The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Strangers meet in an airport bar and end up planning a murder. Is it just folly, or will they follow through?

Ted's a rich dude with a cheating wife and a mansion under construction. Lily is a librarian with no connection to Ted, and a plan that might help him. But wow is this twisty, and even right up to the last line there's a surprise.

I picked up this pop suspense novel because a friend said she couldn't put it down. And I have to say - I didn't see it coming, and that's not what I thought would happen. (Which is the highest praise I give - I hate it when books are super predictable!)

This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

Love is at the center of this short story collection, but it's equally a look at the American immigrant experience.

The collection revolves around Yunior: - the stories are about his brother, his parents, his past and present lovers. He's a Dominican in America, smart but naive, and like many, he's struggling to figure out his own life while getting older every day.

The language is raw - but appropriately so - and often it's a mix of Spanglish (and it's not translated, so you'd better dust off your high school espanol). Yunior's a bit of a fuck-up where it comes to love and sex, but granted he's got no solid role models to show him otherwise.

I understand why the book got so much love. It's not necessarily a happy tale, but it's told well and offers a unique perspective on the American experience. I listened to the audiobook (awesome) and it was interesting to hear the "street" come and go from the dialog across the stories.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Two week's vacation with family - or even friends - can be a lot of time together, and the fractured relationships in the Post family make their big Spanish adventure to the island of Mallorca a memory they'll never forget.

Everyone on this trip is at some turning point in their lives: Jim has been unceremoniously "retired" from his job, Franny isn't ready to forgive Jim his sins against their marriage, daughter Sylvia is about to leave for college, older son Bobby is in a serious financial crisis - and Bobby's girlfriend has doubts about their whole relationship, plus Franny's life-long best friend Charles and his husband Lawrence are awaiting the call to start a family.

This is a great vacation book filled with sun and lots of beaches ... and way too many people, in way too little space, with way too much drama in their lives. I loved it, and I really enjoyed the various storylines - the fact they're all at different places in their lives, but everyone's experiencing change.

Actually, I can imagine this novel as a fantastic movie, too!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

In this twisty mystery, a suburban London neighborhood churns with private dramas after a woman goes missing. Three women - and two timelines - converge into one unexpected climax.

Every day, the train stops or slows at the same signal - right behind the house where Rachel lived with her now-ex-husband. Her life's not so great, and it's a small pleasure to make up domestic stories in her head about one set of neighbors who she glimpses almost every day. Then one day she sees the woman kissing another man. The next day, the headlines indicate that same woman is now missing without a trace.

Critics love to say a book is hard to put down, but that really is the case sometimes; this story hooked me early with a narrative peek into the private lives of these women. Chapters alternate between Rachel, her ex's new wife Anna, and the missing woman (from a year prior). I consumed the book over a weekend, and will be recommending it to fans of domestic suspense.

Wifey

by Judy Blume

Recently, there was a list of 40 Trashy Novels You Must Read Before You Die.  For the most part, it was entertaining to see which had already made the cut in my life.  Also fascinating were those that did not.  As a children's librarian, I've read my fair share of Judy Blume's collection.  The gamut of romance novels for adults has also been run.  Somehow, Wifey slipped through the cracks.  All in all, I'm pretty sure that Jackie Collins influenced Ms. Blume on this one.   This is no preteen guide to life.  When someone tells you Blume wrote an adult novel, they are not kidding.

A pretty, bored housewife discovers within herself a desire to banish the sexual repression that has dogged her life.  In an era when casual sex was becoming less taboo, she explores her fantasies to the brink.   Wifey has little respect for her domineering husband and his static sexual choices.  She remembers the excitement of her youth and the timidity she felt towards exploration with her boyfriend.  When opportunity knocks, Wifey opens wide the door to her own personal sexual-revolution.

In fewer than 300 pages, Blume rockets her main character from repression to full understanding of her choices.  Tag along as Wifey rides her fantasies through all the phases of reality, with or without approval from others.

Triangles

by Ellen Hopkins

First off, I love novels written in verse. The concept just leaves me in awe. One of the most provocative authors in this genre is currently Ellen Hopkins. Triangles is her first novel for adults and will be available this fall. This is the story of three women with intertwined lives. Holly has a marriage that most people would believe is ideal, but she's bored. Marissa's whole life has been strained since her child was born with special needs. Andrea is trying to be a good sister, friend, and mother while realizing that the man who best fits her vision of ideal is married to her best friend. If you pick this book up, be ready for a raw look into these women's lives. There is adultery on many fronts, death knocks upon a door, and some will face gay and lesbian issues in ways never expected. This is a gritty, clever, character driven read.