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New York Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
The best beach reads for summer 2025
30 'Atomsphere' is written by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine Books) The phenomenally popular author of 'Malibu Rising' and 'Daisy Jones and the Six' returns with another novel — once again focused on an ambitious female protagonist and with nods to recent history. In the early 1980s, Joan Goodwin is thrilled to be chosen for NASA's space shuttle program. But her space dreams confront harsh realities when a rocket mission with her love interest aboard goes very wrong. June 3 30 Camilla Sten is the author of 'The Bachelorette Party.' Advertisement Camilla Sten (Minotaur Books) Four childhood girlfriends meet up every year on a remote Swedish island for a night of fun — until, one year when they mysteriously disappear, never to be seen or heard from again. A decade later, a struggling true-crime podcaster is intent on finding out what happened to the women, and she plans a bachelorette party for her best friend with eerie similarities to the missing women's getaway. June 10 V. E. Schwab (Tor Books) The author of the acclaimed 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' has written a gothic novel about three women vampires whose stories span five centuries as they reckon with their anger and appetites. June 10 Advertisement Chris Pavone (MCD) Drama unfolds both inside and just outside a tony bourgeois-bohemian Manhattan apartment building as the city explodes into race riots after police kill a black man. Beloved doorman Chicky Diaz finds himself carrying a gun to work. Out now Lisa Jewell (Atria Books) When Ash's widowed mother, Nina, starts dating a charming man named Nick, he seems too good to be true — and he is. In the next town over, Martha, a florist with a new baby, begins wondering why her once-devoted husband has been traveling so much for work of late. The three women's paths cross as they learn dark, dangerous truths about Nick in the latest thriller from the bestselling author. June 24 Advertisement Brad Thor July 1 (Atria/Emily Bestler Book) In the 24th Scot Harvath book, the Navy SEAL-turned-spy wrestles with a new administration and a major conspiracy that has far-reaching consequences for the country. July 1 Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press) Vuong, a Vietnamese American poet, won great acclaim with his first novel, 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.' His latest is sent in East Gladness, Conn., where a 19-year-old boy becomes the caretaker for a dementia-addled widow and the two develop an unexpected, powerful bond. Out now Advertisement Megan Abbott (G.P. Putnam's Sons) After their family's wealth fades with the decline of the auto industry, three sisters in suburban Detroit get wrapped up in a pyramid scheme called The Wheel. It promises women wealth and independence, but it comes at a steep price. June 24 Maria Reva (Doubleday) This darkly comic debut is drawing raves. In Ukraine, just before Russia invades, a quirky snail scientist — who funds her work by touring around Westerners looking for mail-order brides — embarks on a road trip with two other young women in the marriage industry. They also have some kidnapped bachelors in tow. June 3 Carl Hiaasen (Knopf) Set in Florida, this farce skews our polarized times with an assortment of over-the-top characters, including a wannabe Proud Boy, an environmentalist with anger issues and millions of dollars in inherited wealth, a recent divorcee working for a questionable philanthropy, scandal-plagued politicians and plastic surgery-obsessed billionaires. Out now Susan Choi (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) With her 2019 National Book Award winner 'Trust Exercise,' Choi played with perspective and she continues to do so with her latest. One nigh, 10-year-old Louisa goes for a walk with her dad on the beach. He disappears and she nearly drowns and washes up on the shore. That tragic, mysterious evening is recounted from the perspective of various characters as Louisa tries to make sense of her family's complicated past, including her dad's kin in Japan and North Korea. Advertisement Emily Henry (Berkly) The blockbuster rom-com author delivers a delightful new read in which a fledgling writer finds herself competing for the story with a Pulitzer Prize winner. Both have traveled to Little Crescent island to write about a mysterious octogenarian heiress. She offers them each a trial period to see who can best tell her story, but the two writers have to contend with plot twists — and their unshakeable chemistry. Out now 30 Nora Roberts is the author of 'Hidden Nature.' Nora Roberts (St. Martin's Press) A police office returns home to live with her parents while recovering from being shot (and getting dumped), then gets swept up in a string of unsolved missing person cases, in the latest from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author. May 27 Advertisement 30 'Hotter in the Hamptons' is written by Tinx. Tinx (Bloom Books) As Tinx, the content creator Christina Najjar has gained a reputation for being 'TikTok's older sister,' offering up frank dating advice on her podcast and in her bestselling book 'The Shift.' Now, she's jumping into fiction with this tale of a bisexual NYC It girl who has a steamy fling with a cultural critic who has written a brutal takedown of her. The book has already been optioned for TV with Sara and Erin Foster — of 'Nobody Wants This' fame — set to produce. Out now 30 'In Pursuit of Beauty' is written by Gary Baum. Gary Baum (Blackstone) A Hollywood Reporter journalist known for his dishy investigative pieces has penned a novel about a top Beverly Hills plastic surgeon on a controversial crusade. Dr. Roya Delshad pioneers the idea of 'beauty reparations,' providing low-income folks with free procedures. When her attractiveness activism lands her in jail, she hires a ghostwriter to help her write her memoir — and salvage her reputation. July 1 Advertisement 30 S.A. Cosby is the author of 'king of Ashes.' S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar) A patriarch in a crime-ridden Virginia town ends up in a coma after a car crash, and his adult children — older son and money man Roman, troubled younger brother Dante, and depleted sister Neveah — come to realize that it was no accident. June 10. 30 'The Magician of Tiger Castle' is written by Louis Sachar. Advertisement Louis Sachar (Ace) The author of the iconic 1970s kids book 'Sideways Stories from Wayside School' — and the award-winning 'Holes' — has written his first adult novel. In a far-off kingdom, a struggling magician must choose between salvaging his reputation or casting a spell on his princess friend so she'll go through with marrying a man she doesn't love. August 5. 30 'Never Flinch' is written by Stephen King. Stephen King (Scribner) A detective investigates deadly threats by a person seeking brutal revenge, while a feminist speaker fears for her safety as she tours the country, in the suspense master's new novel. It features characters both new and familiar, such as Holly Gibney, an OCD private investigator with an amazing memory who appears in many King books. May 27. 30 Michael Connelly is the author of 'Nightshade.' Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company) Office politics push a Los Angeles police detective out of his job, and he ends up on sleepy Catalina Island investigating petty crimes and drunken disputes. Then the body of a Jane Doe is found in the harbor, and there are reports of illegal poaching. Suddenly, the peaceful island is fraught with danger and secrets. Out now. 30 Jemimah Wei is the author of 'The Original Daughter.' Jemimah Wei (Doubleday) In this buzzy debut, two ambitious, competitive sisters come of age in working-class Singapore, navigating the gaps in their success and a complicated relationship fraught with both love and envy. Out now. 30 Christopher J. Yates is the author of 'The Rabbit Club.' Christopher J. Yates (Hanover Square Press) A Los Angeles nepo baby heads to Oxford to study English literature and gains entrance into a menacing secret society in this dark, twisty thriller from the author of the acclaimed 'Black Chalk.' July 8. 30 'The River is Waiting' is written by Wally Lamb. Wally Lamb (S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books) Lamb has had not one but two Oprah's Book Club picks — 'She's Come Undone' and 'I Know This Much Is True' — in his career. His first novel in eight years centers on a young Connecticut dad named Corby who loses his job, struggles with addiction, and causes a tragedy that sends him to prison for three years. On the inside, Corby struggles while coming across a number of memorable characters. On the outside, his wife questions whether she should remain married to him. June 10. 30 'Shield of Sparrows' is written by Devney Perry. Devney Perry (Entangled: Red Tower Books) Perry, the author of the popular 'Treasure State Wildcats' series, makes her romance debut. A princess must embark on a journey with a notorious monster slayer in accordance with an ancient treaty. Out now. 30 'Silver Elite' is written by Dani Francis. Dani Francis (Del Rey) In a dystopian future, a young woman with psychic abilities gets the chance to join the enemy's ranks — and fight the powers that be from within. This is the first book in a new romance series, and it's been blowing up on BookTok, in part because of questions about the true identity of the author. Out now. 30 'Songs of Summer' is written by Jane L. Rosen. Jane L. Rosen (Berkley) A young woman who owns a record shop starts questioning her future — and her plans to marry her best friend from childhood — after stumbling on some letters she wrote herself as a teen. She ends up going to Fire Island to search for her birth mother and meets a cute local guy along the way. Out now. 30 Stuart Woods is the author of 'Finders Keepers.' Brett Battles (G.P. Putnam's Sons) In the latest Stone Barrington novel, the ex-NYPD cop takes a friend's recently divorced daughter under his wing and shows her around the city. But when bad things start happening to several men from her past, Barrington must connect the dots before time runs out. June 3. 30 Freida McFadden is the author of 'The Tenant.' Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press) After he's suddenly fired from his job as a VP of marketing, Blake Porter rents out a room in his brownstone to help cover the mortgage. His new tenant seems lovely at first, but disturbing things start happening, in the latest from the bestselling author of 'The Housemaid.' Out now. 30 Karin Slaughter is the author of 'We Are All Guilty Here.' Karin Slaughter (William Morrow) The blockbuster author of the Will Trent books is kicking off a new series with this mystery set in a small town called North Falls. When two teenage girls go missing, Officer Emily Clifton vows to find her daughter's friends, but the teens are hiding unexpected secrets. Aug. 12. 30 'With a Vengeance' is written by Riley Sager. Riley Sager (Dutton) In 1954, Anna Mattheson had a plan to get the six people who ruined her family on a train, where she'll confront them and they'll admit their wrongdoings and get arrested when the train stops. But things take a turn when a passenger is murdered, and it becomes clear that Anna isn't the only one onboard who's out for revenge. June 10. 30 'The Woman in Suite' is written by Ruth Ware. Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press) In Ware's bestselling 'The Woman in Cabin 10,' travel journalist Lo Blacklock looked for answers after a woman on a luxury cruise was thrown overboard. Here, Blacklock goes to cover the opening of a tony hotel in Switzerland but soon finds herself swept up in a dangerous pursuit across Europe involving the supposed mistress of the hotel's billionaire owner. July 8.
New York Times
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
3 New Horror Books That Put a Fresh Spin on Old Tropes
Something in the Walls Daisy Pearce's latest, SOMETHING IN THE WALLS (Minotaur Books, 291 pp., $28), follows Mina, a young woman taking big steps forward in her life. She's just graduated from college with a degree in psychology and a specialization in child clinical work, and she's about to get married. But things are far from perfect. Between her doubts about her fiancé, the trauma from her brother's recent death and her inability to find work in her field, Mina is struggling. While visiting a bereavement group she meets Sam Hunter, a journalist who quickly offers Mina a chance to put her new degree to work, suggesting she help him with an article about a girl named Alice who claims a witch is haunting her. The job requires they move in with Alice, and there, Mina expects to find something she can diagnose. But things quickly get complicated. The residents of Alice's village congregate in front of her house and claim she can talk to the dead. Inside the house, Alice's parents might have reasons to be coaching their daughter to lie. Then people start dying. The more Mina learns, the worse things get, and soon it becomes clear that more than just psychology is at play. At first glance, the elements of the story — witches, a child who might be possessed, a small town with a dark secret — may sound like a collection of tired horror tropes, but in 'Something in the Walls,' Pearce makes these old dogs perform wonderful new tricks. The novel is full of superb, and sustained, tension and heavy doses of folklore and eerie history, making this a fun read that is also smart and engaging. This might be Pearce's best book yet. Beta Vulgaris Elise, the protagonist of Margie Sarsfield's ambitious, impressive debut, BETA VULGARIS (Norton, 285 pp., paperback, $18.99), isn't poor; she's 'broke.' To make money, she and her boyfriend, Tom, travel to a farm in Minnesota to work a sugar beet harvest. The job is dull and takes place in the cold, but it pays well, and Elise and Tom get along with their co-workers. Then things go awry. Tom becomes moody. Elise, who stops taking her antidepressants because she can't afford them, starts to question herself, and she develops a crush on her new friend, Cee. People start to go missing, including Tom and Cee. Also, do the beets they harvest seem to pulse like hearts? Contending with her anxiety, the unsettling crops, the disembodied voices she starts to hear and the disappearances, Elise begins to spiral. The center of the narrative is Elise and her struggles with self-loathing. She's afraid of being a racist and thus constantly examines her thoughts and biases, hates her 'coastal elitism,' frequently worries about Tom not loving her, and considers herself a 'stupid stupid moron.' With so much going on in Elise's mind, the external horror phenomena that would ordinarily be the focus of a novel like this — little things like a puppy vomiting bloody worms, a strange rash that bruises Elise's neck, the people vanishing — are pushed to the side. It's a brilliant move that allows us to immerse ourselves in this complicated character while also giving the scary components of the story space to coalesce into something more disturbing, resulting in a marvelous atmosphere of dread. This creepfest does suffer from a bit of overwriting — half a page devoted to soups, too much of the minutiae of the harvest — and Elise's constant complaints and self-doubts eventually become repetitive, but her depth and honesty give this story a lot of power. Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread For horror readers who want to get meta about the genre, Leila Taylor's SICK HOUSES: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread (Repeater, 217 pp., paperback, $16.95) is a nonfiction 'catalog of houses that have gone wrong.' It's also a deep dive into the history of haunted houses in horror, and an examination of 'the idea of home, and how horror perverts and manipulates one of the most personal and intimate experiences we have as human beings.' Taylor's inquisitive mind takes readers on a journey through seven house categories: American Houses, Brutal Houses, Witch Houses, Mad Houses, Little Houses, Forever Houses and My House. She gives readers a tour of the frightening architectural fare that falls under each classification and also unpacks the cultural reasons these types of buildings have a hold on our imaginations. The journey through those categories is unpredictable and sometimes erratic, but Taylor is always amusing and insightful no matter where she takes us. Pages upon pages of detailed film synopses might be too much for some readers — especially if they're unfamiliar with the source material — but Taylor's mix of knowledge and humor is a treat. Anyone curious about houses with a history, and historically creepy houses, should check this one out.
