Want to know what book releases you might be relaxing with on the deck or dock this summer? The following books won’t hit shelves for several months, but they are worth keeping an eye out for.

 

June

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman is a complex tale of psychological suspense that sounds like it might have taken some inspiration from Misery. It follows a novelist, incapacitated by injury, who is plagued by mysterious phone calls.

Bonnie Jack by Ian Hamilton follows Jack Anderson, who was abandoned by his mother in a Glasgow movie theatre as a boy. Now living in the U.S., Jack and his wife Anne travel to Scotland to track down his long-lost sister. Along the way, Jack comes face to face with uncomfortable truths about family, legacy, and the wife he thought he knew. Calgary-based Ian Hamilton is well known for his Ava Lee series, and Bonnie Jack is his first stand-alone novel.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris is being described as Get Out meets The Devil Wears Prada. It is a suspenseful story that starts off as a usual office drama, but then takes a sinister turn. 

Animal by Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women, is a scorching novel about one women's exhilarating transformation from prey to predator. It's a gritty graphic novel about trauma and rape culture.

Blue-Skinned Gods by Toronto-based S.J. Sindu is the story of a Kalki, a boy born with blue skin who believes that he's the Hindu god Vishnu and can perform miracles. But when Kalki's aunt falls ill and his powers fail him, Kalki must face the fact that he's not a god and find his true place in the world.

 

July

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley is a sweeping historical novel based on the true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of colour who rose from slavery to become one of the most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.

Ridgeline by Michael Punke, author of The Revenant, is set in 1866 and is based on real people and events. It tells a story of culture clash between a young, ambitious nation and the tribes in the American West following the Civil War.

A Boring Wife Settles The Score is the follow up to Montreal author Marie-Renee Lavoie's popular Autopsy of a Boring Wife. It continues the story of heroine Diane, as she turns 50 and embarks a hilarious journey for romance.

What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad, an author who once lived in Kingston, follows a nine-year-old Syrian boy who survives the sinking of a refugee boat and meets Vanna, a teenage homeless girl who decides to help him.

While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory is a charming and funny new romance novel that follows two people struggling to keep things purely professional while working together.

 

August

All's Well by Mona Awad, Canadian author of Bunny, follows a woman named Miranda who finds herself grappling with chronic pain following a fall during a theatre performance. One night at the local pub, three mysterious men offer her a glowing liquid. She wakes up the next morning and her pain has miraculously lifted. While Miranda’s life finally starts falling into place, it eventually becomes clear that her luck will come at a price.

In the Country of Others by Leila Slimani, author of The Perfect Nanny, is a passionate interracial love story between a Moroccan soldier who fought for France in WWII and a French woman whose fierce desire for autonomy parallels colonial Morocco’s fight for independence.

Billy Summers by Stephen King follows the titular Billy Summers, a gun for hire who will only target those who are truly bad. He's one of the best snipers in the world, but he's done with the gig -- just after this one last job. 

Red X by David Demchuk is a horror novel set against the backdrop of Toronto's Gay Village. As men begin to disappear in large numbers, and the police continue to turn a blind eye, it becomes clear to those who remain that whoever (or whatever) is taking them has being doing so for longer than humanly possible.

The Winter Wives by Canadian heavyweight Linden MacIntrye is a psychological drama that weaves threads of crime, disability and dementia together into a tale of unrequited love and delusion.

 

This is just a small selection of books to look forward to over the coming months. You can reserve them today by placing a hold in the catalogue here. For some exciting new reads for spring, click here.