12 Page-Turners to Put On Your Summer 2019 Reading List

Whether you’re partial to a blood-soaked thriller, coming-of-age tale or glamourous love story, this round-up of the latest and greatest books of summer 2019 has something for you. Make it a priority to carve out some time for yourself, settle into your favourite book nook and dig in to any one of these tantalizing new reads. And, check out the many ways reading will boost your health.

I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

Set against the backdrop of summer camp—except everyone’s all grown up and harbouring terrible secrets—this twisted thriller by Canadian writer Catherine McKenzie sees the five MacAllister children return to their family camp after their parents’ sudden deaths. But before they can settle the estate, the will stipulates that they must solve the mystery of a terrible attack that happened on the property 20 years earlier.

I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie, $22; indigo.ca

Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta

In the debut book from Canadian author Zalika Reid-Benta, a series of interconnected stories explores the childhood of Kara Davis, a girl growing into a young woman who’s caught between her Canadian upbringing and her Jamaican heritage.

Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta, $20; indigo.ca

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Few summer reads are as delectable or beloved by women everywhere as Eat, Pray, Love, but Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest novel aims to steal your affections. In it, 89-year-old Vivian Morris recounts her youthful foray into the glamourous world of 1940s New York theatre.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, $37; indigo.ca

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

Former journalist (and author of Sunburn, Wilde Lake and the Tess Monaghan novels) Laura Lippman’s latest book returns to one of her favourite settings: Baltimore. In Lady in the Lake, a 1960s housewife-turned-reporter works to solve the murder of a young African-American woman whom everyone else has forgotten.

Release date: July 23, 2019

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman, $33.50; indigo.ca

Ask Again, Yes! by Mary Beth Keane

Mary Beth Keane’s third book (following The Walking People and Fever) tells the love story of the children of two NYPD officers who wind up neighbours. Kate and Peter, born six months apart, become inseparable, but a tragedy strikes that tears them apart in their teens. It isn’t until years later that the two reunite and attempt to come to terms with their shared past.

Ask Again, Yes! by Mary Beth Keane, $25; indigo.ca

Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée Lavoie

Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, Quebec author Marie-Renée Lavoie’s Autopsy of a Boring Wife offers a raw portrayal of Diane, a 48-year-old woman who suffers a total breakdown when her husband of 25 years leaves her (for a 30-year-old bombshell, naturellement). With every outburst, misstep and bit of bad behaviour, you’ll fall in love with Diane a little bit more.

Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée Lavoie, $23; indigo.ca

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

For fans of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie detective series, the intricately detailed fifth installment has finally arrived. In it, Brodie has moved to a seaside village and continues to work private cases including a new job gathering information about an unfaithful husband. But as he gets to know the people of the village, he realizes that a network of sexual abuse may exist beneath the polite veneer.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson, $33; indigo.ca

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Want a literary read to brighten your mind? Try 28-year-old Sally Rooney’s second novel, a coming-of-age love story that was longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2018 and was subsequently published in Canada. In Normal People, Connell and Marianne are drawn together despite class differences, but everything changes when they’re accepted to an elite college where status matters.

Normal People by Sally Rooney, $30; indigo.ca

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

From the prolific bestselling author of In Her Shoes comes a story of two sisters growing up in 1950s Detroit, enduring trauma and heartbreak, and morphing into women that neither of them could have imagined.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner, $25; indigo.ca

The Need by Helen Phillips

A haunting and unique thriller, The Need is the story of Molly, a young mother of two who starts hearing footsteps in her home. She fears that she’s just sleep-deprived or paranoid, but what Molly ultimately uncovers will force her to confront her own anxieties and doubts.

Release Date: July 9, 2019

The Need by Helen Phillips, $25; indigo.ca

Bunny by Mona Awad

If you loved 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, you’ll fall even harder for Canadian author Mona Awad’s second book, Bunny. It follows creative writing grad student Samantha, a loner who becomes entangled with a cult-like group of women known as the Bunnies—rich girls Samantha finds equally fascinating and repellant.

Bunny, $30, indigo.ca

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Love a little chick-lit with heart? In her follow-up to The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang throws together Khai and Esme, a Vietnamese-American man with autism and a woman living in the slums of Vietnam. Khai believes he’s incapable of love, so his mother goes to Vietnam in search of a bride. When Esme returns to America to seduce Khai, she ends up falling in love with a man who may never love her back.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, $20, indigo.ca

Next, check out these health books that will motivate and educate you. And if you’re looking for more books to read this summer, see this roundup by an award-winning author.