s a strange medical condition sweeping the Little Academy preschool — it seems the little ones are craving blood.

When a young teacher is found dead, the only witnesses are 10 4-year-olds. 

Laura Lippman (fiction, William Morrow, out July 25)

Decades have passed since high school, but Amber Glass fears she’ll forever be known as “Prom Mom” — the teen who allegedly killed her baby on prom night after being abandoned by her date, Joe Simpson.

When circumstances bring her back into town, everything seems fine — until Joe walks into her gallery one day and the two resume their fraught connection. 

Sabine Durrant (fiction, Harper, out Aug. 1)

In a small village in Provence, nine guests arrive at a luxury holiday home.

They’ve hired Lulu to cook for them during their stay.

But Lulu isn’t actually the woman they hired — and it turns out this gorgeous grifter has plenty to hide. 

Hannah Sloane (fiction, Dial Press Trade, out Aug. 1)

Would one night off a year spice up a marriage — or destroy it?

Daphne and Dominic decide to give it a try, as they fear they’ve become a bit too comfortable with each other.

Soon, they’re reconsidering just about everything. 

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett (fiction, Harper, out Aug. 1)

In the Spring of 2020, Laura’s three daughters return to the family orchard in Northern Michigan.

While they pick fruit, they beg their mother to tell the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared a romance, both onstage and off.

In the telling, the daughters all examine their own relationships. 

Rachel Howzell Hall (fiction, Thomas & Mercer, out Aug. 1)

Colette “Coco” Weber has returned to Catalina Island.

For Coco, it’s a beautiful but painful place where, 20 years ago, she was the only survivor of a home invasion that left her parents and brother dead.

Now she’s back to take care of her aunt Gwen, while she writes obituaries for the island paper.

But it seems there’s a large number of unexplained deaths on the island — and her curiosity is piqued. 

Lisa Jewell (fiction, Atria Books, out Aug. 8)

Podcaster Alix Newman is celebrating her 45th birthday at a local pub when she meets a woman named Josie.

They are birthday twins, it turns out — born the same day, the same year, and even in the same hospital.

After the chance meeting, Josie approaches Alix with an idea: She thinks she would make an interesting subject for one of Alix’s podcasts.

She’s right; her back story is fascinating.

But the more time they spend together, Alix begins to realize Josie has some pretty dark secrets. 

Will Dean (fiction, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, out Aug. 8)

Caz is ready for an adventure when she steps on board the luxurious RMS Atlantica with her new boyfriend, Pete.

The first night is perfect, with plenty of food, dancing, and socializing.

But when Caz wakes up the next morning, Pete is missing — and so are all the other passengers and staff. 

Christine Mangan (fiction, Flatiron Books, out Aug. 22)

Henri and Louise are strangers on a train from Belgrade to Istanbul — only, they’re not entirely strangers.

It started in Granada, where Henri watched as Louise stole a bag of money not meant for her.

He’s been tasked with getting the money back, as he follows her across Europe.