The Fever

Megan Abbott (Get this book)
The lives of teenage girls are dangerous, beautiful things in Abbott's stunning seventh novel.At Dryden High School, 16-year-old Deenie Nash and her best friends Lise Daniels and Gabby Bishop are an inseparable trio. The daughter of Tom, a popular teacher, and younger sister of hockey star Eli, Deenie radiates the typical teenage mixture of confidence and vulnerability. When Lise suffers an unexplained and violent seizure in the middle of class, no one is quite sure how to react. Until another girl and then another exhibit the same symptoms. Nothing should be taken at face value in this jealousy- and hormone-soaked world except that Abbott is certainly our very best guide.--Kirkus

The Red Room

Ridley Pearson (Get this book)
Previous Risk Agent ops in Shanghai and Amsterdam featured Rutherford Risk operatives John Knox and Grace Chu on the hunt, but this installment is all about impossible escapes and elusive spycraft. The plan is for Knox and Chu to travel to Istanbul, broker the sale of a long-buried antiquity to one of Knox's current import/export clients, and finagle five minutes in the room with their mark, the client's brother. Another hit in this knockout thriller series featuring nonstop danger, casually clever descriptions of exotic locales, evolving characterization, and evenhanded sociopolitical commentary. Recommended for every beach bag.--Booklist

Rogues

Martin, George R R, Dozois, Gardner (Get this book)
Martin and Dozois assemble a lively collection of original stories across several fictional genres that have in common Conan-like qualities.The biggest draw in this sprawling collection is a new Song of Ice and Fire yarn by Martin, giving back story to a mid-Targaryen dynasty scamp whose "bold deeds, black crimes and heroic death in the carnage that followed are well known to all." But then, arguably, all the men of Westeros are rogues. Of particular interest, too, are a grandly whimsical piece by Neil Gaiman that begs to be turned into a Wes Anderson film; a shaggy dog tale by Paul Cornell of a Flashman-ish character gone to seed. Rambunctious, rowdy and occasionally R-rated: a worthy entertainment, without a dud in the bunch, that easily moves from swords and sorcery to hard-boiled Chandler-esque.--Kirkus

The Last Magazine

Michael Hastings (Get this book)
The promise of this remarkable novel will never be fulfilled because it is that saddest of literary phenomenathe brilliant but posthumous first novel. Hastings, former Rolling Stone journalist and author of the memoir I Lost My Love in Baghdad (2008), was killed when his automobile crashed in June 2013. Here, in an apparently completed novel found in Hastings' files after his death, the protagonist Michael Hastings is an intern at The Magazine, a newsweekly, and author Hastings has keen and considerable insight into the functioning of a Time-like periodical between 2002 and 2005, Iraq to Katrina. This is powerful, sharp, often funny, and very compelling reading.--Booklist

The Book Stops Here

Kate Carlisle (Get this book)
In Carlisle's captivating ninth Bibliophile mystery, bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright joins "This Old Attic" as the traveling TV show's rare-book expert. Brooklyn's first guest on the show, which is currently taping in San Francisco, is Vera Stoddard, owner of "a limited first edition" of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 children's classic, "The Secret Garden" which Vera says she recently bought at a garage sale for $3. Brooklyn tells Vera that an antiquarian book dealer would pay between $20,000 and $25,000 for this rarity. Vera agrees to let Brooklyn restore it to increase the value. Later, in the studio parking lot, a thug accosts Brooklyn, claiming the book is his and threatening violence if she doesn't give it to him. Meanwhile, the show's handsome new host, Randolph Rayburn, who's spooked by the man's threat, is convinced he's being stalked. The action builds to a surprising final showdown.  --Publisher's Weekly

That Night

Chevy Stevens (Get this book)
In this riveting, if overly ambitious thriller, Stevens raises significant themes bullying, troubled families, the difficulties ex-cons face but doesn't do them all justice. In 1998, high school sweethearts Toni Murphy and Ryan Walker went to prison for killing Toni's younger sister, Nicole a haunted girl with secrets no one guessed. The most damning and false testimony came from classmate Shauna McKinney and her friends, who had tormented Toni for months before the murder. Fifteen years later, Toni and Ryan return home on parole to Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Despite some wooden secondary characters, this is an exciting page-turner with an incisive twist. "Author tour. Announced first printing of 150,000.--Publisher's Weekly

The Book of Unknown Americans

Cristina Henrquez (Get this book)
A family from Mexico settles in Delaware and strives to repair emotional and physical wounds in Henriquez's dramatic page-turner. The author's third book of fiction opens with the arrival of Arturo and Alma Rivera, who have brought their teenage daughter, Maribel, to the U.S. in the hope of helping her recover from a head injury she sustained in a fall. Their neighbors Rafael and Celia Toro came from Panama years earlier, and their teenage son, Mayor, takes quickly to Maribel. A smartly observed tale of immigrant life that cannily balances its optimistic tone with straight talk.--Kirkus

The Rise & Fall of Great Powers

Tom Rachman (Get this book)
Rachman follows his best-selling debut with the haunting tale of a young woman reassessing her turbulent past.In 2011, Tooly has washed up after a lifetime of wandering in a small Welsh village, where she uses the last of her money to buy a used bookstore. Twelve years earlier, in 1999, she's a vagabond 20-year-old on the streets of New York City who talks her way into law student Duncan's apartment by pretending it was her childhood home. Actually, her childhood was spent traveling around Asia with her father, Paul, until, in 1988, she's scooped up in Bangkok by her feckless mother, Sarah, and falls in with a band of peripatetic misfits led by Venn, a coolly manipulative con man. The overwhelming emotions here are loss and regret, as Tooly realizes how she was alienated from her own best instincts by a charismatic sociopath.Brilliantly structured, beautifully written and profoundly sad.--Kirkus

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You

Courtney Maum (Get this book)
In Maum's debut, it's 2002, and as English artist Richard Haddon's reputation swells following his first solo exhibition in his adopted home of Paris, his marriage slowly crumbles. His wife, Anne, learns of his infidelity with his American mistress, Lisa; meanwhile, Lisa continues to send him unsolicited letters. Equally funny and touching, the novel strikes deep, presenting a sincere exploration of love and monogamy. These characters are complex, and their story reflects their confusion and desire. As her story bounces through time and across continents (Richard and Anne met while students in the U.S.), Maum rarely loses focus. An impressive, smart novel.--Publisher's Weekly

Elizabeth Is Missing

Emma Healey (Get this book)
Maud's memory is failing, slipping further away each day. So how can she convince anyone that her best friend is truly missing? In her debut novel, Healey deftly evokes the frustrations of Maud and her daughter, both annoyed by Maud's inability to remember that she bought peach slices yesterday (not to mention the day before), or her own address or the fact that she's already alerted the police to Elizabeth's absence four times. At first, Maud's disintegrating memory stymies her progress, but soon enough, the elision of boundaries becomes an asset.A poignant novel of loss. --Kirkus

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street

Susan Jane Gilman (Get this book)
Nonfiction writer Gilman parlays her craft into an outstanding fiction debut, which follows an abrasive, unscrupulous protagonist from the 1910s to the early 1980s. In 1913, within months of arriving in New York City from her native Russia, young Malka Bialystoker is injured by a horse belonging to street vendor Salvatore Dinello. Deserted by her unstable mother and shiftless father, Malka is taken in by the Dinello clan out of a sense of guilt. Gilman's numerous strengths are showcased, such as character-driven narrative, a ready sense of wit, and a rich historical canvas, in this case based on the unlikely subject of the 20th-century American ice cream industry. --Publisher's Weekly

Earth Awakens

Orson Scott Card (Get this book)
Philosophical inquiry and harshly realistic descriptions of war reverberate throughout Card and Johnston's third Formic Wars novel, a pulp-inspired alien invasion scenario that continues the prequel series to Card's bestselling "Ender's Game" Shortly after Maori spaceship pilot Mazer Rackham's bold attack against Formic invaders, engineer Victor Delgado and bureaucrat Imala Bootstamp camouflage a shuttle to allow them to investigate a Formic ship, backed by enigmatic industrialist Lem Jukes, while war heroes Mazer and Capt. Everyday desires are as deadly as the Formics' flesh-eating acid in this collision of space opera and big-bug epic. This breakneck thriller is a dark and lively addition to the Enderverse. --Publisher's Weekly

China Dolls

Lisa See (Get this book)
In the beginning of See's stellar ninth book, three young women, Grace, Helen, and Ruby, meet and form an unlikely but strong bond in San Francisco in 1938, as the Golden Gate International Exhibition is about to open. Grace has run from an abusive father in the Midwest; Helen is trapped by her traditional family in Chinatown after a devastating loss; Ruby is Japanese, desperate to pass as Chinese to stay employed as the U.S. moves closer to war with Japan. The novel spans 50 years, following the women's tumultuous personal lives and roller-coaster career choices. The story alternates between their viewpoints, with each woman's voice strong and dynamic, developing a multilayered richness as it progresses. The depth of See's characters and her winning prose makes this book a wonderful journey through love and loss.--Publisher's Weekly

The Devil May Care

David Housewright (Get this book)
In Edgar-winner Housewright's exceptional 11th novel featuring unlicensed Twin Cities PI Rushmore, the scion of a wealthy Minnesota family, hires McKenzie to find her new boyfriend, Juan Carlos Navarre, who has gone missing. Wry humor helps balance the tension in this tale of misguided love and obsession.--Publisher's Weekly

Midnight in Europe

Alan Furst (Get this book)
We've met Furst's unwilling heroes before, typically in Paris, as they bask in the City of Light while turning away from the chaos in their homeland, whether Poland, Italy, or Germany. This time it's Spain, where a doomed war is already raging. Spanish 'migr' Christin Ferrar is a successful lawyer at an international firm, juggling his time between Paris and New York and happy to be far from the troubles in Spain. Yet, when he is approached to aid those supplying the Republican troops with arms, he is surprised to find himself complying. And so begins another tale of clandestine operations in which civilians step up, not out of idealism but out of the realization that history affords them no other choice. Furst is a master of mood, but, above all, he is able to show how the most personal of emotions love, especially drives the actions of men and women caught in a time of peril.--Booklist

Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King (Get this book)
In his latest suspenser, the prolific King returns to the theme of the scary car-except this one has a scary driver who's as loony but logical unto himself as old Jack Torrance from The Shining.It's an utterly American setup: Over here is a line of dispirited people waiting to get into a job fair, and over there is a psycho licking his chops at the easy target they present; he aims a car into the crowd and mows down a bunch of innocents, killing eight and hurting many more. The car isn't his. The malice most certainly is, and it's up to world-weary ex-cop Bill Hodges to pull himself up from depression and figure out the identity of the author of that heinous act. The storyline is vintage King, too: In the battle of good and evil, good may prevail-but never before evil has caused a whole lot of mayhem. It's nicely dark, never predictable and altogether entertaining.--Kirkus

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Michael Koryta (Get this book)
Hiding a teenage murder witness among a bunch of delinquent kids in a survival-training program in Montana seemed like a good idea. But when two coldblooded killers track him there from Indiana, everyone's life is at grave risk. With the exception of one plot turn you'll likely see coming from a mountain pass away, this novel is brilliantly orchestrated. Also crucial to its success is Koryta's mastery of the beautiful but threatening setting, including a mountain fire's ability to electrify the ground, radiate a lethal force field-and create otherworldly light shows. Summer reading doesn't get better than this.--Kirkus

The Director

David Ignatius (Get this book)
In this frighteningly convincing spy thriller from Ignatius former entrepreneur Graham Weber has a new job: director of the Central Intelligence Agency, an organization suffering in "the post-Snowden era" of whistle-blowers and cyberterrorism. Ignatius builds palpable momentum and creates engaging, fully human characters, notably the fallible and conscientious Weber. Moreover, he writes with great authority on hackers' technologies and motivations, as well as the history and culture of the CIA. Publisher's Weekly

The Untold

Courtney Collins (Get this book)
Debut novelist Collins bases her story on the legendary Australian outlaw Jessie Hickman. Born to a coldhearted mother and a loving father who died too soon, Jessie finds herself sold to a traveling circus at age 12. After her closest friend and fellow tightrope walker takes a terrible fall, she leaves the circus for a career in horse rustling, which lands her in prison; eventually, she's given a choice between languishing in jail or breaking horses for Fitz Henry. Of course, in 1917, a female convict is at the mercy of her employer, who is also her legal guardian, and Fitz quickly blackmails her into a brutal marriage. Prefacing the tale with a brief account of one of Harry Houdini's escapes also seems strained; Jessie's horse may be named for the magician, but the allusion rather heavy-handedly foreshadows Jessie's fate.Collins richly evokes a heartbreaking emotional terrain, setting it against the sparse, brutal landscape of the Australian Outback.--Kirkus

Fourth of July Creek

Smith Henderson (Get this book)
Pete Snow is a social worker in early 1980s small-town Montana whose life is nearly as troubled as those of his clients. He is separated from his wife and teenage daughter, estranged from his father and stepmother, and easing his problems with alcohol. One morning Pete receives a call regarding a strange young boy who has shown up at a local school. Benjamin Pearl is the son of Jeremiah Pearl, a reclusive survivalist who lives in the hills outside town. Pete tries to help ragged and undernourished Benjamin but soon runs afoul of the paranoid Jeremiah. Through persistence, Pete slowly gains a degree of trust from Jeremiah and is able to provide some assistance. But when Jeremiah's activities draw the interest of the FBI, Pete is caught up in the web of suspicion. As the noose tightens, Jeremiah's dark secrets will profoundly affect Pete as well. This is a significant debut.--Library Journal

Booty Bones

Carolyn Haines (Get this book)
Haines's delightful 14th Sarah Booth Delaney mystery takes PI Sarah Booth and her fiance, film actor Graf Milieu, to Dauphin Island, Ala., where she hopes that they can work on wedding plans while Graf recovers from a gunshot wound to his leg. On a tour of the small barrier island, a stranger, Angela Trotter, asks Sarah Booth to investigate her father's brutal murder. Angela thinks the wrong man is serving a life sentence for the crime. Graf, preoccupied with his physical therapy, has become emotionally distant, so having a project is just the thing for Sarah Booth, an appealing Southern belle with a good head on her shoulders. Figuring out who really killed Angela's father, reconnecting with Graf, and maybe recovering pirate treasure keeps Sarah Booth hopping in this highly satisfying beignet of a mystery.--Publisher's Weekly

Goodnight June

Sarah Jio (Get this book)
At 35, June Anderson is a hard-charging financier, the youngest vice president ever at her international bank, with her own Manhattan apartment and an anxiety disorder and dangerously high blood pressure. Then her beloved great-aunt, Ruby Crain, bequeaths to her Bluebird Books, the children's bookstore in Seattle that was an important part of June's childhood. Skilled at foreclosing on small, failing businesses, June plans to sell the store to a developer. But then she follows a trail of letters hidden in books and learns that Ruby was a dear friend of author Margaret Wise Brown and inspired the longtime best-seller Goodnight Moon. This discovery, along with a budding friendship with the restaurateur next door, makes June vow to fight to keep the financially fragile bookstore. In unwinding a feel-good plot with a certain amount of predictability, Jio also provides some final twists as she reveals family discord in June's life and long-held secrets in Ruby's. This eminently readable novel with particular appeal for fans of children's literature is a tribute to family and forgiveness.--Booklist

Dreamweaver Trail

Emily March (Get this book)
After a professional tragedy, Gabi Romano can't decide what to do next and escapes winter in Eternity Springs, Colo., for a temporary dog-sitting job in the Caribbean. Gabi is drifting. After a justified shooting as a sheriff's deputy, she has no desire to return to that life, nor does she want to help out in her mother's bed-and-breakfast forever. Ready for a change, she winds up watching puppy Bismarck on exclusive Bella Vita Isle. Smoothly written, with appealing characters and an engaging storyline, this will surely be a winner with romance fans.--Kirkus