Summertime is made for reading! And I do a lot of reading. I’m on my 18th book this year and plan on reading many, many more. Here’s 10 books to add to your summer reading list – I’ve read all of them this year.
10 books to add to your summer reading list
Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil
This is a suspense novel that’ll have you rushing through the pages to find out what happens. Emma Price six year old son wanders off from school an presumably drowns in a terrible flood in the River Ouse, his red oat is fished out of the river but a body is never found. Ten years later, Emma has finally found her footing again – she’s married and pregnant. And then her son Aiden returns. Frustration builds as Emma tries to get answers from Aiden about what happened to him and where he has been the past 10 years, but he’s too traumatized to speak.
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
This book is a bit different from the books I usually read (I mostly read crime novels). If you read the sleeve of this book it won’t tell you anything about what it is about other than that it is “hilarious but the beach scene is horrific”. I can’t agree with the first part of that statement, this book isn’t hilarious. It’s challenging and touches on immigration in the UK while following the Nigerian refugee Little Bee and Sarah, a widow in England. Nevertheless, it’s a good story and one that should be read.
Spilled Milk by K.L Randis
This is a tough read about child sexual abuse based on true events. Brooke Nolan, is sexually abused by her father from the time she is a little girl until her teenage years. She has three siblings, but she is the only one that is the target of sexual abuse, however her siblings still suffer the father’s wrath in the form of physical abuse. Again, a tough read but a fantastic one.
The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne
Ploughed through the Naturalist series which follows professor Theo Cray. In this first book (of the two in the series, so far), professor Cray gets involved in a police case involving mutilated bodies being found deep in the Montana woods. While the police investigators seem to be grasping as straws and blindly searching for clues, Cray sees patterns where others see kaos (or nothing at all). I like the science aspect of this novel.
Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne
Looking Glass is the sequel to The Naturalist, mentioned above. Yet another exciting read with the same main character – professor Theo Cray. In Looking Glass, he’s contacted by the desperate father of a missing child. Once again, professor Cray is drawn into a case that has been ignored by authorities, with little to no clues other than the missing child’s paintings and an urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.
Call Me Tuesday by Leigh Byrne
Call Me Tuesday is another story about child abuse. From the age of 8, Tuesday Storm is singled out among her siblings as the black sheep in her family, blamed for her mother’s and family’s problems and the victim of horrible abuse and neglect. The mother she idolises turns into a monster, making Tuesday’s life a living nightmare full of twisted punishments. This story is based on the true events and experiences of the author, Leigh Byrne. It’s gut wrenching imagining the abuse she suffered as a child.
The One by John Marrs
What if a DNA test – a quick swab of your mouth – could pair you with your soul mate, the one you are meant to spend your life with. Would you do the test? The One about a time much like the one we are living in now, where scientist have discovered that everyone has a gene that they share with just one person – the one you’re meant to be with. This might sound like a romantic novel, but it’s actually a psychological thriller with some crazy twists and turns. The perfect summer read!
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
The Woman in the Window is mentioned everywhere. It’s been read by thousands and has top ratings. Knowing that, I had high hopes for this book but ended up a little disappointed. I felt like it was a little too predictable, and not as exciting as I had hoped (but maybe I was expecting too much based on the hyped up reviews). Nevertheless, it’s a good lazy summer read. This novel follows Anna, a woman who is unable to step outside her own home due to severe agoraphobia. So she spends her days peering out the window, spying on her neighbours. Then one night, she sees something she shouldn’t and she’s thrown into the kaos of trying to figure out if what she saw really happened.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
This one is such a page turner – when Ellie is fifteen, she suddenly disappears. Ten years later, her mother Laurel is still wondering where her golden girl went and hasn’t given up on the hope of finding her. Then she meets a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd and allows herself to be swept off her feet. Before long, she’s staying at Floyd’s and is introduced to his nine-year-old daughter Poppy, who is the spitting image of Laurel’s missing daughter Ellie when she was that age. Where is Ellie, and how can it be that Poppy looks so much like her?
The Last Thing She Ever Did by Gregg Olsen
Another page turner that almost gives you the hand sweats! The Bend community along the Deschutes River in Oregon is the home of several perfect families with successful careers. Liz and Owen have admired their friends and neighbours Carole and David for years, they seem to have it all – security, happiness, and a beautiful young son, Charlie. Then one day, Charlie vanishes and the community are at a loss as to how this could have happened in the safe neighbourhood of Bend. That is, everyone except Liz, who’s falling apart trying to conceal the accident she cannot undo.
