Friday, March 29, 2024

5 Epic Beach Reads You Simply Must Read This Summer

Capsule x HarperCollins

Run out of good books already thanks to this GLORIOUS summer we’ve been having? With so much more relaxing, lazy summer’s days to come, make sure you’ve got your reading list in order!

From twisty turny thrillers, to leisurely historical fiction, we’ve got you covered for your next day by the sea (or on the couch!).

Cry Wolf

By Hans Rosenfeldt

A dead wolf. A drug deal gone wrong. A lethal female assassin. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED IN A BOOK?

So, Hannah Wester, a detective in remote north Sweden (where all good mysteries start) finds herself on the precipice of chaos (of course).

When human remains are found in the stomach of a dead wolf, Hannah knows this matter won’t be like all her other cases. The remains are linked to a gruesome drug deal that happened in Finland. And then the secretive and deadly Katja shows up, the most unexpected and gruesome events start to pile up in front of her, and in just a few days her small border town is turned upside down – and Hannah is finally forced to confront her own past.

It’s a shocking, suspenseful and dramatic book that you won’t be able to put down, even if the Mr Whippy truck turns up or it’s your turn for some beach cricket. And trust us, there are twists and TURNS.

To the Sea

By Nikki Crutchley

Ok yes, a book called To the Sea is quite on the nose for a beach read, but if you’re a fan of books like Girl on the Train and Gone Girl (you know, all those thrillers that had Girl in the title) then you have to give this one a go.

Iluka has been the only home that 18-year-old Ana has ever known – a beautiful wild pine plantation overlooking the Pacific Ocean where her family enjoys a quiet, blissful and isolated life.

But, like all small towns in chick lit suspense books, the place holds a violent secret and when a stranger arrives, Ana will need to make a choice: to protect everything and everyone she holds dear, or tell the truth and destroy it all.

Set in Aotearoa, this suspense-thriller is relatable but with a twist to end all twists, and a hauntingly affected plot that explores family trauma – and secrets – through the generations.

The Last Checkmate

By Gabriella Saab

If you liked The Queen’s Gambit and you enjoy a bit of fiction set in the past, then this is most definitely the book for you.

Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid (and talented) chess player, a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw – and a young woman wildly brave beyond her years.

Captured by the Gestapo, Maria is imprisoned in Auschwitz and is spared, while the rest of her family is sent to their deaths. Realising her talent as a chess player, she’s used as entertainment for the guards. Soon, Maria finds her herself outwitting, outplaying and trying to outlast her horrific conditions, and vows revenge on the evil that killed her family.

It’s a wild read, and one that makes you simultaneously grateful, intrigued, sad and inspired.

The Family

By Naomi Krupitsky

The mob. Need we say more?

This debut novel has been met with plenty of critical acclaim, and it’s easy to see why when from the first page, you’re immediately transported to twentieth-century Brooklyn, where two young women, best friends Sofia and Antonia, are doing their best to honour their families and The Family as they grow up.

Sofia is loud and wild, Antonia more reserved and observant. Despite their differences however, their relationship is as tight as best friends can be – until Antonia’s father disappears.         

A tale of mateship and motherhood set against the backdrop of the Mafia in 1920’s New York, this book doesn’t shy away from exploring the hardships and realities of life in a crime family.

Perfect for a lazy beach day, the action really heats up in the second half of the book.

The Good Son

By Jacquelyn Michard

Family, redemption, murder and a mother’s love – all combine in this emotionally-charged novel from New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Michard.

Thea’s beloved son Stefan is sent to prison for a murder he can’t remember committing after his girlfriend Belinda is killed. Three years later, he’s released back into a world that won’t let him forget what he can’t remember – and for his mother Thea, her entire world is turned upside down as family and friends turn away in droves.

But Thea begins to suspect that darker forces are at play when she dives deeper in the mystery – especially when she discovers the shocking truth about the night Belinda died.

This novel has a bit of everything – the feels, the intrigue, the suspense and a very satisfying ending.

For more beach read reccomendations, head to harpercollins.co.nz

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