August’s Best New Fiction

The Right Time, by Danielle Steel
A bright, precociously successful writer of complex thrillers, novelist Alexandra Winslow was told during her formative years that men will only read her genre of books if they’re written by other men. The warning stayed with her, and she decided to pursue her passion under a male pseudonym. Having overcome more heartache than most by her teen years, including an absent mother and the death of her beloved father (who shared his love of mysteries with her), Alex’s latest difficulties are compounded as she realizes the double life she’s living is slowly destroying her. Will she find the strength to reveal her true self to the rest of the world? Will the time ever be right for her to step out of her own shadow?

The Last Tudor, by Philippa Gregory
Considered by many to be the queen of British historical fiction, Gregory proves her bona fides once again with a continuation of her wildly popular Tudor series, which depicts the larger than life, tragic, and heroic characters circling Henry VIII and his descendants. This time we’re treated to the infamous tale of Lady Jane Grey and her sisters Katherine and Mary. Jane’s incredibly brief reign as Queen of England ends with her imprisonment in the Tower of London. Lovely Katherine, who dared marry for love, risks a similar fate, until eventually only brave, young Mary, a stunning dwarf, is left to defy the ruling cousins who have so tormented her family. 

Mrs. Fletcher, by Tom Perrotta
Forty-six, divorced, and having recently seen her only son off to college, the title character is entering empty nest mode when an unexpected and provocative text message—“U R my MILF”—lures the idealistic (and thus frequently disappointed) Mrs. Fletcher down an Internet rabbit hole. Her new obsession with the possibilities of MILF-dom have real-life consequences that may clash with her community. Meanwhile, her teenage son, Brendon, faces his own identity crises at college, as his irresponsible ways, sexual entitlement, and frat-boy privilege speed him toward a rude awakening. As always, Perrotta (Election, The Leftovers, Little Children) is a genius at dark humor and revealing the subversive side of suburbia. 

The Burning Girl, by Claire Messud
A psychologically astute depiction of a broken female friendship, as narrated by the more circumspect half of that bond, Julia. She and (wilder, bolder, fatherless) Cassie were inseparable from preschool through junior high, until events in adolescence drove them apart in ways that may reverberate for years. Julia’s heartache over her estrangement from Cassie, as well as Cassie’s behavior—she deliberately dated and dumped Julia’s crush—may end up having chilling ramifications. As teenaged Julia looks back on their intense, lost friendship, a mystery concerning Cassie’s whereabouts hints at darker information to come.

My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent
A much buzzed about debut that has garnered incredible praise from Stephen King and Celeste Ng, My Absolute Darling thrusts readers into the traumatized yet brave beyond measure head of 14-year-old Turtle, whose widowed father, Martin, is a brutally manipulative man living in the wilds of northern California. Between bouts of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse that have utterly isolated Turtle from her classmates and peers, Martin teaches her everything he can about guns, knives, and survival in the wilderness. Turtle only begins to suspect her own life is worth protecting—from Martin—after she meets a high school boy whose safe, achingly normal existence stands in sharp contrast to her own.

Young Jane Young, by Gabrielle Zevin
If you’ve ever pondered the many paths Monica Lewinsky’s life could have taken post scandal, this book is for you. As a Congressional intern in Florida, Aviva Grossman anonymously but naively blogged about the affair she was conducting with her boss, and the resulting fallout (all on her, none on him) seems inescapable. Even after she’s changed her name, moved to Maine, and begun raising her daughter the best way she knows how, the past returns to rearrange her own political ambitious. This is a story told through multigenerational POVs, in which readers get to hear from Aviva, her mother, the congressman’s wife, and Aviva’s daughter, Ruby. Sign me up for Aviva’s PAC!

The Red Haired Woman, by Orhan Pamuk (translated by Ekin Oklap)
The winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature, Pamuk sets his tenth book in his birth place and favorite locale: Istanbul, Turkey, where a young apprentice and his mentor toil digging wells in the unforgiving summer heat. The two men form a father-son bond that is tested to the breaking point when the younger man becomes dangerously infatuated with a mysterious red-haired actress in a traveling theatre troupe. A murder mystery wrapped around tantalizing myths and legends, some of which may be brand new to western readers.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby, by Cherise Wolas
Joan Ashby’s writing career is off to a dazzling start. Adored by critics and readers alike for her dark prose, she’s poised to become a lifelong literary star. Children were never in the picture—until Joan’s husband, Martin, changes the rule they agreed to and urges her to succumb to motherhood. Raising her two boys isn’t easy, and her creative ambitions struggle against the “consumptive nature of love.” Wolas’ powerhouse debut novel promises to take readers on an emotional ride, while tackling questions about the ways in which women are sometimes forced to choose between love of family and self-actualization. 

The Address, by Fiona Davis
Two tales told one hundred years apart, relating to the same magnificent address: the Dakota apartment building in New York City. In 1884, Sara Smythe, a troubled housekeeper from London, emigrates to America to oversee the Dakota’s management and bask in the company of architect Theodore Camden, the (married) man she adores. In 1985, Bailey Camden, a struggling addict with family ties to the grand building, is tasked with its redesign. Did Sara Smythe kill Theodore Camden all those years ago, as history tells it? Or is the building holding onto secrets only Bailey can uncover?

The Half-Drowned King, by Linnea Hartsuyker
Viking fans, this one’s for you! The first book in a trilogy set in the ninth century, King depicts the soaring adventures of a pair of siblings. Warrior Ragnvald Eysteinsson, heir to a chiefdom, is brutally betrayed by his stepfather, Olaf, and swears fealty to a man prophesied to be Norway’s future ruler. Ragnvald’s sister, Svanhild, is equally desperate to escape Olaf and sees a possible route to freedom via Ragnvald’s rival. A fantasy novel based on historical events, it’s a gripping, Norwegian read-along for Game of Thrones fans.