The Vacationers

Emma Straub (Get this book)
Straub refreshes a conventional plot through droll humor and depth of character. By now, the premise is so familiar it seems like such a novel could write itself, but it wouldn't write itself nearly as engagingly as Straub has. Starting with the somewhat generic title, she has all the predictable elements in place: family and close friends gathering at an exotic remove from their daily lives, reveal secrets (and articulate unacknowledged truths), learn how well they know each other and how well they don't, discover which relationships will endure--even strengthen--and which will dissolve. A novel that is both a lot of fun to read and has plenty of insight into the marital bond and the human condition. --Kirkus

Suspicion

Joseph Finder (Get this book)
Finder gives us a stand-alone in which Boston writer Danny Goodman gets in treacherously over his head after borrowing a large sum of money from a fabulously rich man who isn't what he seems.The characters don't break any molds; we've seen even the likes of the cartel's sadistic "angel of death," Dr. Mendoza, before. But the plot is so smartly put together, expertly paced and unpredictable that neither Danny's shallowness nor Finder's limitations as a prose stylist keep this from being an irresistible page-turner.This is another winner from Finder, who, as ever, builds suspense without a shred of overstatement.--Kirkus

The Devil's Workshop

Alex Grecian (Get this book)
A historical thriller that moves quickly and surely, bringing Jack the Ripper back from the realm of nightmare to the streets of London. Exitus probatur--the ends are justified--is the pass code into a secret society of avengers drawn from the cream of Victorian society. They, the Karstphanomen, don't think courts can deliver justice to the people of London and take matters into their own hands, treating the perpetrators of horrible crimes as they have treated their victims. Same devices, same wounds but in a state of perpetual agony. Justice and punishment are the deeper themes, and the characterization is superb. Saucy Jack may be one of the most disturbing characters ever written on the page--again.--Kirkus

The Kill Switch

James Rollins (Get this book)
This exceptional military thriller, a spin-off from bestseller Rollins's Sigma Force series, introduces U.S. Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his four-footed partner, a small Belgian shepherd named Kane. After a short stint protecting a Russian billionaire, Tucker signs on with Sigma Force, a unit working for the ultra-secret Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. His job is to smuggle pharmacological tycoon Abram Bukolov out of Russia. Bukolov's reasons for fleeing his country are murky, but it eventually becomes clear that he has the key to a virulent life form that has the potential to destroy all the plant life on Earth. Rollins and Blackwood succeed brilliantly at depicting interspecies communication.--Publisher's Weekly

Sniper's Honor

Stephen Hunter (Get this book)
Bestseller Hunter's absorbing ninth Bob Lee Swagger novel finds Swagger retired and living on a farm in the Pacific Northwest with an emotionally unsatisfied wife and memories of his sniper glory days. Swagger finds renewed purpose in life after Washington Post reporter Kathy Reilly pulls him in on a story that she's writing from Moscow on Ludmilla Petrova, a beautiful and equally decorated sniper who served in the Soviet Army during WWII and mysteriously disappeared from all records seven decades ago. You don't have to be a fan of military action fiction to enjoy this installment. --Publisher's Weekly

Jack of Spies

David Downing (Get this book)
A rookie spy gets in over his head when he's forced to choose between his assignment and the dynamic woman he's fallen for. It's 1913, and for the past few years, Scottish car dealer Jack McColl has folded small missions for the nascent British Intelligence Service into his overseas business trips. Two new elements change the equation on his latest excursion from Tsingtau, China, to Shanghai to San Francisco and, ultimately, New York. Political tensions have been accelerated by the looming European war, making China far less safe, and McColl finds surprising romance with Caitlin Hanley, a vibrant young American journalist. This first installment of a proposed series by the author of the six John Russell novels moves deliberately but colorfully, with intelligent prose and a strong period feel.--Kirkus

Remember Me Like This

Bret Anthony Johnston (Get this book)
In Johnston's strong debut, it's been four years since young son Justin disappeared, and during that time the Campbell family in southern Texas has been slowly crumbling under the strain of their grief. But when Justin, now a teenager, is miraculously returned and his abductor set to stand trial for his crimes, the entire family must join together and help him recover the years he has lost. Johnston has a talent for drawing well-rounded characters, although verbal excess weighs down the novel's pace. In the end, this is a convincing and uplifting portrait of a family in crisis.--Publisher's Weekly

The Skin Collector

Jeffery Deaver (Get this book)
Someone is murdering people, killing them by injecting poison as he creates exquisitely detailed tattoos on their bodies. Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic criminalist, and his team race against time to identify and stop the villain before the body count rises. How do you catch a killer who's learned how not to get caught by the best criminalist in the business? Meanwhile, the Watchmaker, the fiendishly clever killer introduced in 2006's The Cold Moon (but referred to in intervening books), still haunts Rhyme, even after the man's death in prison, making it hard for the investigator to devote his full concentration to the murder case at hand. Another suspenseful and twist-filled entry in this always-exciting series.--Booklist

Midnight Crossroad

Charlaine Harris (Get this book)
An online psychic settles in Midnight, Texas, an unusual small town where all the residents have shadowy pasts and a lingering mystery brings unwanted attention. There are just a few houses and a few businesses at the crossroads in Midnight, and everyone seems to socialize at the Gas N Go, Home Cookin or Midnight Pawn. Psychic Manfred Bernardo has moved here for a variety of reasons, and isolation is just one of them. An outsider himself, he is completely surprised when he winds up in a community full of outsiders, which kind of makes him one of the crowd. A little magic, a little mystery and a lot of imagination make for a story that is both fun and edgy, and some unresolved details will keep readers coming back for more.--Kirkus

Prayer

Philip Kerr (Get this book)
Edgar-finalist Kerr takes a break from his Bernie Gunther PI series with this provocative standalone set mainly in present-day Texas. Houston FBI agent Gil Martins usually handles domestic terrorism, but he can't resist pursuing a case involving the deaths of several prominent atheists around the country in circumstances that seem to rule out foul play, but that also don't accord with accident or suicide. Martins, who has lost his Catholic faith, faces an uphill battle, persuading his bosses to authorize his probe, but once he's done so, he finds himself drawn into a complex mystery with highly personal implications. Meanwhile, a serial killer nicknamed St. Peter is targeting do-gooders. Evocative phrasing is another plus in this exceptional thriller.--Publisher's Weekly

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr (Get this book)
Doerr presents us with two intricate stories, both of which take place during World War II; late in the novel, inevitably, they intersect. In August 1944, Marie-Laure LeBlanc is a blind 16-year-old living in the walled port city of Saint-Malo in Brittany and hoping to escape the effects of Allied bombing. Parallel to the story of Marie-Laure we meet Werner and Jutta Pfennig, a brother and sister, both orphans who have been raised in the Children's House outside Essen, in Germany. A further subplot involves Marie-Laure's father's having hidden a valuable diamond, one being tracked down by Reinhold von Rumpel, a relentless German sergeant-major. Doerr captures the sights and sounds of wartime and focuses, refreshingly, on the innate goodness of his major characters. --Kirkus

The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America

Allison Pataki (Get this book)
A young lady's maid is witness to Benedict Arnold and his wife's treachery in this fictional account set during the American War for Independence. This is the first novel from Pataki, daughter of former New York State Governor George E. Pataki. In a well-balanced narrative that interweaves historical detail with the lives of servant Clara Bell and her employers, Peggy Shippen Arnold and her husband, Pataki successfully captures an infamous act in American history. Those familiar with U.S. history may already know how Arnold's saga unfurls, but the author's interpretation of events offers fresh perspective, plenty of intrigue and a host of interesting, multidimensional characters. Benedict Arnold isn't a name that's popular among patriotic Americans, but Pataki delivers an admirable book focused on the betrayal.--Kirkus

The Stolen Ones

Richard Montanari (Get this book)
A killer who seems to have the ability to vanish baffles Philadelphia detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano, and the city's residents live in constant fear as more victims are discovered, virtually under the department's nose. But the key to The Stolen Ones, Richard Montanari's seventh novel starring Byrne and Balzano, isn't supernatural at all.With a plot as eerie and contorted as the catacombs Luther inhabits, The Stolen Ones is a thriller fan's delight--a book readers will stay up late to finish, with all the lights on. Part thriller, part mystery, part horror, The Stolen Ones is a completely great story.--Shelf Awareness

The Headmaster's Wife

Thomas Christopher Greene (Get this book)
A headmaster and his wife suffer intimations of mortality on a bucolic Vermont campus. The first half of Greene's fourth novel (Envious Moon, 2007, etc.) unfolds like a conventional academic tale. The third generation head of Lancaster, an exclusive Vermont prep school, Arthur Winthrop (his father, the former head, still lives on campus) leads an orderly life, except for occasional brushes with imperious board members whose New England pedigrees are even more elite than his own. Although the puzzle element threatens to overwhelm the narrative, this is a moving testament to the vicissitudes of love and loss, regret and hope--Kirkus

Precious Thing

Colette McBeth (Get this book)
TV journalist Rachel Walsh has been summoned to a press conference to cover the disappearance of a young woman. It's all standard operating procedure until she sees the poster of the missing woman: Clara O'Connor, her best friend. Blue-eyed, brown-haired, beautiful Clara met red-haired, green-eyed, awkward Rachel in high school, when Rachel, the new girl in town--the new girl for the fifth time in her life--took an empty seat next to her in English class. Soon, the two were inseparable. Yet even in those early days, their relationship was tainted with mutually inflicted damage. A former BBC crime reporter, McBeth crafts a twisty tale in this debut novel that abounds with stalkers, secrets, betrayals, missing persons and grainy CCTV images. A darkly fraught friendship lies at the heart of this spellbinding thriller--Kirkus

The Divorce Papers

Susan Rieger (Get this book)
A brutally comic chronicle of high-end divorce told through letters, emails and a huge pile of legal memorandums. Brilliant 29-year-old Sophie Diehl is an up-and-coming criminal defense lawyer in the prestigious firm of Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski in the fictional New England state of Narraganset. Mia Durkheim, nee Meiklejohn, the daughter of one of Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski's wealthiest clients, has been served divorce papers by her husband of 18 years, pediatric oncologist Daniel. Rieger pulls out every legal document connected to the case, including witness affidavits, settlement offer breakdowns and legal invoices. Extremely clever, especially the legal infighting; this book should prove hugely popular with the legal set as well as anyone who has ever witnessed a divorce in process.--Kirkus

You Should Have Known

Korelitz, Jean Hanff (Get this book)
Manhattan therapist Grace Reinhart Sachs is just about to publish a book condemning women who choose the wrong men. If only single ladies would stop ignoring their instincts, she insists, they'd be able to spot a creep during the first date--and exit accordingly. Luckily, Grace is happily married to a loving and faithful pediatric oncologist... or is she? As Jean Hanff Korelitz's darkly compelling You Should Have Known unfolds, Grace's life begins to unravel. It's an outstanding tale with a perfectly imagined setting and mesmerizing mood. --Shelf Awareness

All Our Names

Dinaw Mengestu (Get this book)
What's in a name? Identity of a kind, perhaps, but nothing like stability, and perhaps nothing like truth. So Mengestu ponders in this elegiac, moving novel, his third. Himself an immigrant, Mengestu is alert to the nuances of what transplantation and exile can do to the spirit. Certainly so, too, is his protagonist--or, better, one of two protagonists who just happen to share a name, for reasons that soon emerge. Weighted with sorrow and gravitas, another superb story by Mengestu, who is among the best novelists now at work in America. --Kirkus

The Auschwitz Escape

Joel C. Rosenberg (Get this book)
The strong religious conviction evident in Rosenberg's previous novels, which were focused on the Middle East and Muslim-Western relations, is reflected in his latest book a work of historical fiction, about a heroic escape from the Nazis. Luc, a French pastor, who is sentenced to the Auschwitz death camp for helping Jews, joins forces with Jacob, a Jewish man sent to the camp after his attempt to hijack a train bound for Auschwitz fails. Together they plan to escape to tell an unbelieving world about the Holocaust. Rosenberg has done what he does best: create believable characters set in a political milieu and also in religious context, acting on conviction or exploiting religion for selfish or evil ends. This is Rosenberg's most deeply moving work to date. --Publisher's Weekly

Frog Music

Emma Donoghue (Get this book)
Emma Donoghue's Frog Music is a compelling, atmospheric literary crime novel. Animated by flawed but very human characters, it combines the suspense of her bestselling Room with elements of the historical fiction that launched her career. The essential facts of Frog Music are based on a real-life unsolved murder. Donoghue's meticulous research enhances her story with colorful slang, newspaper clippings and snippets of popular songs. But Donoghue's achievement is finally one of the imagination and rests on her ability to find the emotional heart of her characters.--Shelf Awareness

Family Life

Akhil Sharma (Get this book)
In Sharma's world, as in Leo Tolstoy's, unhappy families continue to be unhappy in different ways. In 1978, narrator Ajay's father emigrates from Delhi to New York to take a job as a clerk in a government agency, and a year later, his family joins him. Ajay's mother had been an economics teacher in India and must now adjust to lower career aspirations, while Ajay's older brother Birju experiences some academic success in middle school and qualifies to attend the prestigious Bronx High School of Science. Tragically, just before Birju is about to begin at his new high school, he has an accident--he hits his head in a pool and stays unconscious underwater for three minutes, leading to severe brain damage that lasts throughout his life. This accident changes the entire dynamic for the Mishra family. A moving story of displacement and of the inevitable adjustments one must make when life circumstances change.--Kirkus

The Burning Shore: How Hitler's U-Boats Brought World War II to America

Ed Offley (Get this book)
An authoritative work on the awful, early effectiveness of German U-boats in disrupting shipping traffic off the east coast of the United States. Having written previously on the Battle of the Atlantic, military reporter Offley focuses on a short, early period of World War II--in particular, one lethally effective U-boat that caused massive devastation along the rich hunting ground of the North Carolina coast. Offley brings up the other factors that came into play for the U.S. Navy, such as the breaking of the Enigma code, interservice rivalry, taking advice from the more seasoned British, and garnering the necessary higher-level support for a convoy escort system and more effective patrol bombers. A knowledgeable overview and exciting re-creation of the final U-701 attack and defeat.--Kirkus

The Target

David Baldacci (Get this book)
Baldacci picks up where he left off with CIA assassins Will Robie and Jessica Reel in this no-holds-barred tale of perfidy and murder at the highest level. The president, the director of the CIA and the president's national security adviser meet in secret to hatch a plot to kill the dangerous and unpredictable leader of North Korea. Evan Tucker, the slimy CIA head, decides to use Robie and Reel, whose last mission ended in the deaths of other agency personnel. Some scenes set in a Korean concentration camp prove the most compelling by far, especially with their heartbreaking descriptions of lives that are almost too terrible to contemplate. --Kirkus