Whether you are looking for your next great read or want to build up your "to-read" list, check out our new offerings below!
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Voiceless dystopias, twisty gothics, creepy crime fiction, exquisite debuts, outlaws, sharpshooters and tales of the Great American West…SO much to choose from in books being published in August! Here’s a sampling of books that have us buzzing this month:
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Rust & Stardust: A Novel
by T. Greenwood
A fictional account of the real-life 1940s kidnapping of Sally Horner that inspired Nabokov’s
Lolita
. Beautifully written, unnerving, dark and utterly spellbinding, with equal parts hope and menace. For those who enjoyed the intense pace of Room by Emma Donoghue. Readers should watch for Sarah Weinman’s non-fiction account of the Sally Horner case,
The Real Lolita
, to be released in September.
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The Distance Home
by Paula Sanders
Drawing on the author’s family history, Saunders presents a riveting family saga set in the sparse, wind-swept plains of South Dakota following WWII. Sibling rivalry, dark family secrets, a struggling marriage - all written with such clarity and compassion that it draws the reader to another place and time, making the characters feel so real, one feels like they’re standing right inside the story. For readers who enjoy Alice McDermott, Anne Patchett and Lauren Groff.
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Bellewether
by Susanna Kearsley
An absorbing gothic set on the eastern shores of Long Island during the late 1750s, as well as present day, told from three different perspectives. Solid historical fiction, mixed with a touch of romance, magic and a hint of a ghost tale. For fans of Kate Morton, Diana Gabaldon and Jude Deveraux.
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Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens
This is THE book everyone is going to want to read! Kya, known as the “Marsh Girl,” has grown up on her own in the wild marshes outside a small North Carolina coastal town. Chase Andrews, the local heart-breaker, is found dead and the community suspects Kya of his murder. Unforgettable characters and storyline mark this captivating debut as one of our summer reading list favorites.
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A River of Stars: A Novel
by Vanessa Hua
This month it’s all about first novels, and this powerful debut will not disappoint. Chinese factory clerk Scarlett Chen is sent to the U. S. to bear the son of her older, married lover who is also her boss. In order to stake a claim to her own American dream, she risks everything and goes on the run. Written with heart and humor, this is a potent tale of motherhood, immigration and identity.
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Vox
by Christina Dalcher
Set in the not-too-distant future, American women and girls are limited to a quota of 100 spoken words a day. Beyond that, each uttered syllable triggers an electric jolt via wrist band, strengthened by each transgression. For the legion of fans of
The Handmaid’s Tale
, this is a startlingly, albeit chilling contribution to the ever expanding women-centered dystopian genre.
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Meet me at the Museum
by Anne Youngson
When the curator of a Danish museum responds to a query about ancient exhibits, he doesn’t expect a reply. The woman who penned the query didn’t either…so begins this enchanting tale of shared passions and unexpected “second acts.” For fans of
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
and
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye.
COMING SOON
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Ohio: A novel
by Stephen Markley
An expressive and deeply affecting novel set in an archetypal small town in northeastern Ohio - a region ravaged by the Great Recession, an opioid crisis, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - depicting one feverish, fateful summer night in 2013 when four former classmates converge on their hometown, each with a mission, all haunted by the ghosts of their shared histories. This book is receiving a lot of attention, hinting it will have a spot among the myriad end-of-year “best of” lists.
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Our House
by Louise Candlish
Imagine walking up to your house and finding a moving van parked out front, with strangers moving in, when your house wasn’t even up for sale. Not only that, your husband’s disappeared without a trace, along with your two children. This spellbinding thriller begs the question, “How well do you know the person you live with?” Good luck trying to put this one down!
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Whiskey When We're Dry
by John Larison
True Grit
meets
Yentl
in this stellar evocative debut! Teenage Jessilyn, motherless since birth and suddenly fatherless, too, with a knack for trick shooting heads west in the late 1800s to track down her outlaw brother. A gritty, lyrical, Western epic for fans of Amanda Coplin’s
The Orchardist –
currently in development for the big screen.
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Fly Girls
by Keith O'Brien
The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s — and won. Like
Hidden Figures
and
Girls of Atomic City
,
Fly Girls
celebrates a little-known slice of history wherein tenacious, trail-blazing women braved all obstacles to achieve greatness.
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Burden
by Courtney Hargrave
Based on the events that inspired the upcoming film
–
the true story of a man who started a controversial museum honoring the Ku Klux Klan and the African-American family who took him in after he had changed his ways and ended up broke and homeless. A timely and compelling story of love, redemption and the strong bonds of community.
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Lands of Lost Borders
by Kate Harris
A brilliant, fierce writer makes her debut with this enthralling travelogue and memoir of her journey by bicycle along the Silk Road—an illuminating and thought-provoking fusion of
The Places in Between, Lab Girl
, and
Wild
that dares us to challenge the limits we place on ourselves and the natural world.
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The Husband Hunters
by Anne De Courcy
A deliciously told biography of the young, rich, American heiresses who married into the impoverished British aristocracy at the turn of the twentieth century – the real women who inspired
Downton Abbey
. Based on extensive first-hand research, drawing on diaries, memoirs and letters, this richly entertaining group biography reveals what they thought of their new lives in England - and what England thought of them.
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