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As of the end of June, I have officially finished 30 books so far this year (not counting the manuscripts I read in my work as an editor). That’s eight more than I read in the entirety of 2021, and while I don’t typically set a specific reading goal for myself, I’d say that’s worth celebrating!

Now, I firmly believe that reading should never become a chore or a competition, and it’s more important to read at your own pace than to race to the last page just to meet a quota. But I have found that prioritizing reading in my free time has improved my stress levels, inspired my creativity and helped me unplug from screens more often.

The key for me has been finding ways to regularly incorporate reading into my routine. That means I listen to audiobooks while commuting or working on chores, and I set aside at least a half hour to read a physical book or Kindle book every night before bed. Most importantly, sharing my monthly reading updates with you helps keep me motivated to seek out new titles.

So without further ado, here are some of my favorite reads from the month of June:

Silence on Cold River
By Casey Dunn
★★★★

Defense attorney Ama Chaplin doesn’t often lose sleep over the guilty people she’s represented. The only exception may be Michael Walton, a teenager who was successfully acquitted after being accused of animal torture. Years later, she crosses paths with Michael on a deserted forest trail, and she realizes he’s graduated to serial homicide — and Ama is now caught in his clutches. Luckily Eddie Stevens, a grieving father whose daughter, Hazel, disappeared from the very same spot exactly a year ago, saw Ama go into the forest. When she doesn’t come back out, he goes in after her. And none of them are prepared for what will happen next.

The concept behind Dunn’s serial killer is absolutely chilling, especially as the narration dips in and out of Walton’s past. Walton’s is one of five distinct perspectives in the book that create an unbearable sense of tension as the reader becomes aware of vital information the characters haven’t yet learned or fail to share with one another. This can be maddening, in the sense that if the characters would only talk to each other they could answer some of their biggest questions, but it also makes for a suspenseful read. The book also stands out in Dunn’s use of descriptive writing, which sharpens the horrifying details of Walton’s obsessions and solidifies the importance of the setting, including Cold River and the surrounding forest, in the story’s arc.

Falling
By T.J. Newman
★★★★

Being a commercial airline pilot comes with higher stakes than most jobs, and Bill Hoffman has had his fair share of nightmares about flights gone wrong. But his nightmares can’t compete with the horror of reality when he receives a strange email from his wife while thousands of feet in the air. His family is being held hostage, and the kidnapper has a demand: The pilot must crash the plane, killing everyone on board, or sentence his own family to death. The five-and-a-half-hour flight from Los Angeles to New York becomes a race to signal for help without alerting the hijackers or descending the plane into panic.

Thrillers are often described as “unputdownable,” but this is one of the few books I’ve found truly deserving of the term. Each page flip is like the tick of a clock maddeningly counting down to the pilot’s deadline. Newman’s experience as a flight attendant shines through in her descriptions of the split-second decisions the flight crew must make to protect the passengers on board, and these characters are by far the most well-developed in the book. That being said, the motivation behind the hijacking does verge on the stereotypical, and Newman’s portrayal toes the line of becoming problematic. Though she makes an admirable attempt to illustrate the connections between war, apathy and desperation, her approach doesn’t quite hit the mark.

The Impossible Girl
By Lydia Kang
★★★★

In the cemeteries of mid-1800s New York, grieving families are always wary of resurrectionists — grave robbers trolling for fresh bodies to sell to universities and museums. As the city’s only female resurrectionist, Cora Lee prides herself on unearthing medical anomalies for the anatomists to dissect. But when the patients she follows start dropping dead long before their natural time, Cora suspects foul play, and she’s worried she might be next. Because Cora has a secret: She is the girl with two hearts, a medical marvel long whispered about by grave robbers and physicians alike. Can she discover who is behind the deaths before she finds herself on the dissection table?

The Impossible Girl brings the macabre history of grave robbing to life in an imaginative, unpredictable story that explores social hierarchy, bodily autonomy, the meaning of family and the human drive to survive. The intricate details of both the time period and of Cora’s profession are completely immersive, from the “flash” language of her resurrectionist crew to the potent descriptions of 19th century New York. Particularly interesting is Kang’s use of perspective, with periodic chapters written from the point of view of the patients who have been killed for their anatomic irregularities. The author has successfully struck a delicate balance between the worldbuilding emphasis of historical fiction and the intrigue and stakes of the mystery genre.

What have you been reading lately? Reach out to share some of your recent favorites, and be sure to check back next month for my next round of recommended reads!