Two Minute Book Review: Great Summer Reads - iOnGreenville: Your Guide to Greenville South Carolina

A few weeks back, we did it. We reached the end of our Netflix must-see list and stared into the abyss that is 24 hours of reruns, Guy Fieri and Food TV. Sensing my predicament, my wife suggested that I revisit books.

While a reader, I am in no way in her category of easily 2 books a week. So I asked, What Should I Read? Below are her top picks for great summer reads to help you escape the stressful time in which we find ourselves. Each book as a one-two sentence summary …. a Cliff Notes version for people not inclined to read Cliff Notes.

About the Book Links

All of the books listed have a link for purchasing. Please consider using these links as each purchase benefits our friends at Safe Harbor.

American Dirt (Oprah’s Book Club): A Novel

“Extraordinary.” —Stephen King “This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of las Americas. It’s the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful.” —Sandra Cisneros

My Dark Vanessa is great but controversial. 15 year old girl has affair with her teacher.

My Dark Vanessa: A Novel

“Russell manages a brutal originality. . . . [an] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

Eight Perfect Murders was a murder mystery in New England with major twists.

Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel (Malcolm Kershaw)

“Fiendish good fun.” —Anthony Horowitz From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Favorite new book for you–
The Guest List by Lucy Foley.
Celebrity wedding on an Irish island with a murder. Read it in almost one day!

The Guest List: A Novel

“Evok[es] the great Agatha Christie classics…Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters’ pasts. They are all clues.” — New York Times Book Review

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
What if you saw yourself in five years and was shocked- could you change your path?

In Five Years: A Novel

In Five Years: A Novel “In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won’t forget.” —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.

Bonus Pick

While I also, really enjoyed Eight Perfect Murders – that’s right, I read 2 books – , my pick for top Summer pick goes to The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson. Larson is the writer of Isaac’s Storm and devil in The White City so I was anxiously awaiting this last release. I was not disappointed as it is a great illustration of leadership during incredibly stressful times.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

One of Chicago Tribune’s Best Books of the Year So Far • “A bravura performance by one of America’s greatest storytellers.”—NPR “Churchill’s lessons of resilience and his style of steady-handed leadership are essential to the state of mind of American readers.”—Vanity Fair