Summer Reading, Part 1

I have a ton of books to recommend so, before I get on a plane this weekend with a bunch of new ones, I thought I’d start you off with these four. Honestly, they’re so good and such fast reading, you could finish them all by the time I get back on Monday! Whether you like thrillers, romance, fiction or non-fiction, there’s something here for everyone. More coming soon! And, please let me know what you’re reading!

INTO THE DARKEST CORNER by Elizabeth Haynes

OMG! I am obsessed with this book! This is one of the smartest, scariest, most fascinating thrillers I’ve ever read – and, um, over the past year, I have read a lot! When party girl Catherine meets charismatic Lee at a club, it takes her a while to recognize the monster hiding beneath his sexy good looks. After barely surviving a vicious attack which finally lands him in jail, she becomes a prisoner to her own fears, suffering from OCD and checking the locks on her doors and windows for hours every day. This is a nail-biter of a story, and Catherine’s rituals are so real and so painful to read, I went back and forth between reading quickly, wanting to see what happened, and trying to read slowly, not wanting the book to end. Do not read this book while you’re alone in your house or I guarantee you will be checking your own locks as often as Catherine.

WIFE 22 by Melanie Gideon

Melanie Gideon is becoming my go-to author on marriage. Last year, I told you about her easy-to-relate-to real-life story, The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After, and now I urge you to pick up her first novel, which rings just as true. After 20 years of marriage, Alice secretly becomes involved in an anonymous online study, “Marriage in the 21^st Century,” which makes her explore her relationship and her feelings in ways she hasn’t in a long time. Interspersed with emails, Google searches and Facebook status updates, it’s a quick but surprisingly thoughtful read. The 90-question survey is a work of art in itself but, unfortunately, you won’t have Researcher 101 around to help you analyze your answers.

THE WOMAN WHO WASN’T THERE by Robin Gaby Fisher and Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr.

The subtitle of this page-turner is “The True Story of an Incredible Deception,” and it truly is the kind of tale that proves truth is stranger than fiction. Tania Head, after losing her fiancé who was working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and miraculously escaping from the South Tower with massive injuries of her own, became the face and voice of September 11. She created a community and offered hope to survivors for years until it was discovered that she wasn’t even in the country on that date. I don’t know why I don’t remember hearing about this on the news but I am so appalled and shocked and confused, I keep going back to re-read certain passages, trying to make sense of it all. This is a thought-provoking account of one of the most significant deceptions in our country’s history. It will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading the book.

LITTLE NIGHT by Luanne Rice

This is the 30^th – yes, 30^th! – novel from the prolific author, and what’s amazing is that it feels as fresh and original as her first. In her signature style, the story is about sisters – Anne, who’s the victim of domestic abuse, and Clare, who goes to jail trying to protect her. The violence of Anne’s manmade horror is contrasted with the quiet beauty of the natural world, which is Clare’s office. Rice’s own love of nature is obvious in her stunning descriptions. She is a master of setting, here capturing the details of Central Park and the bogs of Denmark so vividly, you’ll feel like you’ve visited them personally. Ultimately, though, this is a story about love, family and the lengths we go to in order to care for the endangered – of any species.

In case this isn’t enough to hold you, here’s another reading list you may have missed!

This post originally appeared on my former blog, StyleSubstanceSoul.com.