This week's new releases for mystery and thriller books to read range from bestselling authors returning in Angels Burning and Blackout to a debut author coming in with a splash in The Children's Home. Fans of modern crime novels will want to pick up Angels Burning, Blackout, and Terms of Use. Fans of historical crime will enjoy The Guardian Stones and The Herald of Hell.
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Homewrecker Incorporated is about Claudia Mason, a strong-willed and rather controlling woman, who started a rather unorthodox business venture with her best friend after college. Basically, they’re private investigators who specialize in catching cheating husbands and are willing to go as far as it takes to get the job done. Being in that business, Claudia doesn’t have a lot of faith in the masculine sex in general, but something tells me there might be someone who comes along and changes her mind 😉
What are you currently craving?
Steak, a big juicy, medium-rare steak! I’ve been trying to eat healthier and have cut out most red meat so it’s been a long while since I’ve had one and it’s definitely in my top ten all time favorite foods.
Who is your favorite couple from literature?
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I’m sure that’s a popular answer, but it’s for good reason. Elizabeth is such a complex and endearing character and Mr. Darcy certainly grows on you once you get to know him.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
For most of my childhood I wanted to be a veterinarian. I’ve always adored animals, but a short internship at an animal hospital taught me I was far too sensitive to handle some of the more emotionally difficult aspects of the professional. I cried for hours after sitting in on the euthanization of a six month old puppy with a terminal illness. After that I spent a lot of years not knowing what I wanted to do and ended up going into business, more specifically accounting, somewhat by accident.
If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?
That’s easy. My mom. She passed away in June and I’d give anything to see her one more time.
Which books would we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Probably Jeff Lindsay’s series about Dexter Morgan. I can’t get enough of the books or the show! I’ve heard rumors the show might be making a comeback and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s true.
If you could invent anything, what would it be?
A teleportation device. I love visiting new places, but I’m not a huge fan of the time it takes to travel to them.
What's your favorite quote from or scene from Homewrecker Incorporated?
I have several, but one of my favorite scenes is when Claudia is being interviewed by Mr. Michael’s in his office at the end of the third chapter. Their chemistry is insane and Mr. Michael’s has a little secret that really throws Claudia for a loop.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Yes, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” I can’t say I live it successfully all the time, but I do try.
S. Simone Chauvous is the author of the new book Homewrecker Incorporated.
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Though the story is not autobiographical, much of it is “true” in the sense that it was written after a difficult period of my life. I lost my father when I was seventeen and my mother when I was thirty. After my mother passed away when my daughter was ten months old, I found myself sandwiched between the death of my best friend and the presence of this new life. The act of writing was a way for me to work through my own grief and to also find new purpose my life.
HOW TO BE BRAVE specifically started as a thought experiment to see what my relationship with my dad would have been like had my mom died first. As I started writing, Georgia became her own character with her own struggles. As Georgia discovers, there are many different ways to live a life of courage – whether it be by skydiving or taking a trapeze class (numbers 3 and 4 on Georgia’s list), by learning how to draw or dancing to your heart’s wild content (numbers 6 and 10), or by reaching out to others in their time of need (not on the list, but equally important). I hope this book encourages readers to reflect on their own fears and to face life bravely.
What's your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
I originally moved here for the weather, but I’ve stayed for the people. I have a wonderful community of friends here in L.A. who I love dearly.
Who was your childhood hero?
Michael Stipe. I was in the seventh grade when I discovered R.E.M., and besides loving their music, I always admired the fact that Michael Stipe was outspoken about issues he cared about. I loved that he could be poetic and insightful, dignified and cool. I still hold great respect for him, more than twenty-five years later.
You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?
Edith Wharton, Maya Angelou, and Douglas Coupland. It would be an odd mix, but I’d be curious to see what they would have to talk about.
We asked our readers this question, now it's your turn! What would be at the top of your "Ways to Be Brave" list?
Let’s see...
1. Learn how to roller skate and/or ice skate without using the wall.
2. Ride my bike to yoga. (Bike lanes scare me!)
3. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and all the way back up, I guess...)
4. Visit every continent (I’ve only been to two.)
What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?
Mount Olympus, though I’d be a little scared of meeting Zeus.
What are you currently craving?
Pizza. Always pizza. More specifically, Chicago-style. (Cornmeal crust with cheese on the bottom, sauce on top.)
What's your favorite quote or scene from How to Be Brave?
“Being brave isn't about living every minute exhilarated. It's about waking up and knowing that despite the worry and the sadness and the deep, dark fear, you're going to go forth anyway. That you're going to try anyway. That you have a choice, and you're going to choose to live, today, bravely.”
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
“Understand the power of a single action.” As I mentioned earlier, my obsession with R.E.M. goes back to middle school. This statement was written on the back of the 1989 Green World Tour t-shirt, and it remains my favorite motto.
E Katherine Kottaras is the author of the new book How to Be Brave
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When you need a good dose of horror with some supernatural elements sprinkled in, Stephen King books are the perfect fix. From delving into the darkest depths of humanity to imagining the horizons of the future (with all its faults), King is a constant source of thrilling stories. What to do when you’ve devoured all his novels? Never fear, we’ve compiled a list of new books by authors like Stephen King for just that predicament. They might not be the King himself, but they sure remind us of him (and leave us with just as many chills down our spines).
Ashley Bell
Dean Koontz
Release Date: December 8, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: psychological suspense, mystery, thriller, dark plot
Slade House
David Mitchell
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: dark, thrilling, haunted, and compared by multiple newspapers to Stephen King himself
A Head Full of Ghosts
Paul Tremblay
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: thrilling suspense, psychological horror, and Stephen King himself said that it, “scared the living h*** out of me, and I’m pretty hard to scare”
Day Four
Sarah Lotz
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: thriller, suspenseful, and recommended by Stephen King as “really good”
Saturn Run
John Sandford & Ctein
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: futuristic, thriller, science fiction, and Stephen King says, “Fans of Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers will eat this up”
Thunderbird
Jack McDevitt
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Why read if looking for authors like Stephen King: science fiction, space exploration, and praised by Stephen King
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Hi everyone. ‘Infinity Lost’ is a part coming of age story, part action adventure, part mystery thriller set in the near future. It revolves around a seventeen year old girl named Infinity “Finn” Blackstone who is daughter of the richest most powerful man in the world. Raised by servants all her life, she’s never met her father, so when she embarks on a journey to find out more about him she unwittingly unleashes dark and dangerous family secrets that threaten to destroy not only her and her friends, but all of humanity.
You're hosting a dinner party and can invite anyone- alive or dead, fictional or real. Who's coming to dinner?
That question is almost too hard to answer! Of course you’d want the guests at that dinner party to be a mix of the most interesting people you can think of but I’d want them to be fun as well. I’ve asked my friends that question before and it’s surprising how similar some of their answers have been. Einstein, Ghandi, Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill, Beyoncé, the list goes on. Personally I’d have to do weeks of research but there’d probably be celebrities, pop stars, cartoon characters, Batman and Neil Degrasse Tyson thrown in for good measure. Maybe I would just have famous actors on one side of the table and the most famous or infamous characters they’ve ever played on the other? That would be awesomely weird for everyone. But if I had to answer off the top of my head right now I’d probably just reserve a table for two at a quaint little bistro on the French Riviera and invite God. But I’m an atheist so he probably wouldn’t show.
What is the one movie that you can quote the most?
Haha! There are a few that would almost cross the finish line at the same time in a race, like any of the three original Star Wars movies and the first Matrix. Fight Club is right up there too, but the winner by Samuel L Jackson’s majestic nose has to be the movie whose poster sits in pride of place over my computer where I write. Quentin Tarantino’s cinematic masterpiece, the incomparable Pulp Fiction. “Where’s Zed?” “Zed’s dead baby.” Damn right he is.
What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?
This may sound a little strange coming from someone who writes books, but I don’t read very much. I generally only tend to do it when I’m on vacation, but that said, there is only one series of books that I’ve read three times through, and that would be the Harry Potters. I obviously don’t need to tell you how good that story is but wow, I’m gonna do it anyway, it’s so damn good, and the proof is on every page. There’s only one billionaire author on the planet and she completely deserves it. Kudos Ms Rowling, I gaze in humble awe at the scope of your imagination and talent and will somehow find it in my heart to forgive you for not letting Harry use the time turner. Hedwig didn’t have to die you heartless woman!
If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?
There are so many beautiful places in the world that I want to visit so this answer may change in the future but for now there’s only one contender. Rarotonga. It’s a tiny sun-kissed tropical paradise in the South Pacific where my wife and I were married.
You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?
Oo, that’s a tough one but I’d have to say Neptune, the fictional town in Veronica Mars or Charming, the fictional town in Sons of Anarchy, two places I’d probably end up dead in if I ever was caught there. But real life is not a TV show so; I’d have to say Syria. In my opinion, that’s the worst place on the planet right now.
What's your favorite quote or scene from Infinity Lost?
I don’t have single favourite, but being a big horror fan, I have to admit that I especially enjoy the gory action parts. If I want to design a scene that’s intended to gross my reader out it has to gross me out first, and I still remember reading this passage back just after I had written it and saying out loud “Ew. Yeah that’s gross.” The following is an excerpt of that scene and takes place when two of the characters are trying to escape from a shape shifting room inside Blackstone Technologies…
‘Karla scrambles up from Percy’s shoulders onto the top of the barrier and shimmies sideways on her stomach into the now-tiny and ever-decreasing hole. Karla kicks both legs through the small space in an attempt to drop out feet-first.
But she isn’t fast enough.
The shiny black glass completely envelopes her body from the bridge of her nose down. There’s an awful wrenching, tightening sound, like a thick dry rope that’s being twisted to breaking point. A desperate muffled scream can be heard coming from the glossy dark surface. The scream is gruesomely silenced with a sickening thock as the top of Karla’s skull, complete with its mane of beautiful, thick, shiny brown curls is guillotined clean off, toppling from the side of the dome and dropping onto Percy’s back like a brain-filled bowl of bone and hair.
With a horrific realization, Percy arches upward, frantically pulling his blood-spattered blazer from his shoulders. He throws it to the ground behind him, too afraid to look down at what he has cast aside, and is promptly pelted in the face with one of Karla’s hands and three of her fingers.’
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Oh absolutely, I actually have a few life philosophies. Do what you love, work hard play hard, make sure your happiness outweighs your regrets and try to be kind. But as I’ve gotten older and wiser the creed I try to adhere to almost every night now has to be Netflix and chill. Very sage words to live by.
S Harrison is the author of the new book Infinity Lost.
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The one indisputable fact about Joyce Carol Oates is her mastery for writing great literary fiction. With five National Book Awards under her belt she is widely recognized as an important American novelist. Her upcoming novel (to be released on January 19th, 2016) The Man Without a Shadow examines the mysteries of memory, personality, identity and love in true Oates fashion. We've partnered with Bookperk to give away a copy of this powerful new novel to a lucky reader.
Fans of Margaret Awood, Jonathan Franzen, Paula Hawkins and Donna Tartt will love The Man Without a Shadow. Enter to win a copy below
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In 1965, neuroscientist Margot Sharpe meets the attractive, charismatic Elihu Hoopes—the “man without a shadow”—whose devastated memory, unable to store new experiences or to retrieve the old, will make him the most famous and most studied amnesiac in history. Over the course of the next thirty years, Margot herself becomes famous for her experiments with E. H.—and inadvertently falls in love with him, despite the ethical ambiguity of their affair, and though he remains forever elusive and mysterious to her, haunted by mysteries of the past.
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2016 is on the horizon and full of possibilities. You might fall in love or land a few flings. Perhaps you will start exercising regularly or perfect the art of surviving from your couch. You could write a book (or at least finish reading the whopper of a text that has been sitting on your bedside table for months and keeps getting passed over in favor of lighter reads). Whatever your goals and aspirations, we want to help. We have carefully collected a list of 12 books to read to start the new year that provide a healthy mixture of inspiration when you are setting your resolutions and comfort when you don’t meet them.
1) Better than Before
Gretchen Rubin
Release Date: March 17, 2015
If patience is the virtue you don’t possess, this is the book for you. If you need to see progress right away and want all the tiny changes to count, Gretchen Rubin explains how to change everyday habits to solve all your problems and get everything you want. Ok maybe she doesn’t do that, but she at least explains how to build healthier and stronger habits – perfect for those who are intimidated by huge changes but want to improve their lives.
2) Everything I Never Told You
Celeste Ng
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Award-winner? Check. Tragedy? Check. Inspirational? Check. A family is torn apart and must put itself back together again in this tale of literary fiction. For our readers who have resolved to work on their family life, this book will inspire you when the going gets tough.
3) The Achievement Habit
Bernard Roth
Release Date: July 7, 2015
If you’ve ever wanted to learn about what goes on inside your brain, the co-founder of the Stanford d.school is here to explain. Bernard Roth commands you to stop wishing and start doing by using design thinking as a means to reach your potential. If one of your resolutions is to start achieving greatness, this is a great place to start.
4) Rising Strong
Brené Brown
Release Date: August 25, 2015
If the word “vulnerability” makes you want to run and hide under a pillow, pick up the newest release from Brené Brown. Expanding on her previous work, Brown discusses the power of stories (particularly stories of failure) in Rising Strong. She doesn’t promise anything, but she sure as heck will give you her best shot as she convinces you to open up your deepest hurts and walk through them (mostly) unscathed.
5) Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
Release Date: September 22, 2015
If one of your new year’s resolutions is to rediscover your inner child with finger painting and popsicle sticks (or at least to unleash your creative potential), Big Magic is worth your time. Elizabeth Gilbert inspires and challenges her readers to live with courage and rediscover their creativity in this story of her own motivational processes.
6) After You
Jojo Moyes
Release Date: September 29, 2015
When you need a splash of romance to remind you why you set all those New Year’s Resolutions in the first place, grab a copy of After You by Jojo Moyes. After losing one love, Lou Clark must find the strength to open up again and move forward with all the risk that invites. Dealing with heavy issues while keeping a comedic thread, After You will reward all your hard work and motivate you to keep it up.
7) Life and Other Near-Death Experiences
Camille Pagan
Release Date: November 1, 2015
Fans of tragic stories that turn hopeful but still use up a box of tissues: this one’s for you. An optimist-turned-realist must figure out how to deal with her new perspective on life in a story that is equal parts funny and inspiring. Yes, it’s a cancer narrative, but it is a cancer narrative that will make you laugh, cry, and add Camille Pagan’s other book to your ever-growing list of books to read.
8) The Japanese Lover
Isabel Allende
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Be still my heart: a couple in love that continue to get ripped apart and yet find each other again and again while keeping their love a secret the whole time? Without giving too much away, that is exactly what this book is about. Her first novel was an international bestseller, and fans of The House of Spirits will not want to miss this new release by Isabel Allende. Treat yourself with a seriously good novel.
9) Dear Mr. You
Mary-Louise Parker
Release Date: November 10, 2015
If you like stalking famous people and want to hear about one woman's relationships with the men in her life, this is the book for you. Actress Mary-Louise Parker pens a series of letters to the men in her life (real or not) who have made her the woman she is today. Poignant and revealing, Parker is honest and hilarious while maintaining her sassy side.
10) Spark Joy
Marie Kondo
Release Date: January 5, 2016
If you watched the Tiny Homes documentary and decided to throw away everything you own, move to the mountains, and live off the land, you cannot neglect the newest from Marie Kondo. If you’ve never heard of Tiny Homes but find that you struggle to stay organized, you also cannot miss this new release. Kondo takes decluttering to a new level as she provides detailed advice (complete with illustrations) about how to get back to the basics in your life.
11) The Road to Little Dribbling
Bill Bryson
Release Date: January 19, 2016
For anyone who likes to laugh and travel vicariously through other people, Bill Bryson has provided the perfect book to help. Bryson traipses through England on a route that he planned based on the longest distance one could travel in a straight line. You will learn a few things, but don’t read this book while drinking milk or it may just come out your nose as you laugh at Bryson’s witty banter.
12) NYPD Red 4
James Patterson & Marshall Karp
Release Date: January 25, 2016
By the time this book is released in late January, you will need something to reward yourself for all of your hard work keeping all (most) of your resolutions for a whole month. James Patterson offers up his latest book to devour in this sequel to NYPD Red 1, 2, and 3. All the best of Patterson is present with an outrageously difficult crime, high-profile characters, and the crème-de-la-crème of detectives. Treat yourself – you’ve earned it.
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Tell us a little bit about your new release, This is Why I Came.
You know I am horrible at summarizing my own work. So perhaps could we give your readers the catalogue copy from Counterpoint Press? I'm very happy with it.
Sure!
A woman sits in prayerful meditation, waiting to offer her first confession in more than thirty years. She holds a small book on her lap, one that she’s made, and tells herself again the Bible stories it contains, the ones she has written anew, for herself, each story told aslant, from Jonah to Jesus, Moses to Mary Magdalen. Woven together and stitched by hand, they provide a new version, virtually a new translation, of the heart of this ancient and sacred text. Bernadette traces, through each brief and familiar story, a line where belief and disbelief touch, the line that has been her home, ragged and neglected, that hidden seam.
Say you now host a literary-themed talk show. Who would be your first guest ?
Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer.
Apple products are everywhere and loved because the technology is astonishing and the object you hold in your hand is perfectly designed. The design is so perfect that the design itself disappears. I would ask Ive, who was hired early on by Steve Jobs, about the 10 Design Principles of Dieter Rams to whom he is deeply indebted. Those Design Principles, like the Ten Commandments in the world of industrial design, are perfect for writing fiction so I’d like us to talk about that and this is why:
If we assume that each person on the planet is infinitely complex and unique, which I do assume, then what we want is that complex subjectivity to be what lies behind the novel in the same way we want extraordinary technology to lie behind the Apple product. Without that power, you’d just have pretty, useless objects. We want, from the novel, something radically personal and radically unforeseen. We want the writer to have made something he or she alone could have made. We want it to make our world larger. But at the same time we want the novel as an object to have been perfectly designed by the time it reaches us, so that all the design decisions have disappeared. So the words on the page or on the screen, so link us to the vast subjectivity of the author that the words disappear. When this happens, the reader and the author meet each other on a bridge. The reader moves across that perfectly designed bridge with all his or her own complex subjectivity and then, only then, the object is finally complete.
What's your favorite quote or scene from This is Why I Came?
I love very much the story of Legion although I’ll likely never read it in a public reading because my fondness is too personal and I’d likely cry. I actually love all the stories. That’s when we know the book is finished, right? We’ve put something outside ourselves that is truthful. And the truth of it is what we love.
Jonah is the last of the stories from the Hebrew part of the Bible, the “Old Testament.” And I like it because it honors the ethical intention that I feel beneath today’s “New Atheism.” It’s an ethical position which Jonah finally takes and in which he refuses to be a prophet any longer. It is after the conversion of the large city of Nineveh. His wife asks him, “Then what will you be?” And he replies “I will be God’s atheist.” I like the contradiction in that sentence. He wants to not worship or serve any God who requires him to separate himself from his own intergrity. I think that is a very beautiful thing.
And I like that I let him see into the future and when he does, he sees that he will be misunderstood. And that people will know him for the sort of sensational story of being 3 days in the belly of the whale. Small children will love the story and adults will ignore it or argue about whether or not it’s feasible, all this business. Jonah sees how he will not be really known except by his wife. Of course I made all this up, but it pleases me. The way we are not known deeply. The way we have our version of ourselves and other people have their versions of us and how rare it is when that gap is crossed. As Barbara says in The Memory Room, my first novel, “Most people underestimate how erotic it is to be understood.”
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Above my kitchen sink lately I have the quote: “3 billion people around the world live on $2.50 a day or less.” It’s just a fact, you know. But it gives rise to a lot of thinking. The implications of this fact. And I have things like this around me as reminders. And they change.
But I’ve never found one that is sufficient. No single line. Like the incomparable Donna Vreeland was famous for saying of fashion, “The Eye has to travel.” Or like St. Augustine, “The heart is restless until it finds its rest in You,” meaning God, in his case. So these single lines are like windows, openings, entry-points to use Jorie Graham’s gorgeous phrase but never completely satisfying in themselves. I think we want something more existential. We want a relationship to something or some one or some other within which everything else finds it’s place. What I want, and I think everyone wants, is to honor these mottos but also to get behind all of them. To get behind all ephemera, all sights and sounds and tastes and injunctions and to get to whatever it is that is its background. To get at what is behind all of this. Behind thought. Behind sensation. Behind imagery. Behind good design. We want to take the bridge all these things are and walk across to the other side. To get to silence, for example.
Like this wonderful new fashion designer who is fabricating very 21st century clothing that is taking technology seriously. Others are making fabrics that have nanotechnology that will translate the body’s own energy so that it charges the smart phone you have in your pocket. People at Google and Stanford and UC Berkeley. But this other designer is doing the opposite. He’s making fashion that involves a shielding of notification from the mobile devices we carry. This is fascinating to me. We all want stimulation and language and the time to digest it. And some people, like myself, need tons of time to digest small amounts of information. I am very, very contemplative in that way. But it doesn’t matter. We all need both of these things. So he’s looking on this other side. Fashion that moves you, or allows you to stay connected but to also move toward silence.
I like this very much. His work reminds me that we want language and we want it to take us to silence. It the string quartet plays the last note on stage and if it is great music and if their performance has been superb, what follows, always, is great silence. This is what I think we all hunger for.
Mary Rakow is the author of the new book This is Why I Came
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In a time where we celebrate the past year and prepare to welcome the new, it is worthwhile to take a moment to pause and reflect on the best books that appeared on the scene in 2015. They span every genre and come from authors of all backgrounds, but they do have one thing in common: they are worth reading. We organized them by genre in an effort to help you out, but while you are still setting New Year’s resolutions (and experiencing 100% success in those resolutions), take a minute to look through this list and catch any books you may have missed.
1) The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
Release Date: September 1, 2015
The final installment in the Neapolitan Novels, two women weather life’s storms together as they seek to escape their past in a tumultuous neighborhood. Honest and refreshing, immerse yourself into the fabric of a friendship across the course of the years.
2) Where the Bird Sings Best by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Compared by many to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, this translation follows the immigration of Jodorowsky’s family from Ukraine to Chile. Full of outrageous stories from incestuous families to false deaths, this story from film director Alejandro Jodorowsky will appeal to those who want to be transported to a world of prose with mythic qualities.
3) A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
Release Date: August 18, 2015
This collection of short stories presents tales of working-class women across America compiled by Lucia Berlin across the course of her life. A blend of light humor with heavy themes, Berlin crafts a series of stories that will capture you until you have turned the last page.
4) Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Included on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award, Bill Chegg weaves a tale of tragedy and survival in his debut novel. When a woman loses her entire family in a fire the night before her daughter’s wedding, she embarks on a journey of learning how to survive without them – and brings us along with her.
5) Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Release Date: September 15, 2015
This finalist for the National Book Award was named as a best book of the year by almost every major publication. Fates and Furies explores the things that make a marriage work (or not work) in this riveting tale of two people. Complex and sensual, Groff keeps you hooked from cover to cover.
6) Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Winner of the National Book Award, Fortune Smiles contains six stories that span major themes from natural disasters and politics to love and loss. Dark and comedic, Johnson makes you laugh while breaking your heart as he offers a new perspective on the world.
7) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Release Date: March 10, 2015
What could be stronger than the cords of brotherhood? Four friends gravitate together in New York, and a tale of the dark side of love and friendship unfolds. As decades pass, they are bound together more deeply and with darker threads as waves of success, brokenness, addiction, and heartbreak crash over their relationships. A National Book Award Finalist and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, A Little Life will immerse you in its rich prose.
8) Golden Son by Pierce Brown
Release Date: July 7, 2015
The sequel to bestseller Red Rising, Pierce Brown continues the story of the rebel Darrow. Creating a world that is reminiscent of Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, this dystopian novel is packed with action without neglecting its compelling characters.
9) Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Release Date: May 19, 2015
A particular favorite of two of our staff members, this tale of the end of the world delves into human nature and space encounters while pushing the boundaries of complexity. Any fan of science fiction will not want to miss Stephenson’s novel, but readers outside the genre will also appreciate and enjoy his work.
10) The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
Release Date: February 10, 2015
The world has been devastated by a plague, but one woman is determined to find the cure and save the world. This post-apocalyptic novel features a young protagonist whose tenacity through danger and tragedy makes it impossible not to be drawn into her world.
11) The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Fans of Discworld rejoiced and mourned when the final Discworld novel was released this year. When death forces Tiffany into a leadership position, she finds herself in the middle of a whole new set of problems and adventures. Simultaneously funny and serious, you won’t want to miss the final novel by Terry Pratchett.
12) Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Release Date: October 6,2015
With the best of all things love, magic, and adventure, Rainbow Rowell continues in the tradition of Harry Potter to present a world of teenagers discovering themselves. Jump into the Watford School of Magicks and follow Simon Snow as he adventures through his final school year.
13) The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Release Date: September 22, 2015
A finalist for the National Book Award, Ali Benjamin weaves a breathtaking story about dealing with tragedy and exploring imagination. In this debut novel, Suzy struggles to understand her best friend’s accidental death by drowning and latches onto the theory of a jellyfish sting. Beautiful and painful, you can’t help but be captivated by Suzy as Benjamin weaves her story together.
14) All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Two people meet on the edge of a ledge – literally. Jennifer Niven crafts a tale of two teenagers who find one another at the end of hope and walk forward together. Compared to The Fault in Our Stars, Niven’s novel paints a beautiful picture of a fragile love in the midst of difficult times.
15) Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
Release Date: September 1, 2015
If you want a feisty woman in an unexpected setting, Girl Waits with Gun is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Chosen by multiple sources as a best book to read in 2015, this powerhouse of a novel is based on a true story about a female deputy sheriff who will go to great lengths to defend her family. Constance Kopp is a force to be reckoned with, and we are just along for the ride in this entertaining new crime novel.
16) The Crossing by Michael Connelly
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Start on the edge of your seat and don’t move because this mystery thriller by Michael Connelly will keep you there from beginning to end. Starring Harry Bosch, Connelly pulls him out of retirement…and onto the opposing team. Fans of Connelly will not be disappointed with this latest offering, and neither will fans of the mystery and suspense genre.
17) A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Devilishly clever, don’t pick up this latest from Paul Tremblay unless you are ready for a full dose of horror. Psychological, religious, and just plain terrifying, A Head Full of Ghosts follows the story of a family whose skeletons are about to fill up the closet when they agree to feature the exorcism of their schizophrenic daughter on a reality television series. The show might not tell all, but when a writer starts asking questions fifteen years later, you can be sure that the truth will emerge.
18) In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Debut author Ruth Ware burst onto the literary scene with a big splash with her psychological thriller this fall. In a Dark, Dark Wood is a story about a crime writer who tends to hide away from experiencing the things she writes about…until she agrees to go to the countryside for the weekend. When she wakes up in a hospital bed knowing someone is dead, her journey into the past begins in a gripping plot that has been compared to Agatha Christie.
19) The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Release Date: January 13, 2015
2015 was the year of new thriller authors, and Paula Hawkins is no exception. In The Girl on the Train, Rachel takes the same train every day until she witnesses something that pulls her into a story she never wanted. Twisted and chilling, trying to predict what is coming at the turn of the page will prove difficult with Hawkins’ masterful craft.
20) Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Erik Larson has a knack for building suspense about historical events where we already know the ending. Larson masterfully unfolds the characters of Captain Turner with the Lusitania and Captain Schwieger with the German U-boat as they make their way towards a deadly encounter, while a British intelligence unit keeps its lifesaving information to itself. The master of narrative nonfiction has delivered a masterpiece in this story about the sinking of the Lusitania.
21) The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Release Date: May 5, 2015
David McCullough has won the Pulitzer Prize twice for his depictions of history, and this year he presents the story of the Wright brothers and their journey to the skies. Beginning with their childhood where amenities were few and books were abundant, these two self-educated boys grew up to make history. McCullough chronicles the successes, failures, and determination of this remarkable pair in this bestselling book about the men who learned to fly.
22) The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf
Release Date: September 15, 2015
A finalist for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and the Kirkus Reviews Prize for Nonfiction, Andrea Wulf uncovers the often forgotten story of Alexander von Humbolt. Tracing his influence on the environmentalism movement, Wulf crafts the connection between Humbolt’s work and that of figures like Darwin, Wordsworth, Goethe, and possibly even Thoreau. Well-written and well-researched, The Invention of Nature does a masterful job recovering the story of this scientist.
23) M Train by Patti Smith
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Patti Smith offers an invitation to wander through life with her in the poetic and meditative reflections of M Train. A memoir of her life through the lens of cafes and other places where she worked around the world, Smith walks through stages of great joy and great sorrow with stunning prose. Follow the meandering trail that she described as “a roadmap to my life” as you settle in as a passenger alongside her.
24) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Release Date: July 14, 2015
This year’s National Book Award winner is a letter from father to son. Ta-Nehisi Coates attempts to share with his son lessons and advice for navigating the racial landscape of America as a young black man. Coates traces his own history as well as that of the broader black community and uses that as a framework for moving forward into the future. You will want to devour every page of this intellectual and emotionally gripping memoir as fast as possible while simultaneously trying to slowly absorb every word.
25) Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Sally Mann’s National Book Award finalist chronicles the story of her family history in the broader American South using words and pictures together. Detailing the drama of scandal, abuse, land disputes, and possible murder, Mann’s words paint as vivid a picture as her photographs. The memoir grips with equally with its plot and its beautiful prose, and Mann crafts a new form of artistry with the interplay of photography and lyrical prose.
26) H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Release Date: March 3, 2015
A mixture of mythology, memoir, literary genius, and nature writing, this winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize is a story about obsession and grief with a humorous tint. Helen MacDonald grieves her father’s unexpected death through training a goshawk, chronicling her journey in this beautifully written and compelling book.
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With new books to read cropping up left and right (and the holidays right around the corner), we would like to help the young adult or young adult gift-buying readers with a few suggestions for books like the Selection series. Dystopian is the name of the game (I mean, who doesn’t want to live in an alternate universe for a week?), so with Kiera Cass books on the top of the chart, what other romance turned dystopian books to read have caught our eye? Check out our top recommendations from 2015 for books to read if you liked The Selection.
Numbers Game
Rebecca Rode
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Numbers are everything – at least, they are in Numbers Game. Each person receives a number that determines his or her future, and for Treena, her number will cause her to go against the system altogether. Similar to other dystopian books with a strong female lead (who still falls in love with a handsome man), this is the perfect gift for someone who likes Kiera Cass books.
Servant of the Crown
Melissa McShane
Release Date: July 15, 2015
A world with royals and those who serve them, a shy girl who keeps getting thrown together with a boy who is used to getting what he wants, and a conspiracy against the government…for fans of books like The Selection series, Servant of the Crown offers a new world to dive into and get lost in. The second installment, Rider of the Crown, is also available as of October 22, 2015.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah Maas
Release Date: May 5, 2015
While A Court of Thorns and Roses is more fantasy than dystopian, it is packed full of action, adventure, and of course, romance. Feyre’s tale is a newer, edgier version of Beauty and the Beast and is one you don’t want to miss. Get it now to be ready for the sequel (A Court of Mist and Fury) that comes out May 3, 2016.
Autumn's Kiss
Bella Thorne
Release Date: November 10, 2015
The sequel to the wildly popular Autumn Falls, Autumn’s Kiss adds a wish-granting map to the wish-granting diary from the first novel. A lighter read with teen drama, magic, and (as always) romance, this is a great gift for lovers of Kiera Cass books.
The Glass Arrow
Kristen Simmons
Release Date: February 10, 2015
If you want a gripping tale complete with total government control, a strong-willed female lead reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen, and a hint of romance on the side, this novel by Kristen Simmons is perfect for you. Dystopian and post-apocalyptic, The Glass Arrow will keep you wrapped up in its world long after you put it down.
The Rose Society
Marie Lu
Release Date: October 13, 2015
We’ve mentioned this one once before in our New Books like Divergent post, but it’s just that good. The sequel to The Young Elites, readers will continue to fall in love with Adelina even as she continues down her chosen path. Action-packed and thrilling, this dystopian masterpiece will thrill readers looking for books like The Selection.
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