How exciting for short fiction fans to see George Saunders’ story collection, Tenth of December, rise on national best-seller lists and amass 15 holds on our 5 local copies (we spot-lit it in January). Those of you who enjoyed these stories might want to go on to The Fun Parts, Sam Lipsyte’s new story collection due out this month.
Below are ten forthcoming, full-length novels for you to enjoy. Click the titles to read more and place holds. For all new fiction on order, click here.
General Fiction / Literary Fiction
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
This beguiling story links a suicidal Tokyo teen, a centenarian Buddhist nun and a Vancouver novelist. A poignant, emotional reckoning of meaning, life and time.
Benediction by Kent Haruf
Strained and estranged family relationships along with end-of-life realities are at the center of this humane novel by the acclaimed author of Eventide and Plainsong.
Middle C by William Gass
Joseph Skizzen emigrates from Austria during World War II and grows up in Ohio where he ultimately becomes a piano teacher. It’s impossible to summarize this wide-ranging and language-rich story in a sentence or two, but adventurous readers should be pleased.
First Novels
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne
Defense attorney Daniel Hunter confronts his own troubled childhood and difficult past while representing an 11-year-old boy accused of killing a younger boy. A legal thriller charged with psychological insight.
Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins
An alternate history set in Stalinist Russia that stirs together revolutionaries, cabaret girls, terrorism, the secret police and elements of the paranormal.
Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman
Brigid Quinn has just retired – or so she thought – from a career as a sex-crimes undercover agent when there’s a new lead in the Route 66 serial killer case – the only one she’d left unsolved.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Moore
Three women and four decades of their close-knit lives – school, marriages, parenthood, and more – all watched over by Big Earl and served with his copious plates of fried chicken. Fans of The Help and Waiting to Exhale should enjoy.
Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill
Welcome to the Limestone Kingdom, a land not easily left behind. This dark literary fantasy in the mold of Neil Gaiman and Lev Grossman offers an intricate plot and exceptionally well-developed characters.
Crime Fiction /Suspense
Death on a Pale Horse by Donald Thomas
As regular readers of areadinglife know, many authors have picked up where Arthur Conan Doyle left off. Donald Thomas offers a worthy addition that has Sherlock Holmes and Watson tracking down an international conspiracy of criminals who have designs on bringing down Britain.
A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
The recent discovery of King Richard III’s skeleton should give a boost to Griffiths’ fifth forensic mystery, in which King Arthur’s remain have been discovered, a fellow archaeologist is murdered, and a right-wing group is terrorizing a local campus.
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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