If you’re looking for a summer escape that costs less than a tank of gas, the season’s most exciting novels will take you places — a creepy island, a sexy ranch and a mind-melting train ride among them.
Whether you dive into these books on a cottage dock, beach chair or condo patio, make sure to keep your schedule free: These are all cancel-the-hike, stay-in-and-order-room-service, tell-the-kids-to-amuse-themselves page turners. In short: summer bliss.
“The Midnight Train” by Matt Haig
From the author of the smash hit “The Midnight Library” comes another metaphysical exploration timed to the hour the clock strikes 12. This life-affirming, just-woo-enough meditation on the human condition floats the notion of a train that arrives just before your death, offering you the chance to relive meaningful moments from your life. (Thinking of what you would choose to revisit is certainly one way to while away a summer afternoon.) Its hero Wilbur’s ride on the midnight train is an express ticket to Venice, and the moment he lost the love of his life. This premise seems sad, but in Matt Haig’s hands it’s a warm-hearted look at what really matters at a time of year when life slows down. Harper Collins Canada, out now
“Fever Dream” by Elsie Silver
There are two Western-inflected romance novels on this list, and it’s not just because we’ve got a weakness for a man in the saddle. Cowboys are having a moment in the genre, and that’s thanks in large part to Elsie Silver, a #1 New York Times bestselling (and Canadian) author. Her latest is populated with the bull-riding star cast of a Bachelor-esque reality show called Romance Ranch. Love is supposed to blossom there — just not with one of the show’s production staffers. And because forbidden equals frisson, the sizzle factor multiplies when it turns out our protagonist’s brother is her love interest’s bitter rival in the ring. Simon and Schuster, out now
“Look What You Made Me Do” by John Lanchester
In times like these, social satire hits differently — and John Lanchester executes it with satisfying bite. The British author of political black comedies “Capital,” about the financial crisis, and “The Wall,” tackling the climate emergency, paints a smaller canvas this time. His new novel focuses on an older, upper-middle-class London woman who’s disturbed to find that a hit prestige TV drama about infidelity is strikingly familiar to her own life, though she’s never met the bright young woman who’s written the series. Zoomed out, this story is about the intergenerational tension between Boomers and Millennials, which is fruitful terrain. Faber & Faber, out now
“Venom Lake” by Emma White
This is Canadian author Emma White’s nod to the greatest mystery of all time, Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” Four women, who are members of a true crime book club, travel to an idyllic and remote island for a weekend away. Sounds fun, right? Sure, until one of the members dies in — you guessed it — deeply suspicious circumstances. (Another clue that all would not go well on this girls’ trip: They booked into a place called Snakebite Island, population just them.) Their isolation means there can only be three suspects: each other. Cue the chilling reveal of secrets lurking beneath the facade of their friendship. Harper Collins Canada, out June 2
“All We Have Is Time” by Amy Tordoff
Another time-travelling novel? Blame it on living through an era that makes the past extra appealing. In this debut, we wind the clock back to Shakespeare’s London, and a woman blessed (or cursed) with immortality meets a man outside the Globe Theatre. They spend a dream day together, and then he’s gone. At least, until he turns up again in her life a century later. Spoiler: Our heroine isn’t the only one in this sweeping epic who can manipulate the laws of physics. Atria Books, out June 2
“Nymph” by Sofia Montrone
Every summer, Leo visits her nonna’s guest house in the Italian countryside. It is a free-range child’s idyll, until the dream is shattered by an awful accident. In classic coming-of-age fashion, we fast-forward to years later, to another summer at this agriturismo. Older now, Leo falls in love with an American visitor while grappling with the confusion that comes at the cusp of girlhood and growing up. It’s all very Elena Ferrante, which is never a bad thing. Scribner Canada, out June 9
“Romantic Hero” by Kirsty Greenwood
When a romance author gets writer’s block, her subconscious (or is it the universe?) offers up a novel cure: The villain of her new book miraculously appears on her couch, desperate for a redemption arc and a shirt to cover his enviable abs, courtesy of his occupation as a hot-but-evil cowboy. Startling, yes, but like anyone struggling to meet a deadline, Gertie Bickerstaff works with what she’s got — in this case, it means using River Oakley to make her ex jealous in exchange for writing him a nicer storyline. If you take the metafictional dive, you’ll be delighted with this surreal spin on romance tropes like fake dating and enemies to lovers, delivered with Kirsty Greenwood’s signature fizz. Penguin Random House Canada, out June 16
“The Shampoo Effect” by Jenny Jackson
You only need to look at the cover of “The Shampoo Effect” to know it’s meant to be read on a sweltering July day, with sand between your toes. Like Jackson’s popular debut, “Pineapple Street,” this is one of those rare books that feel both breezy and meaty, sharp but empathetic. It’s about a group of friends who grew up together in a Cape Cod-style coastal town, their well-worn rhythms disrupted by the arrival of an outsider: Caroline, a city slicker who falls for one of their own, kicking off a cascading series of events (including a surprise pregnancy) that change things forever. Penguin Random House Canada, out June 30
“You’ll Love It Here” by Natalie Sue
If this summer finds you buffeted by sorrow and loss, Canadian author Natalie Sue’s heroine sees you — and raises you a level of “My life is falling apart around me.” Right when things were supposed to finally improve, corporate grinder Mona loses her job. Existentially, this means she loses her entire raison d’être. Practically, it means she can’t move out of her tiny, terrible apartment bordered by eccentric (to say the least) neighbours. A lifeline emerges when the building owner enlists Mona as its temporary super. She’s tasked with getting it ready for sale, and managing the very cast of characters she’d been hustling to escape. If you read Sue’s delightful office-set debut, “I Hope This Finds You Well,” you’ll know that it all takes a turn for the hilarious, heartwarming best. Harper Collins Canada, out August 11
“Let’s Kiss and Tell” by Joss Richard
It’s always a promising sign when a rom-com begins with an absurd, spur-of-the-moment fib. In this case, a journalist lies about dating someone to give her flagging sex column a fresh new spin. (Think: “I never believed in relationships — until I fell in love.”) Because every ruse needs a co-conspirator, she’s joined in deception by a colleague who needs a date to his ex’s wedding. This one’s juicy, fun and endorsed by Canada’s reigning queen of romance, Carley Fortune, who praises the leads’ dynamic as “intimate, tender and impossibly hot.” And if you were following along with this year’s Canada Reads competition, this is the followup to Richard’s Morgann Book-championed debut, “It’s Different This Time.” Penguin Canada, out August 11
