Top Fiction Books to Read This Summer

The bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six ventures into new territory with her first thriller—a love story set against the backdrop of NASA’s space shuttle program in the 1980s. The novel follows a brilliant astrophysicist determined to become an astronaut, who finds herself entangled in a complex romance and a high-stakes mission that could alter the course of her career—and her life.

The long-awaited follow-up to Susan Choi's National Book Award-winning novel Trust Exercise explores a father's mysterious disappearance. Inspired by Choi's award winning New Yorker short story, the novel follows his absence across time, countries, and memory as his daughter seeks the truth about a night by the sea.

When his conspiracy-obsessed son-in-law pushes him over the edge, a reclusive journalist retreats to rural Oregon—only to be dragged back into the world when his grandchildren arrive and their mother disappears. Publishers Weekly calls it “a rollicking and heartrending adventure about a broken man determined to set things right in an increasingly divided America.”

Writer and poet Rob Franklin’s highly anticipated debut novel, is set to be the summer’s literary sensation. With a chorus of hall-of-fame blurbs already in place, Great Black Hope follows a young Black man from an elite family who finds himself drawn into New York’s underworld. Arrested for cocaine possession, he’s forced to confront the complex interplay of privilege, identity, and race, all while grappling with the unresolved mystery of a close friend’s death.

Set at a sun-drenched estate in the Hudson Valley, Hal Ebbott’s debut is the kind of sharply observed family drama you’ll want to spend the weekend with—preferably near a body of water. Two tightly connected families gather for a weekend in upstate New York, but beneath the curated charm of their longtime friendship lies betrayal, envy, and fracture. "Subtle, keenly intelligent, psychologically deft," raved Kirkus. "This is the kind of book Tom Wolfe used to write, and debut novelist Ebbott definitely has the talent and brio to carry it off."

Known for his gritty, Southern noir thrillers, S.A. Cosby’s work has redefined the modern crime genre. This summer, he returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired epic where a man must confront dangerous gangsters and unravel family secrets to save his brother and their business.

Highlighted in the New York Times “Great Summer Beach Reads,” this novel opens in off-grid Montana, where a teenage girl escapes her father's survivalist compound—and ends up immersed in the early days of Silicon Valley. “If the Unabomber had a daughter, this could be her story,” writes the NYTimes, calling it a novel that “might prompt a pop-up book club”—and will definitely make you think about our reliance on technology.

In this new fantasy novel from the beloved author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, three unforgettable women—from 16th-century Spain to present-day Boston—are bound by hunger, fury, and an urgent need to reclaim their own stories. "Schwab's fantasies are always a big draw, and this enticing tale of lesbian vampires that crosses centuries [is] irresistible," raved Booklist.

The bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Our Country Friends returns with a poignant, bitingly comic novel about a ten-year-old girl watching her eccentric family—and America—unravel. “A brilliant fable about childhood, and so much more, in our broken country,” praised Kirkus.

Fired from yet another mall job and hunted by the Debt Police, a former celebrity stylist teams up with two coworkers to erase their student loans—by any means necessary. The latest from the author of The Survivalists is a sharp, riotous takedown of capitalism, friendship, and survival in the gig economy. “This is a winner, especially for millennials eager to burn their loan documents,” raved Booklist. (Out 7/15)