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To me, nothing says “summer” like a stack of books patiently waiting to be read. When I was a kid, summers were marked by frequent trips to the local library and days spent immersed in the pages as I lounged at our neighborhood pool. The annual summer reading challenge was like my Super Bowl.

Though I don’t have quite as much free time these days to lose myself in a tower of books, the arrival of summer still signals a season of reading, whether I’m on the beach or lying on my couch, and I’m already off to a great start this year.

Here are a few of my favorites from the month of May:

Sometimes I Lie
By Alice Feeney
★★★★

Amber Reynolds is awake, but no one knows. Though she can hear everything going on around her hospital bed, she can’t move or speak, nor can she remember exactly how she ended up there. Her only clues are disjointed flashbacks that sometimes feel more like dreams, with most of them pointing toward one person: Her husband. As Amber attempts to piece together the events that led to her coma through the snippets of conversation she overhears between her sister and husband, she realizes the catalyst reaches back much further than the gap in her memory — and that she may still be in danger.

Alternating between first-person narration in the present and near past, as well as childhood diary entries, the time-jumping structure of the novel mirrors that of Amber’s coma-induced visions. Feeney is particularly good at making the reader doubt the reliability of her narrator — as the title suggests, Amber warns us early on that “sometimes [she] lie[s]” — which enhances the suspense and makes for a more complex path to the final reveal. Even Amber is not sure whether she can trust the memories surfacing in her mind, forcing the reader to approach them with the same skepticism. When all the elements finally locked into place, I wondered how I didn’t see the connections sooner, but that’s just how I prefer a thriller to end.

The Night Shift
By Alex Finlay
★★★★1/2

In 1999, a brutal attack on the teenage employees of a local Blockbuster rocked the town of Linden, New Jersey. Now, 15 years later to the day, it’s happened again at a local ice cream shop — and just like before, only one survivor made it out. The similarity of the crimes sets off a frenzied investigation that will force both the investigators and the victims to reexamine the past. Could the most recent attack be the work of the suspect who fled in the ‘90s, never to be seen again? Was it a clever imitation perpetrated by a copycat killer? Or have the police had it wrong all along?

While The Night Shift is an effectively orchestrated puzzle that readers will enjoy piecing together, the book’s true power lies in its exploration of trauma and pain. The story is told from three perspectives: the lone survivor of the 1999 attack, the brother of the original suspect, and the FBI agent investigating the potential link between the two crimes. Each narrator is marked by the tragedy in their own way, and their recollections and reactions in the aftermath make the attacks feel tangible. Beyond the emotion injected into every scene, the book is sectioned into short chapters punctuated by cliffhangers that pushed me to keep reading long after I’d meant to turn off my light for the evening.

The Hunter
By Jennifer Herrera
★★★★1/2

(Releases January 2023)

Leigh O’Donnell’s life is falling apart. Thanks to a reckless decision she struggles to explain even to herself, she’s lost her job as a detective in the NYPD, her marriage is on the brink of collapse and her future is in flux. So when Leigh’s brother asks her to investigate a trio of suspicious drownings in her hometown, she sees the case as a potential road to redemption. Her return to Copper Falls, Ohio after decades away dredges up memories and relationships she’d prefer to keep in the past, but she’ll have to wade through the town’s dark history to uncover what’s lurking in the depths. Leigh soon finds herself at the center of a tangled web that stretches farther and deeper than the network of caves on which the idyllic town sits.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital advanced reader copy (ARC) of The Hunter in exchange for my honest review. One of the most engrossing aspects of this book is the author’s voice and use of language. Herrera’s descriptions are visceral, atmospheric and uncanny, giving specificity to emotions, settings and senses that are difficult to convey through words. Leigh is a complex and well-developed character, if at times unlikeable, but that is precisely because she is so realistically flawed and human. The other characters follow suit, from the easy banter of Leigh’s three uncles to the eccentric, unsettling aura of Maude Hummel. Herrera’s portrayal of law enforcement is refreshing, as well, in its acknowledgment of systemic misconduct and corruption and its resistance of hero-worship. Overall, The Hunter was a captivating read that encouraged me to reflect on power, family, pride and denial.

What titles did you fall in love with this month? Drop me a line to share your favorites, and check back in a few weeks for my next round of recommended reads!

Happy reading,
Meg