Lists and Suggestions
List: New Fiction in June
Woman of Light
Fajardo-Anstine, Kali
In 1930s Denver, Luz "Little Light" Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, begins having ... More
In 1930s Denver, Luz "Little Light" Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, begins having visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory where she must save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion. Less
The Gatekeeper
Byrne, James (Writer of suspense fiction), author.
After foiling an attack at the hotel where he's staying, Dez, a retired mercenary, musician and... More
After foiling an attack at the hotel where he's staying, Dez, a retired mercenary, musician and gatekeeper, is back in action and drawn into a dangerous conspiracy involving media manipulation, militias, an armed coup and an attempt to fracture the very country in which we live. Less
Dele Weds Destiny
Obaro, Tomi, 1990- author.
Three once-inseparable college friends in Nigeria reunite at the posh Lagos wedding of one of their... More
Three once-inseparable college friends in Nigeria reunite at the posh Lagos wedding of one of their daughters and recount the events of the past 30 years including loves, losses, an abortion and an affair with an American Peace Corps volunteer. Less
Out of the Clear Blue Sky
Higgins, Kristan, author.
When her husband suddenly leaves her for another woman, Lillie, furious and with limited options of ... More
When her husband suddenly leaves her for another woman, Lillie, furious and with limited options of whom to turn to for help, finds unexpected allies who come to her aid, while, at the same time, she comes to theirs. Less
Counterfeit
Chen, Kirstin, 1981- author.
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a ... More
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home, she's built the perfect life. But beneath this faȧde, Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years, and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business, someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences. Less
These Impossible Things
El-Wardany, Salma, author.
Each navigating love, sex and the one night that changes it all, three Muslim best friends, Malak, ... More
Each navigating love, sex and the one night that changes it all, three Muslim best friends, Malak, Kees and Jenna, as their lives begin to take different paths, must find a way back to each other as they reconcile faith, family and tradition. Less
The Ballad of Perilous Graves
Jennings, Alex, 1979- author.
In a fantastical version of New Orleans, where music is magic, failed magician Perilous Graves and h... More
In a fantastical version of New Orleans, where music is magic, failed magician Perilous Graves and his sister, when nine songs of power escape from the magical piano that maintains the city's beat, must capture these ballads to save the city they love. Less
Elsewhere
Schaitkin, Alexis, 1985- author.
Vera grows up in a small town, removed and isolated, pressed up against the mountains, cloud-covered... More
Vera grows up in a small town, removed and isolated, pressed up against the mountains, cloud-covered and damp year-round. This town, fiercely protective, brutal and unforgiving in its adherence to tradition, faces a singular affliction: some mothers vanish, disappearing into the clouds. It is the exquisite pain and intrinsic beauty of their lives; it sets them apart from people elsewhere and gives them meaning. Vera, a young girl when her own mother went, is on the cusp of adulthood herself. As her peers begin to marry and become mothers, they speculate about who might be the first to go, each wondering about her own fate. Reveling in their gossip, they witness each other in motherhood, waiting for signs. When motherhood comes for Vera, she is faced with the question: will she be able to stay and mother her beloved child, or will she disappear? Less
The House Across the Lake
Sager, Riley, author.
Recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher retreats to her family's lake house in Vermont where sh... More
Recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher retreats to her family's lake house in Vermont where she passes the time watching the glamorous couple across the lake until the wife disappears and she discovers that the most shocking of secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces. Less
Here for the Drama
Bromley, Kate, author.
Becoming a famous playwright is all Winnie ever dreamed about. For now, though, she'll have to ... More
Becoming a famous playwright is all Winnie ever dreamed about. For now, though, she'll have to settle for assisting the celebrated, sharp-witted feminist playwright Juliette Brassard. When an experimental theater company in London, England, decides to stage Juliette's most renowned play, The Lights of Trafalgar, Winnie and Juliette pack their bags and hop across the pond. Then, Juliette's nephew, Liam, enters stage left. He's handsome, he's smart, he is devastatingly British…and his family ties to Juliette pose a serious problem, forcing Winnie to keep their burgeoning relationship on the down-low. What could go wrong? Less
More Than You'll Ever Know
Gutierrez, Katie, author.
An evocative drama follows a woman caught leading a double life after one husband murders the other,... More
An evocative drama follows a woman caught leading a double life after one husband murders the other, and the true-crime writer who becomes obsessed with telling her story. Less
For the Throne
Whitten, Hannah, author.
"Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red&... More
"Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally--though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again--the rogue king Solmir. Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves"-- Less
Island Time
Clark, Georgia, author.
The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Ameri... More
The Kellys are messy, loud, loving Australians. The Lees are sophisticated, aloof, buttoned-up Americans. They have nothing in common…except for the fact that their daughters are married. When a nearby volcano erupts during their short vacation to a remote tropical island off the coast of Queensland, the two families find themselves stranded together for six weeks. Less
Escape
Patterson, James, 1947- author.
As Chicago PD’s special-ops leader, Detective Billy Harney knows well that money is not the only ... More
As Chicago PD’s special-ops leader, Detective Billy Harney knows well that money is not the only valuable currency. The filthy rich man he’s investigating is down to his last twenty million. He’s also being held in jail. For now... Billy’s unit is called in when an escape plan results in officers down and inmates vanished. In an empty lot, Billy spots two Kevlar vests. Two helmets. Two assault rifles. And a handwritten note: "Hi, Billy- Are you having fun yet?". Less
On Rotation
Obuobi, Shirlene, author.
For fans of Grey's Anatomy and Seven Days in June, this dazzling debut novel by Shirlene Obuob... More
For fans of Grey's Anatomy and Seven Days in June, this dazzling debut novel by Shirlene Obuobi explores that time in your life when you must decide what you want, how to get it, & who you are, all while navigating love, friendship, and the realization that the path you're traveling is going to be a bumpy ride.-- Less
Nora Goes Off Script
Monaghan, Annabel, author.
As a romance channel screenwriter, Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. Whe... More
As a romance channel screenwriter, Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. When her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage's collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life; it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds actor Leo Vance, who played her husband, on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. Nora's life is about to get a rewrite, because sometimes love is bigger than the big screen. -- adapted from jacket Less
Local Gone Missing
Barton, Fiona, author.
"Detective Elise King investigates a man's disappearance in a seaside town where the loca... More
"Detective Elise King investigates a man's disappearance in a seaside town where the locals and weekenders are at odds with each other in this rich and captivating new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow. Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective--or she was before a medical leave left her unsure if she'd ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing--the weekenders renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes. Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her house cleaner, often knows. She's an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything. The conflicts boil over when a newcomer wants to put the town on the map with a giant music festival, and two teenagers overdose on drugs. When a man disappears the first night of the festival, Elise is drawn back into her detective work and starts digging for answers. Ebbing is a small town, but it's full of secrets and hidden connections that run deeper and darker than Elise could have ever imagined"-- Less
Maggie Moves On
Score, Lucy, author.
"Ready for her next challenge, house flipper and YouTube sensation Maggie Nichols arrives in K... More
"Ready for her next challenge, house flipper and YouTube sensation Maggie Nichols arrives in Kinship, Idaho, with only a cot and a coffeemaker, to bring a crumbling eighteen-room Victorian mansion back to life in four months, five tops. At least, that's the idea until she meets tall, charming landscaper Silas Wright. Maggie hates distractions from her mile-long to-do list. Even if the distraction looks really good shirtless. Now not only does she have a determined suitor on her hands, there's her half-sister who shows up on her doorstep with a toddler and a big ask. And her ex-husband Dean and Silas's stepbrother who start to a explore a romantic relationship of their own. Not to mention a treasure hunt for hidden gold. Silas is confident he'll win in the end and isn't above playing dirty. He's constantly distracting Maggie with things like kayaking and skinny-dipping. In bed, he teaches her how to really let go. Despite her best efforts, Maggie just might be falling for him but that doesn't mean she's going to stay. She never stays. Her entire career is built on moving on. As the completion of the house looms, Silas's mother and stepmother deliver some sage wisdom: If he really loves Maggie, he can't just ask her to give up everything for him. He also has to be willing to give it all up for her"-- Less
Tracy Flick Can't Win
Perrotta, Tom, 1961- author.
"Tracy Flick is back and, once again, the iconic protagonist of Tom Perrotta's Election-a... More
"Tracy Flick is back and, once again, the iconic protagonist of Tom Perrotta's Election-and Reese Witherspoon's character from the classic movie adaptation-is determined to take high school politics by storm.Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job. Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life-a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. Among her many other responsibilities, Tracy is enlisted to serve on the Selection Committee for the brand-new Green Meadow High School Hall of Fame. Her male colleagues' determination to honor Vito Falcone-a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL-triggers bad memories for Tracy, and leads her to troubling reflections about the trajectory of her own life and the forces that have left her feeling thwarted and disappointed, unable to fulfill her true potential. As she broods on the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the Principal job? Is the Superintendent plotting against her? Why is the School Board President's wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can't she ever get what she deserves? In classic Perrotta style, Tracy Flick Can't Win is a sharp, darkly comic page-turner, and a pitch-perfect reflection on our current moment. Flick fans and newcomers alike will love this compulsively readable novel chronicling the second act of one of the most memorable characters of our time"-- Less
Ordinary Monsters
Miro, J. M., author.
"England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figur... More
"England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness-a man made of smoke. Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When a jaded female detective is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous. What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theatres of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts - the Talents - have been gathered. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of what is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts. Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world-and of the gifted, broken children who must save it"-- Less
American Royalty
Livesay, Tracey
In this dangerously sexy rom-com that evokes the real-life romance between Prince Harry and Duchess ... More
In this dangerously sexy rom-com that evokes the real-life romance between Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle, a prince who wants to live out of the spotlight falls for a daring American rapper who turns his life, and the palace, upside down. Less
Cult Classic
Crosley, Sloane, author.
One night in New York City's Chinatown, a woman is at a work reunion dinner with former collea... More
One night in New York City's Chinatown, a woman is at a work reunion dinner with former colleagues when she excuses herself to buy a pack of cigarettes. On her way back, she runs into a former boyfriend. And then another. And . . . another. Nothing is quite what it seems as the city becomes awash with ghosts of heartbreaks past. What would normally pass for coincidence becomes something far stranger as the recently engaged Lola must contend not only with the viability of her current relationship but the fact that both her best friend and her former boss, a magazine editor turned mystical guru, might have an unhealthy investment in the outcome. Memories of the past swirl and converge in ways both comic and eerie, as Lola is forced to decide if she will surrender herself to the conspiring of one very contemporary cult. Less
Horse
Brooks, Geraldine, author.
"A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in Am... More
"A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history. Kentucky, 1850. Jarrett, an enslaved groom, and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. As the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name painting the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack. New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a 19th equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance. Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly drawn to one another through their shared interest in the horse--one studying the stallion's bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success. Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred, Lexington, who became America's greatest stud sire, Horse is a gripping, multi-layered reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America"-- Less
The Hotel Nantucket
Hilderbrand, Elin, author.
After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket ... More
After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket descended from a gilded age gem to a mediocre budget-friendly lodge to inevitably an abandoned eyesore -- until it's purchased and renovated top to bottom by London billionaire, Xavier Darling. Xavier hires Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton as his general manager, and Lizbet, in turn, pulls together a charismatic, if inexperienced, staff who share the vision of turning the fate of the hotel around. They face challenges in getting along with one another (and with the guests), in overcoming the hotel's bad reputation, and in surviving the (mostly) harmless shenanigans of Grace Hadley herself -- who won't stop haunting the hotel until her murder is acknowledged. Less