Too hot to do anything but swing in a hammock and read? Have we got books for you!
Adrenalin junkies have an array of new tales of action-packed adventure and turmoil to entertain and enthrall. Mark Alpert’s Final Theory is by a first-time author in the Michael Crichton vein. A science historian is on the run from the U.S. government and a ruthless assassin as he tries to uncover the meaning of a series of numbers whispered to him by his dying mentor. This “Scientific American” editor executes the action with enthusiasm and lays out the science without overwhelming the reader.

Brett Battles’ sequel to The Cleaner, describes how freelance “cleaner” Jonathan Quinn is hired to make a body disappear. In The Deceived, when he discovers that the victim is a friend, Quinn violates the first rule of his profession and becomes personally involved. Quinn, a female ally Orlando, and apprentice Nate travel to Singapore to prevent an assassination and rescue an innocent woman. Great action and interaction among the main characters makes this a great read.

Brent Ghelfi’s character, Alexi Volkovoy, has been described as a Russian Jack Reacher (Lee Child’s compelling loner protagonist—recently to be found in Nothing to Lose.). In his latest adventure, Volk’s Shadow, Volk follows where he is pointed—just like a bullet—and does not stop until he hits something. Brutalized by training, war, and captivity, Volk has criminal tendencies and a capacity for explosive violence that hide a deep loyalty to Russia and those people he trusts. When a series of seemingly unconnected crimes begin pointing to a single source, Volk has to take on the Kremlin, the Russian mob and Chechen rebels to resolve them. If you like your thrillers dark and searing, then Ghelfi’s Volk series may be for you. You may want to begin with “Volk’s Game,” the first in the series.

Mike Lawson’s House Rules is a Joe Demarco thriller. An ambitious senator introduces anti-Muslim legislation following several foiled terrorist attacks, and the Speaker of the House sends DeMarco to find a reason for these laws to exist. DeMarco is no hero, he drinks too much, and he hides when the shooting starts, but he is tenacious and very intimidated by his boss so he keeps at it. The plotting is tense and plausible, and the ending has just enough uncertainty to hint at a sequel.

LIGHTER FARE

Want something with less blood and anxiety? Claire Cook’s Summer Blowout is a bright and funny alternative. This is a sunny romance tucked inside a tale of a Boston family’s chain of beauty salons. Recently divorced makeup artist Bella is going down swinging as she reacts to newcomer Sean Ryan and the gnawing possibility that developers are sabotaging her family’s original shop. Cook capably makes the entire family dynamics ring quite true and produces a delightful read.

MaryAnn McFadden’s The Richest Season was originally self-published before Hyperion saw the potential in this first novel. Seeking a life change, New Jersey corporate wife Joanna heads for Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, where she becomes caretaker for an older widow dying of cancer. Soon after, her left-behind husband, Paul, is downsized and forced to rediscover himself without his wife’s support. The author uses the scenic Low Country backdrop to paint a moving tale of love, growth, and the search for home.

In Julie Mars’s Anybody Any Minute, the author effectively navigates through midlife regrets with her colorful and sympathetic characters. While driving to Montreal to visit her sister, forty-something Ellen impetuously buys a farm in upstate New York, seemingly turning her back on both New York City and her lawyer husband. She takes up organic gardening and immerses herself in the local gossip. When her adored older sister suddenly goes to Peru, Ellen who has deliberately avoided responsibility all her life must care for her toddler nephew. This is both a funny and illuminating tale.

In Nancy Thayer’s Moon Shell Beach two former best friends reconcile 11 years after high school, wondering if they can trust each other again. Clare and Lexi made bad man choices back in the day, and now that their biological clocks are ticking anything can happen in Nantucket in the summer. Thayer is known for her “Hot Flash Club” series and easily switches to younger characters in this quick and romantic getaway read.

Penny Vincenzi’s An Absolute Scandal is based on an actual Lloyd’s of London scandal from 20 years ago. A multigenerational cast of victims, all fighting to make sense of their orderly lives when financial ruin knocks on their doors, vividly demonstrates the struggles of class, money, and, of course, sex. This is an intoxicating and seductive read.

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