PEOPLE Picks the Best New Books of the Week

Photo: Graydon House; Flatiron Books; Knopf

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Graydon House

Buy It:Amazon,Bookshop.org

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Crown

Gone for months after her submarine sinks, Miri’s marine biologist wife finally returns — but she seems to be a creature from another world, drifting ever further from Miri’s grasp. Original and haunting. —Robin Micheli

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Knopf

The story of three brilliant kids who found a video game company, this book is about so much more — friendship, love, loyalty, violence in America and the magic of invented worlds. Gorgeous. —Marion Winik

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Courtesy of Post Hill Press

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Former CNBC host Wong grew up trying to navigate three confusing realities: the Latina world of her volatile mom, the immigrant Chinese one of her hustler dad and the white-picket-fence suburbs of her mother’s next husband. But it wasn’t until decades later, when her mother died, that Wong unearthed shattering secrets about whose daughter she really is, upending her identity once again. A stunner about race, culture and the deeper meaning of family. —Caroline Leavitt

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Harper

How does 7-year-old Jonah, who’s always cried for his “other” mother, know details of the life of Henry Bird, a musician who vanished years ago? And does Jonah hold the clue to Henry’s disappearance? This riveting psychological thriller raises provocative questions about life and death. —Robin Micheli

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Gallery/Scout Press

Freshman year at Oxford was going great — until Hannah found her roommate dead. When the man she helped convict dies in jail 10 years later, lingering doubts drive her back to the world she fled. So many flawed friendships, so many promising red herrings… The pages just turn themselves. —Marion Winik

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In the mid-1980s a gay woman in Los Angeles tried every method available to conceive a child (including asking pal Warren Beatty for help) before persuading a dashing stranger to donate sperm — and to play the role of father. Their daughter Chrysta Bilton’s tumultuous upbringing was capped off with an ancestry.com bombshell: Her father has at least 35 other children. Bilton’s twisty life story is fascinating, and her eye for detail and ability to plumb her painful past for meaning make this a riveting debut. —Claire Martin

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When straight-arrow Hannah Brooks gets hired to protect a very famous — and hunky — movie star from a stalker at his family’s Texas ranch, she breaches her cardinal rule: Don’t get emotionally involved with your clients. With speedy pacing and sexual tension for miles, this tale packs a punch.

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Amazon

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Martha feels isolated in her Houston suburb. But when her popular ex-classmate Minnie moves in next door, Martha eagerly — then obsessively — pursues a friendship. A suspenseful tale of relationships, loneliness and what goes on behind closed doors. —Rennie Dyball

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This captivating historical novel follows two unlikely love affairs, centuries apart. The first, in the antebellum South, begins when an enslaved boy becomes the groom of a bay pony — who grows into the fastest stallion in racing history. The second, in modern Washington, D.C., is sparked when a Nigerian grad student pulls an old painting of a horse from the trash, then falls for the woman who helps him authenticate it. The connections between the stories are brilliant, shocking and profound. —Marion Winik

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Charlotte and Rose meet at a New York music magazine in 1997 and become joined at the hip, soul sisters planning to reject domesticity while becoming famous writers and heartbreakers. Then ambitions shift and promises are broken. A fantastically vivid story about feminism and friendship. —Mary Pols

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The MSNBC anchor explores her complex relationship with her father, helicopter news pioneer Zoey Tur, who transitioned to female in 2013 and was both an inspiration and a terror to Katy during her youth. An unapologetic look at childhood wounds and how they steeled her for the abrasive world of political reporting. —Marissa Charles

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Algonquin Books

Lem Billings was John F. Kennedy’s prep school roommate and a close friend. He was also gay. This captivating work of historical fiction offers an intimate look into Lem’s relationships with the charismatic young senator and the budding journalist Jacqueline Bouvier, whom JFK enlists Lem to vet. As the couple’s go-between, Lem ultimately loves — and loses — both. “I’m not making a mistake, am I, Lem?” Jackie asks, pondering her future. The rest is history. —Anne Leslie

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Atria Books

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NacelleBooks

Meg, an unemployed copywriter desperate to ignite her career and be a good mother in status-obsessed Manhattan, gets caught up in momfluencer hell. Mollen, an Instagram star herself, wields knife-edged wit and insights to skewer the excesses of social media culture and New York City’s elite. —Robin Micheli

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Hogarth

Looking for an addictive summer read? This crime drama embedded in a moving portrait of two Maine families marks the debut of a genius storyteller. Andrew and Ed Thatch meet as teenagers working at the Thatch family lobster pound. When Andrew returns to Damariscotta as an adult, Ed and his wife are the local “It” couple; as the novel opens, they are throwing a lavish reception for their daughter’s college lacrosse team. Then the police cruisers arrive. —Marion Winik

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Scribner

The aspiring school president of Perrotta’s 1998 Election is back as a single mom and high school VP contending with hot-button issues like toxic masculinity, tech-bro culture and #metoo. Engrossing and mordantly funny. —Claire Martin

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G.P. Putnam’s Sons

After shooting scenes at the home of a film’s newly divorced writer, its heartthrob star stays on to get a taste of normal life. A witty and poignant roller coaster that springs a delightful surprise. —Robin Micheli

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If you like your s’mores with a side of suspense,The Wild Oneserves up plenty of sticky situations (of both varieties) to devour. The book follows Amanda at an idyllic summer camp where something goes horribly wrong one night — and then again a decade later, as she grapples with the consequences as her secrets start to unravel around her. When she returns to the pine-shaded scene of the crime, it becomes apparent that sometimes, the horrors teenage girls can inflict on each other are scarier than anything else. —Alex Apatoff

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amazon

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The 1920s setting is dark: an institution where “feebleminded women of childbearing age” are “protected” from the world. But an irresistible teenage narrator and the jaw-dropping caper she pulls off make this novel a kick. —Marion Winik

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In 1950 London, Bloomsbury Books runs on tradition and the 51 rules of its longtime manager Herbert Dutton. While the hidebound shop has three female employees — Vivien, an aspiring writer who lost her fiancé in the war; the unhappily married Grace; and Cambridge graduate Evie Stone — the men have all the authority. But things change when Dutton takes a medical leave, and the women decide to take matters into their own hands and modernize. Just delightful. —Lisa Greissinger

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After decades of seeing his brother nearly buckle under psychiatric diagnoses and medications, Bergner wondered: Did any of it really help? His heartfelt book threads the stories of three fascinating patients and raises urgent questions about how we view and treat mental illness. —Marion Winik

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Shipped off to a Montana reform camp after her role in an armed robbery, a Massachusetts teen falls for an older camp worker, the stoic but sensitive Turtle of the title. They escape into the wilderness — where the often cruel beauty of the natural and man-made worlds collide. An unforgettable love story. —Andy Abrahams

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Alice Stern has never strayed far from her New York City roots. She works at the high school she attended and constantly texts her childhood bestie. After passing out drunk on her 40th birthday, she wakes up in her 16-year-old body (think13 Going on 30, in reverse): Suddenly she can have a do-over with the crush she never forgot and spend more time with her ailing dad. A rollicking trip to 1990s Manhattan combined with a tender — and rare — ode to parental love. —Claire Martin

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Fourteen-year-old Sally Holt is a lonely smartypants who has a crush on her big sister’s boyfriend — so the morning the couple take a detour to drop her off at middle school is extra special. Until it turns out to be the end of Sally’s world. Based on the author’s life, this tale of unimaginable loss is riveting and real. —Marion Winik

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Who murdered Lollie Winans and Julie Williams as they were hiking in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park in 1996? While interviewing hundreds of experts about the gruesome deaths, Miles grew doubtful that the FBI’s prime suspect was the killer, coming to her own persuasive, chilling conclusion. A gripping look inside a tragic unsolved case. —Richard Eisenberg

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Pantheon

Life is turbulent in the fictional Massachusetts hamlet of Vigil Harbor during the post-pandemic era, which Glass (Three Junes) imagines as a decade from now. There’s a surge in divorces among the yachtclub set, the climate crisis has ravaged the seashore, and the tentacles of global terrorism have infiltrated even this secluded spot. Then two strange visitors arrive in town, adding to the chaos and dredging up secrets from the past. An engrossing, richly drawn and exquisitely told story of small-town residents grappling with the difficulties of changing times. —Claire Martin

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Amistad

The extraordinary story of how CNN anchor Asher’s mom, a Nigerian widow who had survived genocide and famine, made certain that poverty and racism wouldn’t stop her kids. By plastering the walls with Black success stories, starting a family book club and insisting on studying, she made her dreams for them become reality. Awe-inspiring. —Caroline Leavitt

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Little, Brown and Company

A master wielder of dry British humor, Stibbe (Love, Nina) here chronicles 30 years in the lives of frenemies Susan and Norma — a tangle of sweetness, snubs and secrets from their university days to middle age. There’s an LOL moment on almost every page, which makes the pandemic ending astonishingly moving. —Marion Winik

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Dutton

Crowd-pleaser Trigiani is back with another immersive saga, this time focused on the Cabrelli family, expert gem cutters in a Tuscan town for centuries. As matriarch Matelda recollects the life of her mother, a strong-willed young nurse who was banished from town in the 1940s after crossing the local priest, she reveals secrets and creates a new bond with granddaughter Anina. A celebration of family and a paean to the power of storytelling. —Robin Micheli

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Everything’s falling apart: Jane Sullivan’s marriage, her sister’s band, their cousin’s relationship. All are drawn back to the Chicago eatery their grandfather founded. Weaving her story around the restaurant, the Cubs' fortunes and the mood after the 2016 election, Close serves up a treat. —Robin Micheli

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The outrages of motherhood can be timeless or of the moment — and comic fireball Klein offers comfort for both. Post-pregnancy body and homemade Halloween costumes? Toddler superfoods and COVID school closures? Her humor and insights are spot-on. —Marion Winik

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Gaspery-Jacques Roberts is leading a boring life, albeit in a futuristic moon colony, until he lands a job investigating “the possibility that all of reality is a simulation.” He becomes a time traveler, encountering ordinary people at extraordinary moments in their lives, centuries away from his own. Or maybe closer than he thinks. Fusing sci-fi and great storytelling, this imaginative novel from the author of Station Eleven explores how technology might control our fate if we abandon compassion. —Anne Leslie

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St. Martin’s Press

Comedian Rainbow (yes, his real name) is as clever and camp as you might expect from his deliciously entertaining YouTube videos. His story is also deeply touching, as it chronicles his struggles with a bullying father, an eating disorder and sometimes crippling social anxiety. —Judith Newman

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In order to raise crucial funds for his tiny Italian town, the self-appointed mayor starts a rumor that a star will be filming there — and the lies multiply. A charming farce that highlights the triumph of hope and community in an often unforgiving world. —Robin Micheli

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Doubleday

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Simon & Schuster

Bereft and rueful after his mom’s death, Morton sat down to write a book. His affecting, funny tribute captures the complexities of the mother-son bond, the crazy-making choices of caretaking and the mixed blessings of small-town life. —Marion Winik

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Playwright and screenwriter Ephron’s memoir covers some grim territory: losing a spouse; mourning a cherished sibling (writing partner Nora, who died in 2012); and confronting one’s own mortality (in 2017 Ephron was diagnosed with the same cancer that killed her sister). But this endearing read is anything but depressing, thanks to vibrant, witty storytelling, a second chance at love and the hovering hope of a happy ending right out of a movie, like the Ephrons’You’ve Got Mail. —Mary Pols

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The Dial Press

Fleeing domestic violence, a mother and her two daughters move into the ancestral home grandmother Hazel always meant as a refuge. There they navigate real and imaginary boundaries to create a safe space. Spanning 70 years,Memphislovingly renders all the ways a community can love you back to life. —Deborah Douglas

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Scribner; First Edition

When tech mogul Bix Bouton develops “Own Your Unconscious,” which allows users to share memories to a collective cloud, the societal implications are profound. Egan brilliantly explores the interconnected lives of those who embrace the technology and those who reject it entirely. Mesmerizing. —Emma Dries

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Grove Press

When a romance develops between two teenage boys (one Protestant, one Catholic) in a Glasgow housing project, the danger of discovery is all too real. LikeShuggie Bain, the author’s acclaimed debut, this is a raw, tender and generous story of love and survival in tough circumstances. —Helen Rogan

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Henry Holt and Co.

What’s worse than a daughter running off to Paris, going gaga over a handsome fascist and ending up in the news breaking windows during a riot? If it all happens amid her mom’s run for New York senator! Ginder is a genius at finding the hilarity — and the heart — in crazy-making family drama. —Marion Winik

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Flatiron Books

In this riveting true-crime memoir, former PI Krouse reveals how her own childhood abuse led to her role as an investigator in a landmark Title IX sexual-assault case targeting the University of Colorado’s win-at-any- cost football program, where recruits often went unpunished for sexual crimes and blame fell on victims. Krouse’s fight for justice (there was a $2.85 million settlement from the university in 2007) shows how we can truly enact change — in society and in ourselves. —Caroline Leavitt

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As an end-of-life doula, Nova Huston helps the terminally ill face death. But can she convince 36-year-old musician Mason Shaylor, who wants to die after a career-ending botched surgery, that his life still holds purpose and passion? Grab the tissues. —Lisa Greissinger

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Mariner Books

In this circuitous mystery, the lives of a widow with a shadowy past, her charming male tenant, a woman desperate to escape her loveless marriage and a travel writer with anger issues intersect and explode into more than one shocking ending. Delightfully creepy. —Andy Abrahams

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Grand Central Publishing

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An ambitious novel of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth and his family: adoring mom, alcoholic dad and siblings, including a more talented actor brother. Slow-burning and rich, it illuminates America’s core contradictions. —Mary Pols

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Counterpoint

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A lovable whirlwind with very sharp teeth, Fig shatters Humphreys’s tranquility but prompts this wise meditation on why dogs make ideal companions for writers. “Isn’t it wonderful,” she writes, “to relearn what is good in life… under the guise of teaching the puppy?” —Anne Leslie

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Pamela Dorman Books

Emma Bigelow is a renowned British marine biologist with a doting husband, a toddler — and some very dark secrets. When she gets cancer, her journalist husband is tasked with composing her obituary, and as he unearths her past, their idyllic life begins to implode. Is he really their daughter’s father? What’s happening on her frequent work trips? Combining the gripping pace of a psychological thriller with the tenderness and sorrow of a love story gone wrong, this one’s a winner. —Claire Martin

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William Morrow

A strange voice mail leads Jess to believe her half brother Ben has gone missing — and she suspects the less-than-friendly neighbors in his building are involved. Can she solve the mystery? Another clever, cliff-hanger-filled thriller from the author ofThe Guest List. —Sierra Hoeger

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Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

In this eloquent meditation on aging and resilience, journalist Bruni recounts his journey to acceptance after a stroke robbed him of much of his vision in the right eye. Instead of despairing, he sets out to learn how others navigate sight-impaired worlds — and rediscovers the gifts in his own life. —Andy Abrahams

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Fleeing a brutal husband, the author’s mother moved with her kids to a squatters' shack, where she began taking in other hapless creatures: abandoned animals. Zaleski vowed to buy a farm one day so her mom could rescue on a grander scale — and Funny Farm was born. The N.J. property now houses 600 ducks, goats, pigs, dogs and horses and draws 100,000 visitors a year. An ebullient memoir and a reminder that the bigger your heart, the greater the rewards. —Caroline Leavitt

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When First Lady Lara Caine asks former White House correspondent Sofie Morse to write her biography, Morse is intrigued. But could what she learns about the Russian-born Caine’s complicated life bring down the Presidency? A gripping tale of the Cold War and its legacy. —Lisa Greissinger

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Viking

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Leanne Hazelton is finally hitting her stride: A new mother living in her new house in Los Angeles, she’s about to publish her first book after years of working in retail. But when her best friend, Regina — who’d always been the richer, more successful, better connected of the two — is unsupportive, even spiteful, the knives come out. A witty, wise examination of friendship, class and family, and a hilarious, pitch-perfect send-up of L.A'.s bougie-bohemian class. —Claire Martin

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Journalist Drayton makes a powerful argument: For African Americans, escaping the U.S. and its racial inequities can be an act of self-preservation. In this strong, emotional debut, she explores what led her to leave a New Jersey town for the Caribbean — and stay there. —Lynn Brown

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A small, wise bird named Gail lives inside Owen, dispensing advice — and serving as a metaphor for his queerness. Fearing he’ll be turned into a circus sideshow, his mother hides him away until he’s a young teen, when he begins to explore his identity. A sublime and surprising coming-of-age novel. —Claire Martin

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W. W. Norton & Company

Leo, the tyrannical and philandering patriarch of a Chinese American family in Wisconsin, has wreaked havoc in the lives of his three grown sons; his wife, Winnie, has fled to a local Buddhist sanctuary. When Dad is found dead in the freezer at the family’s restaurant after a lavish Christmas party, oldest son Dagou, the eatery’s chef, gets put on trial for murder. A hilarious mystery that’s also a searing take on assimilation and the American dream. —Richard Eisenberg

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The author rose above sexual abuse, alcoholism, homophobia and the velvet handcuffs of corporate success when she climbed Mt. Everest, taking other survivors of trauma with her to the top of the world. You’ll finish her incredible story in tears. —Marion Winik

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When Twyla and Roberta grow close in a children’s shelter, it doesn’t seem to matter that one is Black and the other white. But when they cross paths as adults, race rises to the surface. Written in 1980 and newly republished, Morrison’s only short story —which doesn’t specify which character is which race — keeps you guessing with every line. —Emma Dries

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Harper Collins

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Ballantine Books

When their Caribbean-born mom dies, estranged siblings learn she’s left a piece of her famous cake for them to share. But first they must confront secrets going back to a 1965 wedding where the groom died and the bride disappeared into the sea. A delicious debut. —Marion Winik

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Born to a wealthy Chilean family, Violeta suffers great loss as economic collapse and a military dictatorship unravel her country. Somehow, despite abuse and the deaths of loved ones, she maintains her fierce spirit. Allende’s latest is an immersive saga about a passion-filled life. —Sam Gillette

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A brilliant middle-aged professor finds the lens turned on her open marriage when her husband, the chair of the English department at their liberal arts college in upstate New York, comes under investigation for past affairs with former students. At the same time, her own obsession with Vladimir, a handsome younger novelist newly arrived on campus, sends her on a tantalizing but dangerous path. This is a timely, whip-smart and darkly funny debut. —Sam Gillette

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When Maggie Rowe’s husband, formerly a writer onGolden Girls, meets a mother-daughter panhandling team who are also his biggest fans, he and Maggie learn how much trouble you can get into just trying to do the right thing. Especially if, like Maggie, you have mental health issues of your own. Poignant and often hilarious. —Marion Winik

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A sinister mystery unfolds deep in the Wyoming wilderness as Frankie Elkin — a woman dedicated to helping solve cold case — joins a final search for a long-lost hiker. You’ll root for Frankie (and for a diligent cadaver dog named Daisy) on every page of this tense, crackling read. —Rennie Dyball

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This riveting crime novel about the disappearance of two women from the Lovely Lady strip club outside Chicago is also a deep dive into the lives of the cops, dancers, children and perps orbiting the case. Rutkoski draws on her personal experience as a dancer, creating a club scene so visceral you practically inhale the cigar smoke. An adrenaline ride filled with grit and compassion. —Ellen Shapiro

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Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster

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Irish immigrants landing in New York, gold prospectors in the West, Native Americans, escaped slaves and railroad speculators carving up the country — they and their descendants come vividly to life in this epic that seems particularly American in its wide ambition and generosity of spirit. —Helen Rogan

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Random House

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Ready for some drama? This intense story of an Indian-born journalist going home to Mumbai to report on an honor killing — a newlywed whose Hindu brothers killed her Muslim husband and burned her beyond recognition — will infuriate and enlighten you, and melt your heart. —Marion Winik

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She may have trouble reading social cues, but Molly Gray knows her station in life — cleaning the rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a “state of perfection.” But when she finds a VIP dead in his suite, Molly’s eccentricities land her in the cops' crosshairs. A delightful whodunit. —Ellen Shapiro

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Former celeb event planner González opens her debut with a hilarious takedown of “rich person” wedding napkins — and dives into a sprawling dramedy of love, politics, blackmail and real estate featuring a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn. Lots of fun. —Marion Winik

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Strung out from sleep deprivation and the strains of single-motherhood, Frida Liu runs out for a two-hour errand and leaves her toddler bouncing in an ExerSaucer — alone. This very bad choice thrusts her into a child-services system that’s both comically cruel and painfully realistic. Frida is sentenced to an absurd yearlong live-in treatment program with 200 other “wayward” moms forced to practice mothering skills on AI dolls. A surreal, dazzlingly witty tale. —Claire Martin

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Ho’s strong debut follows two Taiwanese American besties from grade school through their 30s, flipping through decades to highlight key relationships, crises, nights of drinking and sex. Other people, the world and the girls themselves change, but the friendship between beautiful Fiona and sturdy Jane endures. —Marion Winik

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After London police officer Philomena McCarthy rescues a woman from her brutal cop boyfriend, toxic relationships and police payback rev up — and gutsy, very fallible Phil tries to sort the good guys from the bad. A heart-clutching psychological thriller. —Ellen Shapiro

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Greta Garbo could portray queen, courtesan, spy, Anna Karenina or Camille. But perhaps her greatest role was her own enigmatic self, as revealed in this sparklingly witty bio. Rescued from poverty and brought to Hollywood at 29, the Stockholm native became a sensation, shocking lovers, friends and fans when she retired into isolation in her 30s. Why did she do it? Gottlieb sheds light but can’t solve the mystery — which only intensifies her appeal. A must-read. —Caroline Leavitt

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Lyons Press

Comedian Tim Conway’s daughter had an idyllic childhood, but when his health began to fail, she and his second wife, Charlene, battled over his care (Charlene won, and Kelly only learned of his 2019 death from a friend). An alternately warm and wrenching story of a daughter’s devotion. —Andy Abrahams

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After her husband dies, Renu can finally escape their small midwestern town and return to her beloved London. But when her sons Bijan and Akosh come to help her move, secrets and resentments build to the breaking point. A moving saga of identity and reconciliation. —Robin Micheli

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Sonya is a former actress, a young mother and a severe alcoholic. Set in Ireland, this searing tale of her struggles — to look after 4-year-old Tommy while drunk, to attain sobriety, to regain custody of her son after he’s taken from her — is a gripping journey into the unquiet mind of an addict. Harding’s ability to create tension and terror while illuminating beauty and fierce love makes this an unforgettable portrait of human frailty and strength. —Robin Micheli

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During WWII, heiress Nanée hides Jewish artists at herMarseille villa and helps smuggle them out of France. For the grieving photographer she’s fallen in love with, she risks everything — and becomes a true heroine. —Marion Winik

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Atria

Wondering what men are like in the absence of women, Lasley immerses herself in the lives of workers on Scotland’s offshore oil rigs — and finds herself falling for one. A sharp take on masculinity, class and the intoxicating danger of attraction. —Sam Gillette

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Discovered after her death, Maier’s city-street photos made her posthumously famous. But who was she? An astonishing portrait of a troubled woman from an abusive family who worked as a nanny for 40 years — and left the world a treasure trove. —Caroline Leavitt

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In small-town Ireland in 1985, merchant Bill Furlong sells coal and timber. Born to a 16-year-old domestic, he counts himself lucky, even as his personal accounts show only a surplus of pennies, daughters and sometimes melancholy over not knowing his father. But then this quiet man has a revelation about a dark secret happening at the town’s convent and must decide whether or not to be a hero. A sparse, breathtakingly perfect gem of a novel. —Mary Pols

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Europa Editions

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A struggling widow in 17th-century London uses her talent as a seamstress to befriend the bride of a brutish, impotent earl. To liberate her, the pair devise a scheme involving potions and illegal magic that ends in tragedy. This true story of female defiance and loyalty is enthralling and moving. —Marion Winik

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courtesy amazon

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Med-school buddies Hannah, Kira and Compton are on their annual getaway — this year, Spain — just as a deadly new virus emerges. Written before COVID-19, a prescient, human and hopeful portrait of medical experts on a pandemic’s frontlines. —Lisa Greissinger

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Jackie Kennedy fan alert! The iconic First Lady,Lady Chatterley’s Loverauthor D.H. Lawrence (whom Jackie admired) and Herbert Hoover all feature in interweaving stories of American and British obscenity trials. A historical novel depicting the clash of prudery and passion. —Marion Winik

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Liveright

There’s an indelible link between music and memory — just ask Sir Paul. The rock icon is examining his life through the lens of 154 songs, from his early efforts as a Liverpool teen to his latest written just last year. Not a memoir in the usual sense, the series of touching vignettes is both a candid self-portrait and a glimpse into his fertile imagination. Illustrated with unseen photos and memorabilia from his private archives, this 900-page tome will dazzle hardcore Beatlemaniacs and casual fans alike. —Jordan Runtagh

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Love and lust, fury and regret, jealousy — it’s all in play at the country retreat where a Russian writer has gathered friends and associates to wait out the COVID lockdown. The action is laced with a tender understanding of human foibles — making a good read a great one. —Helen Rogan

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At 59, Bea Seger is feeling invisible and unmoored. Her rock star ex gives her financial support and occasional romance but no songwriting credit. Her photographer mother has been dead for years, but suddenly there is fresh interest in Miriam Marx from Hollywood and MOMA. That prompts Bea — at long last — to confront the legacy of her mother’s infamous Marx Nudes, which (à la Sally Mann) featured Bea and her brothers naked. A witty, startlingly astute dispatch from the societal graveyard of middle-aged women. —Mary Pols

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It wasn’tthatlong ago, but life before the Internet can seem like a distant era. Paul catalogs what has fallen away in our digital age, from the good (lost tickets, bad photos) to the troubling (parents' undivided attention, private humiliation). A deft blend of nostalgia, humor and devastating insights. —Robin Micheli

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Borrell’s gripping, behind-the-scenes look at the race for a COVID vaccine reads like a thriller. But it’s also a stunning look at politics, greed, ego — and scientific brilliance, from the arduous task of production, then testing, to decisions about who gets immunized first. Soon to be an HBO limited series. —Caroline Leavitt

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Straight-arrow Emmett is released from reform school early because his father has died and his 8-year-old brother, a brainiac obsessed with heroes and adventurers, needs tending. Before the brothers set out on their own epic journey, two pals on the run —rascally Duchess and dear, distracted Woolly — turn up. Emmett figures he’ll drop them at the bus station, but once they all pile into the Studebaker, all bets are off in this delicious slice of 1950s Americana. —Marion Winik

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Historian Spencer unfurls a 12th-century tale he calls “Game of ThronesmeetsTitanic” with gripping cinematic scope. Fearsome King Henry I allowed his teen heir to party aboard the titular medieval party boat, setting into motion a maritime disaster that changed the course of history. —Michelle Tauber

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This wise, joyful and hilarious book is partly the actor’s appreciative letter to the tough, fiercely loving grandmother who raised him and partly a portrait of himself as a devoted, old-fashioned dad to his two daughters, Corinne and Anelise. You’ll come away liking him. —Benilde Little

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Writer Lucy Barton, making her third appearance in a Strout novel, is recovering from the loss of her beloved second husband when her first husband, William, reaches out. He needs Lucy’s help, especially in navigating a revelation about his roots in Maine. And because he was the first person she ever felt safe with, she helps. This luminous novel builds to a deeply moving conclusion as the exes grapple with what and who they are and have been to each other. —Mary Pols

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Tin House Books

The Haitian earthquake of 2010 could be an unbearably grim subject for a novelist, but Chancy brings raw empathy and a gorgeous, intimate voice to the stories of 10 people who experienced that terrible day. A reminder of the extraordinary resilience, then as now, of the Haitian people. —Helen Rogan

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Riley, a Black news anchor, is tasked with covering the police shooting of an unarmed Black boy — and one of the officers involved is the husband of her best friend Jen, who is white. As their city reels, the women reevaluate their lives and their bond. A powerful, timely tale. —Sam Gillette

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Livia, Cibi and Magda promise their dying father they’ll stick together — a vow later tested at Auschwitz, on a so-called death march and in the postwar era. A stunning novel based on the true story of sisters acquainted with the real-life subjects of Morris’s 2018 bestsellerThe Tattooist of Auschwitz. —Claire Martin

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Who’s a good boy? Certainly not Speck, a half-blind, filthy stray the Pulitzer Prize-winning author rescues. Bragg is depressed and lonely, fighting cancer and caring for his aging mom and sick brother. Speck, on the other hand, takes wild pleasure in life, dragging home dead deer, devouring the cat’s food and refusing to be domesticated. He raises hell . . . but he also raises spirits, lighting up every time he spots Bragg. This is a witty, moving love letter to one extraordinary dog — and an ode to the transformative powers of his kind. —Caroline Leavitt

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This spicy dramedy chronicles a year in the life of a Mexican Jewish family whose problems include a near-drowning, a drought and drama galore as the marriages of the parents and all three daughters go off the rails. Throw in a couple of footloose frozen embryos, and you get a telenovela-style roller coaster. Escandón sets her story in a very real 2016 City of Angels: Drastic weather, fires, immigration and delicious Mexican food all play a role. —Marion Winik

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Resignation syndrome, sleeping sickness, grisi siknis: Psychosomatic illnesses — real ailments that defy traditional diagnostic tools — are the subject here, and O’Sullivan, a neurologist, examines the cultural factors that may account for them. Fascinating even if you’re not a hypochondriac. —Judith Newman

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Ecco

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Riverhead Books

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Canongate Books

Horribly abused as a child, White grows up flirting with suicide. Though her adult life looks impressive—she’s a journalist in Manhattan, then London—she’s popping pills, getting blackout drunk and lands in a psych ward. Somehow she finds the strength to rise from the wreckage. Raw, unsettling and shining with hope. —Caroline Leavitt

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The author ofNormal Peoplereturns with a story of two young friends, one a lauded writer, the other equally smart but less successful. Long emails about everything from boyfriends to single-use plastic fly between them, leading up to a pivotal weekend on the Irish coast. Philosophical, sexy and perfectly Rooney. —Marion Winik

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Bloomsbury Publishing

This moving collection spans the 91-year-old author’s career, from the title story of unhinged domesticity to the heartbreaking finale that parallels Wolitzer’s experience in the pandemic. Two constancies: the marriage of New Yorkers Howard and Paulette—from fevered courtship to present day, when their pregnant granddaughter declares, “No one call[s] a child Howard anymore”—and Wolitzer’s voice, which is funny, insightful and incomparably descriptive. —Mary Pols

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Kidnappers will kill her son if the CIA’s Jill Bailey doesn’t rubber-stamp an unvetted Syrian source. A Pulitzer-chasing journalist joins the action in this turbo-charged thriller, and the pair grapple with motherhood, ambition and bad guys—before a final mind-blowing twist. —Ellen Shapiro

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Berkley

June gave up university to care for her dying mom; now the librarian assistant’s world has shrunk to work, the home she inherited and Chinese takeout. When the library faces closure, June joins an eccentric group of patrons to save it. A winning tale of community. —Lisa Greissinger

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Faced with eviction and scrambling to make ends meet, Laurel Hill can barely keep herself and her precocious 10-year-old daughter afloat in the tiny Michigan town they call home. Laurel brims with fierce love for her daughter, but as their options narrow, will that be enough? Moving and brave. —Emma Dries

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Aleisha, 17, works at the library, but doesn’t read. Cataloguing books one day, she finds a reading list titled “Just in case you need it.” So when the widower Mukesh asks for a recommendation, she suggests the first book on the list, and an unlikely friendship develops. —Lisa Greissinger

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Gallery Books

At 16, aspiring musician April Sawicki is living alone in a motor home, failing out of high school and watching the father who neglects her parent another man’s child. She steals a car and her long-gone mother’s diamond ring and ditches her upstate New York hometown for an anywhere-but-here life of seeking and songwriting. You’ll root for this often lonely, ceaselessly interesting underdog and her family of friends every step of the way. —Mary Pols

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Poor Mrs. March! Affluent but deeply insecure, she’s convinced that her husband’s new novel features a cruel depiction of her. Gradually the woman who once prided herself on keeping up appearances succumbs to paranoia and the suspicion that he is a killer. Classy and creepy, this debut is suspenseful, bloody fun. —Helen Rogan

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The good-hearted and literary-minded assassin Billy Summers knows that whenever a story features a bad guy doing one last job, trouble’s ahead. But in this case the payout is huge, the target a creep. The gig involves waiting for months in a small town where Billy’s set up with a false identity as a novelist, writing a book in the office from which he’ll eventually make the hit. Unexpectedly, the ruse shows him his true calling. A noirish, unputdownable thriller that’s also King’s best book about his own craft sinceOn Writing. —Marion Winik

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With a career and her own London flat, Nina doesn’tneeda man, but she downloads a dating app and finds love. Then her lover ghosts her, dementia starts erasing her dad, and her world crumbles. A funny, touching take on modern relationships, the struggles of adulthood and embracing life as it unfolds. —Robin Micheli

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Once close mates, Theo and Joel had a falling-out as teens and haven’t spoken in more than 10 years. To heal their rift, Joel proposes they fulfill a childhood vow: to walk the 184-mile Thames Path. Not surprisingly, they encounter some bumps along the way. A funny, tender British bromance. —Andy Abrahams

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Don’t expect just tulle and toe shoes. In this fascinating insider’s take, New York City Ballet dancer Pazcoguin reveals her world’s extreme physical demands and brutal backstage politics as well as the intense joy of performing. Passionate, foulmouthed and self-aware, she traces her life of dance from age 4 through her career as the company’s first female Asian American soloist, including her battles for showpiece roles she says director Peter Martins reserved for white dancers. A striking debut. —Robin Micheli

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A Princeton grad with movie-star looks and a chic social circle, Tommy Gilbert seemed to have it all. But as this piercing book reveals, he was also psychotic, violent and an addict who ultimately shot and killed his wealthy dad, tearing apart his family and leading to a notorious tabloid trial. Add this one to your beach bag. —Richard Eisenberg

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Erotomania, anorexia, narcissism, warring parents who can’t control their own behaviors to save their suffering kids: Stern chronicles the buffet of human suffering he meets and treats during his first years of residency at Harvard Medical School. By turns funny and tragic, Committed pulls back the curtain on what it takes to become a psychiatrist—and how the practitioners, or the good ones, anyway, can put their own sanity on the line in the service of healing others. —Judith Newman

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After the 2016 election, 53-year-old Samantha is going out of her white-privileged, menopausal, utterly outraged mind. Ditching her nice husband, suburban house and teen daughter for a wreck of an architectural gem in rundown Syracuse, she tries to reinvent herself. Spiotta mines this material with laser precision and wit. —Mary Pols

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College sweethearts Tom and Megan are about to get married—until secrets that come out at the rehearsal dinner nix the wedding. Or do they? The two end up reliving the dinnerGroundhog Day-style, and things just might turn out differently. A sweet, delightful romance. —Lisa Greissinger

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You gotta love a middle-aged gal who enjoys the “good-ole-boy adonises” at a water park in Georgia, plays professional poker in her pearls and speculates with her chagrined husband about her friends' sex lives (“Those two have costumes”). Ellis (Southern Lady Code) is as original as she is hilarious, and in these laugh-out-loud essays she unleashes her no-holds-barred humor while sneaking in sharp and generous insights. —Robin Micheli

Buy It:Amazon

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Avid Reader Press

In this former flight attendant’s terrifying debut, a terrorist gives seasoned pilot Bill Hoffman two choices: crash his packed plane or let his wife and children get killed back home in California. But are Hoffman’s airline coworkers on board part of the vicious plot? Buckle up for a chilling summer read. —Richard Eisenberg

Buy It:Amazon,

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Ensconced in her family’s rustic compound on Cape Cod for an annual summer trip, Elle Bishop is at a crossroads, forced to choose between the two great loves of her life. Should she run off with the longtime bestie she’s secretly been in love with since they endured a ghastly childhood trauma together? Or stay with her cherished husband, a dashing Brit who’s the father of her kids? A soulful debut that plumbs the depths of a midlifeSophie’s Choice. —Claire Martin

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Minotaur Books

Game warden Mike Bowditch plunges into a frozen river when his jeep is sabotaged — and that’s just the first nail-biter in a nightlong fight for survival in the Maine wilderness. Doiron splices in the investigation that led to the ambush, proving his mastery of pacing and suspense. Frostbite aside, this book sizzles. —Ellen Shapiro

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In 1970, 18-year-old Paula Jean Oberbroeckling’s body was discarded in the brush. Did her illegal abortionist do it? Or was the killer her Black — or her white — boyfriend? A provocative true-crime page-turner on how sexism, racism and public opinion set up women for violence. —Caroline Leavitt

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In what she calls her first horror novel, Lippman takes us into the cantankerous mind of author Gerry Andersen, who lies immobile in his swank Baltimore condo after a nasty fall. Zonked on painkillers, he revisits three failed marriages (not his fault) and talks with a woman claiming to be the lead character of his 20-year-old bestseller. Then the dead body appears. With a tip of the hat to Stephen King’sMisery,Dream Girlis funny and suspenseful, with a dread-worthy final twist. —Ellen Shapiro

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Three women marry into a wealthy Italian American clan in ’30s Manhattan. When their husbands leave during the war, they must grapple with secrets and keep the not-quite-legal family business afloat. A fascinating, fast-paced trip into the Mob underworld. —Claire Martin

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Joan is “depraved,” she tells us. She’s also a survivor. After the much-older boss who had groomed her for years before becoming her lover shoots himself in front of her, she moves from New York City to L.A. to find Alice, the key to her past. Over time Joan reveals that the act of violence she witnessed isn’t where her trauma began — or how she’s decided it will end. With skill and insight, Taddeo (Three Women) examines how the savagery of men fuels female rage. The result is as intimate as it is explosive. —Sam Gillette

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The adoring letters her father sent from prison were a bright spot in her chaotic childhood, but when she finally learned the nature of his crime, her world turned upside down. Now, after 30 years, he’s getting out. Ford recalls the hurts she experienced as a very young girl and the behavior of the flawed adults around her with a lucidity that is almost a superpower, transporting us into her singular experience of growing up poor and Black and female in Fort Wayne, Ind. —Marion Winik

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An intense romance between troubled teens reignites when Eva and Shane reconnect years later as superstar authors. He’s sober, she’s a single mom with migraines, but their chemistry is still explosive. And the whole literary world is watching. Full of wit, warmth and passion. —Marion Winik

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Custom House

Julia, COO of a Silicon Valley tech company, has been sending secrets to the Russian agency that put her there — but she’s having doubts. Meanwhile, Alice, a disenchanted underling, may be onto her. A propulsive spy thriller and a sharp take on the illusion of the American Dream. —Sam Gillette

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“You can’t see the future coming — not the terrors, for sure, but you also can’t see . . . the moments of lightsoaked joy that await each of us,” writes Green (The Fault in Our Stars). As we gingerly exit our COVID cocoons, these gloriously personal and life-affirming “reviews” give Yelp-style star ratings to everything fromThe Penguins of Madagascar(4.5) to viral meningitis (1), with surprises like whispering (4) in between. The perfect book for right now. —Marion Winik

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When Maisie and Grant’s mom dies, their uncle — a former sitcom actor — whisks them to Palm Springs, where he’s hiding out from a loss of his own.Draped in caftans and tossing bawdy zingers, Gay Uncle Patrick (aka Guncle) proves a deeply loving presence as they all begin to heal. Wise and hilarious. —Claire Martin

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Kit and her husband live in her childhood home in Brooklyn. He adores her, but she has an unchallenging job at a bakery, an obsession with dieting and a serious case of ennui. Then she meets a handsome carpenter and tastes freedom — with a dash of guilt. A witty, knowing tale about what it means to grow up. —Robin Micheli

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Celadon Books

Jacob Finch Bonner, a teacher and failing writer, takes a dislike to his arrogant new student even before Evan Parker brags about the genius plot of his unfinished novel and the fame awaiting him. The worst thing is, Evan is right — and knowing his story will change Jacob forever. Korelitz’s own plot is fiendishly clever, and here’s the ultimate twist: that any novel about a writer’s life (lonely, anxious drudgery) could be this wildly suspenseful and entertaining. —Mary Pols

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Comedian Wilson (SNL,Happy Endings) lays it all out in these pages: personal stories, manic rants, confessions both comic and serious, from herReal Housewivesaddiction to showbiz war stories to the truth about her mother’s death. It’s like a rambunctious yard sale of her life, and it’s magnificent. —Marion Winik

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Daniel knows monsters exist: At 26, he’s lived for years with a debilitating disease that’s slowly killing him. So when he thinks he’s witnessed a kidnapping, he and his BFF set out to find the perpetrator. Along the way, they discover what it really means to be a hero. An absorbing thriller with heart. —Lisa Greissinger

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Buy It:Amazon.com,Bookshop.org

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A young woman disappears after a frat party, and Leda may have been the last to see her. But Leda’s memory of the night — including an encounter with her crush — is patchy, and picking up the pieces to help investigators proves … unnerving. A propulsive and beautifully written campus thriller.—Emma Dries

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A beekeeper hires a paraplegic musician and a wanderer with carpentry skills to help expand her business. Then a pesticide company threatens the hives — and the trio bands together to fight back. An exquisite debut that combines a moving tale of friendship with a fascinating primer on bees.—Claire Martin

Buy It:Amazon.com

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In an Italian city, an unnamed woman moves through one year, observing the world around her and those who populate it — friends, strangers, former lovers. As she interrogates the life she’s constructed for herself, cracks in her facade begin to appear. A poignant meditation on the everyday moments that can devastate. —Emma Dries

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Everything is not fine: At 23, in the grip of schizophrenic delusion, the author’s brother murdered their mother. This heartbreaking account can be tough going. But if you want to know how a family endures a tragedy beyond imagining, Granata bravely and soulfully lights the way. —Marion Winik

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HarperOne

In 1985 the author’s 2-year-old daughter Caitlin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The years that followed were a constant punishing battle the family ultimately lost when she died — while awaiting a lung transplant — in 2016. This emotional account of surviving loss and celebrating life features blog posts and emails from “beautiful and smart and fiery” Caitlin; moments of “synchronicity” feed O’Hara’s desperate yearning to believe consciousness lives on after death. Bracingly honest and deeply comforting. —Robin Micheli

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Fantasy and reality intermingle when a twin returns to her childhood home to search for her estranged sister. As Cat roams the creepy house, memories of an imaginary world the twins created spring to life. An unnerving thriller that proves the scariest stuff lies right between our ears. —Ellen Shapiro

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The murderer is revealed straight away, yet this debut vibrates with mystery. Why would a teen kill his friend, then himself? Why does the victim’s dad take in a pregnant stranger? As the dots slowly connect, the characters reveal their complex humanity and help us touch our own. —Ellen Shapiro

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Charming and sly, these 12 far-flung stories — from a Texas water park to a rugged Scottish island — share McCracken’s tender appreciation for flawed people (struggling lovers, a grieving mother, a puppeteer) just trying to communicate, trying to cope. —Helen Rogan

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Second-grade teacher Jane sleeps with handyman Duncan hours after meeting him. He’s amiably noncommittal and has been with half the women in her new home of Boyne City, Mich., so the romance of this wry novel lies in the community Jane creates around her. —Mary Pols

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From his first drink at age 8 to living with a homeless addict at 46 and cooking his own crack at 48, the President’s son vividly depicts a descent into addiction far darker than anything Donald Trump could have envisioned when he taunted all through 2020, “Where’s Hunter??” A gritty and shocking Biden family portrait that proves you never really know the burdens another person carries. —Sandra Sobieraj Westfall

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Hachette Go

From the head of content development at Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, advice on how to do just that using “microsteps” to improve sleep and nutrition, build better relationships, unplug and recharge, and more. —Kim Hubbard

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When Shay, an African American academic studying abroad, marries Senna, an Italian businessman, he builds her a villa on the island of Madagascar as a wedding present. There they will return every year to spend holidays among a kaleidoscopic cast of locals, expatriates and travelers. This transporting history of their imperfect marriage braids together dramatic episodes, island history and fable, all infused with Lee’s sharp insights into human nature. —Marion Winik

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A multigenerational novel of women struggling for safety and fortitude, from Maria Isabel rolling cigars in 19th-century Cuba to her great-great-granddaughter selling makeup at a Miami store and thinking about her next fix. Unsparing yet hopeful, this is an impressive debut. —Mary Pols

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In 2001Basic Instinctstar Sharon Stone had a massive stroke, losing her career, family finances and her identity. Now 63, she has recovered and found deeper meaning: healing a traumatic past, advocating for brain health and, with this memoir, showing us it’s never too late for transformation. —Caroline Leavitt

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

When Kaiser left Toronto for Poland “on a mission of memory” to reclaim the home his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, grew up in, he couldn’t predict what he would find. His rabbit-hole quest leads to wild encounters with Nazi treasure hunters, a lawyer named Killer and plenty of questions. Fascinating. —Richard Eisenberg

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Multiple perspectives, both adult and tween, enrich this novel about the dramas of middle school. Centered on Alice Sullivan, a suburban mom who’s juggling work, kids — and family secrets — it’s a breezy yet affecting read filled with struggle and hope. —Rennie Dyball

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When her #metoo complaint backfires, jobless Florence gets an offer to be personal assistant to “Maud Dixon” — a popular novelist whose real identity is known only to her agent. Dark comedy meets twisty thriller when “Maud” and Florence head to Morocco to research a novel. Couldn’t be more fun. —Marion Winik

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Coster weaves together two seemingly disparate fractured families in a saga that begins with a newly integrated southern high school and addresses racism, colorism, drug addiction and homophobia over decades. The complex characters will stay with you — maybe even change you. —Benilde Little

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Cape Haven, Calif., is a pretty town of broken souls. Its chief cop clings to the past as his body fails. A drunk former beauty can barely care for the kids she loves, and her fierce 13-year-old daughter Duchess Day Radley imagines herself an outlaw willing to do anything to defend her little brother. A murder roils the town, setting in motion an intriguing mystery. But what lingers after the scores are settled is Duchess, in all her defiant, heartbreaking glory. —Ellen Shapiro

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Part memoir, part feminist treatise, Allende’s latest rejects the “machismo” she says has always surrounded her. Filled with astute observations about the struggles of women everywhere, it also celebrates female sensuality, aging and what it means to love. —Sam Gillette

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Kooky Irish octogenarian Millie is saddled with a home caregiver to help curtail her shoplifting habit just as her hell-raising granddaughter is banished to a boarding school. Each falls prey to a questionable new friend, careening toward calamity — and each other. A witty, exuberant debut. —Claire Martin

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Klara’s story begins in the display window of a store that sells “Artificial Friends” for the children of a future world whose disturbing features are slowly revealed in this utterly captivating fable. Klara, surely the smartest and sweetest robot in all of literature, studies the people around her with an intelligence that sheds light on our deepest questions. What is love? What makes us human? Is there a God? Nobel Prize winner Ishiguro spins a tale to delight all ages. —Marion Winik

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Beginning with teenage Talia escaping a Colombian correctional facility to join her family in America, Engel movingly captures the shadow lives of undocumented migrants. Weaving Andean myths with the cold realities of dislocation and “the phantom pain of a lost homeland,” this is a profound, beautiful novel. —Ellen Shapiro

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Martha Friel, the narrator of this improbably charming novel about mental illness, will have you chortling and reading lines aloud. Martha is almost 40, and nothing — not the love of her husband, not a parade of doctors and meds — has ever stopped the pain. Fortunately, that’s just the beginning of this story.—Marion Winik

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Decades after her cousin Karen is murdered, Johnson — a crime-show writer — wrestles with whether to help free Karen’s killer. To decide, she investigates what really happened and painful truths about her dad, a parole officer. A powerful memoir painting a portrait of one family’s “grief that would never end."—Richard Eisenberg

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source: people.com