Catherine Coles
Coles Notes
It will not be long until we are out of the woods of winter. Until then, I have my sights set on a variety of soon to be released novels that will be hitting the shelves during (or just in time for) outdoor reading season. The following books are a few highlights that I’ll be keeping an eye out for.
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult follows a unique narrative that splits in two threads following a plane crash. Survivor Dawn McDowell travels to Boston to reconnect with her husband in the first thread, and in the second thread, she flies to Cairo in search of a man she loved and left behind 15 years earlier. This highly anticipated novel is set for release in September.
In May, look out for Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls, the British and slightly more literary version of Nicholas Sparks. Sweet Sorrow is described as a “bittersweet and brilliantly funny coming-of-age tale about the heart-stopping thrill of first love and how just one summer can forever change a life.”
While I’m sort of over dark boarding school drama stories, I’m still intrigued by the premise of Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. Described as “a gothic-infused debut of literary suspense”, it is set within a secluded, elite university. One undergraduate uncovers the dark truth beneath her school’s promise of prestige. It will have a May release.
Speaking of boarding school drama, I recently had a chance to read an Advance Reader Copy of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, which will be released next month. This novel has generated a ton of buzz (and controversy) – and for good reason. It follows a lonely sophomore (Vanessa) at a private school in Maine who embarks upon a sexual relationship with her English teacher, a man who is seemingly obsessed with Nabakov’s Lolita. Years later, Vanessa still fails to see the relationship as problematic…but then it emerges that she may not have been the only young girl who Mr. Strane groomed. My Dark Vanessa is sure to compel and repulse readers with equal measure.
Our region is no stranger to Belleville-born author Frances Itani, who has also set three of her books in Deseronto. In her new book, due in August, five strangers respond to a flyer advertising a grief discussion group. As they gather in a cafe week after week, they find friendship and the courage to face their grief and move on.
He Started It by Samantha Dowling follows three siblings whose wealthy grandfather just passed away. Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan go on a road trip to fulfill his final wish and secure their inheritance. Things become more complicated, however, when they discover that there is a body in their trunk…and at least one of them is a serial killer.
Lionel Shriver’s latest The Motion of the Body Through Space, due in May, explores today’s cult of exercise. It follows an aging husband’s sudden obsession with extreme sport and how it makes him unbearable to those around him.
Thriller readers should take note of the release of The Night Swim in August. It follows a popular podcast host who is covering a controversial trial in a small town as she becomes obsessed with a brutal crime that took place there years before.
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is set on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, as two wildly different women – one a grifter, the other an heiress – are brought together by the scam of a lifetime. It is being described as a “dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel” and will be released in April.
From Kingston-based Helen Humphreys comes Rabbit Foot Bill, which is due in August. It is about a lonely boy in the prairie town of Canwood, Saskatchewan, who befriends a tramp in 1947 and then witnesses a shocking murder.
Other authors who will have new books out in the next few months include Sophie Kinsella, Lauren Weisberger, Michael Connelly, Emily Schultz, Ken Follett, and Gil Adamson – plus there will be plenty from the usual crowd pleasurers like James Patterson and Daniel Silva.
All of the items mentioned will be available to borrow at the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries on or after their release date.