12 books to get you to the end of summer and beyond

Jun 17, 2023

All those summer book lists came out before the season began. Maybe it’s hard to keep track of those early recommendations, or perhaps you zipped through all those books already. What to read now? We’re here to help, with 12 books to carry you into fall — when you can start making a whole new list!

In Ware’s latest nail-biter, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are partners in a business that tests companies’ potential security flaws. When Gabe is murdered, Jack becomes the prime suspect and must race, “Fugitive”-style, to find the real killer before the police close in. (Gallery/Scout Press)

If the secret to a happy marriage is laughter, then it’s easy to see why Ellis is still so in love with her husband of 20-plus years. Nothing is off limits for this transplanted Southerner — long-ago wedding day disasters, experiments with off-brand Viagra, the obituary of the boy who shared her first kiss — and she shares her colorful life honestly and hilariously. (Doubleday)

In the 1970s and ’80s, John Ackah Blay-Miezah and his accomplices — including Richard Nixon’s former attorney general John Mitchell — fooled people into investing hundreds of millions of dollars in an alleged Ghanaian trust fund. One of the greatest con men ever, Blay-Miezah lived in luxury and eluded authorities across the globe. Here his little-known story unfolds like “Catch Me if You Can.” (Bloomsbury, Aug. 1).

Oates’s latest collection is, not surprisingly, tinged with chilling situations and pithy prose. Female characters — teenage girls, a philosophy student, a mother — fight for the upper hand, sometimes winning. “In its purest form … love is the quintessence of the nonzero sum game,” Oates posits in a story that captures the brainy mood of this dark examination of relationships. Bonus: a story about a novelist who sounds like David Foster Wallace because it’s based on him, even if Oates isn’t his biggest admirer. (Knopf)

The lives of three queens — Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots — intersected during the European Renaissance, a time when women who exerted power were still subjected to the whims of a misogynistic society. Chang’s joint biography explores their early lives and the forces that shaped their time as rulers. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Aug. 15)

23 books to read this summer

This cat-and-mouse tale is as glamorous as its title implies. Set in the 1960s, the novel stars Henri and Louise, who meet on a train traveling from Belgrade to Istanbul. They are both escaping their pasts: Henri as a gendarme in Algeria and Louise as a thief. Guess who has been sent to arrest Louise? Mangan, the author of “Tangerine” (2018) and “Palace of the Drowned” (2021), captures time, place and character with panache. (Flatiron, Aug. 22)

Sure, large summer family gatherings might be trying, but being alone isn’t always ideal either. In his compelling new book, Field delves into different types of encounters — among friends and strangers — to demonstrate the benefits of interacting with others. Whether big (a dance party) or small (getting a haircut; holding hands), these connections foster a closeness that is vital to individuals — and society. (W.W. Norton)

Nicole Oruwari moves from London to Lagos, where she joins a glamorous social group known as the Nigerwives, foreign women married to Nigerian men. Nicole seems to have it all until she disappears after a boating trip. The authorities come up empty-handed, but Nicole’s aunt Claudine uncovers the unexpected in a thriller — and “Good Morning America” Book Club pick — that offers a window into Nigerian expat culture. (Atria)

Owls have been subjects of fascination for centuries, perhaps because of their elusive nature as nocturnal hunters or their silent, studious presence that conveys wisdom. Ackerman explores their world from historical and scientific perspectives, combining new behavioral discoveries with personal observations from the field. (Penguin Press)

Jack’s Harvard Law education provides a comfortable cover for his side hustle in small-town Massachusetts: helping people who need to disappear. When his con-artist ex-flame, Elena, breezes back into his life with her latest scheme, a million-dollar diamond heist, the temptation to get mixed up her latest caper is tantalizing, but trust is hard to come by in Murphy’s stylish New England noirish thriller. (Viking)

Challenging the stereotypical narrative of older women as weak or feeble, Campbell, an octogenarian herself, gives life to 13 women in stories centering on their passions, libidos and sense of self. Denying that invisibility arrives with wrinkles, these women experience a range of emotion — joy, heartbreak, trauma, regret and satisfaction — while living the lives they want on their own terms. (Grove, out in paperback Aug. 15)

Sign up for the Book World newsletter

The new historical novel from Power, a PEN-Award winning Native American author, tells the story of three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women who each owned their own special childhood doll that offered comfort, and sometimes even guidance, during challenging times. Through the stories of these dolls and their owners, readers are immersed in the terrors of the Native experience — massacres, Indian boarding schools — as well as the triumphs. (Mariner, Aug. 8)

Join Book Club: Delivered to your inbox every Friday, a selection of publishing news, literary observations, poetry recommendations and more from Book World writer Ron Charles. Sign up for the newsletter.

Best books of 2022: See our picks for the 23 books to read this summer or dive into your favorite genre. Look to the best mysteries to solve as you lounge by the pool, take a refreshing swim through some historical fiction, or slip off to the cabana with one of our five favorite escapist reads.

There’s more: These four new memoirs invite us to sit with the pleasures and pains of family. Lovers of hard facts should check out our roundup of some of the summer’s best historical books. Audiobooks more your thing? We’ve got you covered there, too. We also predicted which recent books will land on Barack Obama’s own summer 2023 list. And if you’re looking forward to what’s still ahead, we rounded up some of the buzziest releases of the summer.

Still need more reading inspiration? Every month, Book World’s editors and critics share their favorite books that they’ve read recently. You can also check out reviews of the latest in fiction and nonfiction.