Summer book season is officially here! Whether you’re basking on the beach, romping under the sun outdoors with friends, or hiding inside with the air conditioning, from murderous train rides to tragic retellings and summertime shenanigans, this month’s new releases are guaranteed to keep your pulse racing and skin burning.
WITH A VENGEANCE by Riley Sager
(Dutton, June 10)
Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey indeed to confront the people who’ve wronged her, get their confessions, and deliver them to the authorities. But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed, forcing her to hunt a killer while protecting the people she hates the most.
MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER by Kathleen West
(Berkley, June 10)
It feels like kismet when Sarah Jones gets invited to join a group of women who share her same name. But what starts as a low-stakes meet-up soon turns sinister when another Sarah Jones is found dead, under suspicious circumstances, at the base of the downtown Minneapolis bridge.
ECSTASY by Ivy Pochoda
(Putnam, June 17)
In this dark horror reimagining of a Greek tragedy, a hedonistic cult teaches a new widow the true price of female freedom. A riveting, darkly poetic, one-sitting read about empowerment, desire, and what happens when women reject the roles set out for them.
GLASS GIRLS by Danie Shokoohi
(Gillian Flynn Books, June 24)
A former child medium is called home to help protect her niece from possession, forcing a reckoning with the traumas of her past and the magic she left behind, in this darkly captivating debut about family, female autonomy, and the bonds that endure across lifetimes.
THE EX-GIRLFRIEND MURDER CLUB by Gloria Chao
(June 24)
Three women dating the same man band together to get revenge, but when they discover his body, they’ll need to solve his murder before they go down for it in this laugh-out-loud murder mystery filled with humor and shenanigans.
The Chill Quill is a Horror, Suspense and Speculative Fiction column by Lindy Ryan. Read previous editions here.
