Joni Lark is one of the most coveted songwriters in LA, yet she can’t write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it. When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes it will spark inspiration. But when she gets there, nothing is how she left it. How can Joni write when her world is leaving her behind? Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it --- belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with an emptiness of his own. Surely, he’s a figment of Joni’s overworked imagination. Then a very real man shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s arrogant and guarded, and he has a plan for breaking their inconvenient telepathic connection: finish the song haunting them both and hope they don’t risk their hearts --- or their secrets --- in the process.
It feels like kismet when Sarah Jones, newly relocated to Minneapolis after abruptly calling off her engagement, gets invited to join a group of women who share her same (very common) name. For years, Sarah has received all types of correspondence intended for different Sarah Joneses, but now it seems that this mistake has given her the opportunity for an instant community. What starts as a low-stakes meet-up called “The Sarah Jones Project” soon turns sinister when another local Sarah Jones is found dead, under suspicious circumstances, at the base of the downtown Minneapolis bridge. After fielding numerous calls from concerned loved ones ruling out their Sarah as the victim, the surviving Sarahs decide to take matters into their own hands.
Micah's relationship to music is complicated. As teenagers, her band took off after being featured on a popular TV show, but the group barely released their sophomore album before breaking up. Now, over a decade later, the band is reuniting for one more performance on a themed cruise. John misses playing in a band, and mostly he misses Micah, who had been his best friend until the music stopped. Back then, he didn't take the lead, either in his guitar parts or while he sat back and watched her date another bandmate. John has never been one to rock the boat, but he's faced with another chance now that this cruise has brought music --- and Micah --- back in his life. Onboard, Micah can't help but see John with brand new eyes, and John's feelings only intensify as the discordant band's tension grows to a breaking point.
For Lydia, Jenny and Selene, au pairing in Seoul is the opportunity of a lifetime. During a combined family vacation with their host families, the women visit an enchanted waterfall on Jeju Island and make a wish under a full moon. Suddenly, Lydia is the girl everyone wants --- except, strangely, her mysterious art class partner from Spain. Jenny is having secret, no-strings-attached fun with her host mom’s irresistible younger brother. And Selene is finally getting somewhere in her search for her mother thanks to a research-savvy photographer. But when Jenny’s romantic feelings begin to deepen, she realizes her wish is standing in the way of true, lasting love. Her decision to return to the waterfall will have unexpected consequences and force the au pairs to confront the hardest question of all.
In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution. Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of 13 hours. Her goal? Confront the people who have wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge --- and they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.
The three Bishop sisters grew up in privilege in the moneyed suburbs of Detroit. But as the auto industry declined, so did their fortunes. Harper, the youngest, is barely making ends meet when her beloved, charismatic sister, Pam --- currently in the middle of a contentious battle with her ex-husband --- and her eldest sister, Debra, approach her about joining an exciting new club. The Wheel offers women like themselves --- middle-aged and of declining means --- a way to make their own money, independent of husbands or families. Quickly, however, the Wheel’s success, and their own addiction to it, leads to greater and greater risks --- and a crime so shocking that it threatens to bring everything down with it.
When Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael, stopped showing up to Assassins Anonymous, the group assumed her past had caught up with her. Only her sponsor Mark, formerly the deadliest killer in the world, holds out hope that she’s okay. Then, during a meeting, the group gets a sign…or rather, a pizza delivery. Is there another psychopath out there who actually likes olives on their pizza, or is Astrid trying to send Mark a message? Meanwhile, Astrid wakes up in the cell of a black site prison on a remote island. A doctor subjects her to mysterious experiments, plumbing the depths of her memory and looking for a vital clue from her past. She’ll do anything to escape, except…killing anyone. It turns out it’s not easy to blow this joint without blowing anything, or anyone, up.
Lena’s wealthy, controlling, humorless husband has just died, and now she contends with her controlling, humorless son, Drew. She lands in Naxos with her best friend in tow for the unveiling of her son's pet project --- the luxurious Agape Villas. Here, she yearns to rediscover her true nature and remember the exuberant dancer and party girl she once was. But Drew tightens his grip, keeping her cloistered inside the hotel and demanding that she fall in line. Lena is intrigued by a group of women living in tents on the beach in front of the Agape. She can feel their drums at night and hear their seductive leader calling her to dance. Soon she'll find that an ancient God stirs on the beach, awakening dark desires of women across the island. The only questions left will be whether or not Lena will join them and what it will cost her.
After attending an Arrington properties meeting at the group’s newest location, The Vineyard Arrington on Martha's Vineyard, Stone Barrington returns to New York City to catch up with his old friend, Jack Coulter. Over lunch, Jack requests Stone’s help in settling his niece, Sara, into city life post-divorce. Always one to please, Stone takes Sara under his wing. But when various men from Sara’s past start getting hurt, and Jack’s loved ones find themselves a target in a deadly scheme, it’s up to Stone to put the pieces together...before the shrouded conspirer manages to tear them all apart, permanently.
It’s an autumn weekend at a comfortable New York country house where two deeply intertwined families have gathered to mark the host’s 52nd birthday. Together, the group forms an enviable portrait of middle age. The wives and husbands have been friends for over 30 years, their teenage daughters have grown up together, and the dinners, games and rituals forming their days all reflect the rich bonds between them. This weekend, however, something is different. An unforeseen curdling of envy and resentment will erupt in an unspeakable act, the aftermath of which exposes treacherous fault lines upon which they have long dwelt.
Is a book that has been chosen for one of the major book clubs something you consider when looking for your next read? Which of the following book club selections do you follow and act upon the most?
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from June 20th to July 11th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of DON'T LET HIM IN by Lisa Jewell and THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO by Adriana Trigiani.
Our major goal for 2025 is to redesign Bookreporter and the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network. How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to:
The Book Report, Inc.
16 Mt. Bethel Road, Suite 365
Warren, NJ 07059
Click here to read more about our plans and to donate.
Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
June's Books on Screen roundup includes the series premieres of Prime Video's "We Were Liars" and Netflix's "The Survivors"; the season premieres of "Grantchester" on PBS "Masterpiece" and "The Buccaneers" on Apple TV+; the season finale of "The Walking Dead: Dead City" on AMC; the continuation of Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers" and Max's "And Just Like That..."; the films The Life of Chuck and How to Train Your Dragon in theaters and Pie to Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery on Hallmark Mystery; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Snow White, The Friend, The Monkey, In the Lost Lands and A Working Man.