Shuffling of the Shelves: July Part Two

By Anais Aguilera, Katie Norris, Olivia Paris and Sophie Poirier

This month we bring new recommendations based on the bestseller charts across a range of platforms. Take a look for your next thriller read, collection of poetry and more!

Amazon

Reaching the number one spot on Amazon’s Fiction chart is The Edge by David Baldacci. Eagerly anticipated after Baldacci’s great success The 6:20 Man, The Edge has been added to the baskets of all those itching for another thriller this summer. Nothing usually happens in Putnam Maine. That’s until CIA analyst Jennifer Silkwell’s body is discovered on the rocks of the coastline. Detective Travis Devine must discover if this murder is personal, political, or maybe even both.

Seeing great success this summer is The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. This novel is the story of forbidden love, family secrets and the rediscovery of the past. When teenager Ada wishes to learn more about her family’s history, she initially only finds a fig tree. What does it mean and where will this strange clue lead her? 

WHSmith

This first book was named the WHSmith Book of the Moment in June and still holds a top spot on the Bestselling chart. Talking at Night by Claire Daverley is a tragic love story at its core but so much more. Meet Will and Rosie, two people who couldn’t be more different. And yet, something keeps drawing them together. After one day changes the trajectory of their growing bond, it seems like the end. But as time passes, their paths cross again and again. Will they be able to revisit what they had or will their lives be forever changed by that one fateful day?

For a change of pace, Sebastian Faulks’s The Seventh Son pairs futuristic human experiments with gripping social commentary. A volunteer surrogate and a hopeful young couple welcome a baby boy named Seth into the world. But little do they know that this baby is not quite like the rest. Behind what should be the unbridled joy of new life is a well-to-do man whose less-than-ethical experiments will change Seth’s life forever. Faulks’s insightful take on the human condition is not to be missed.

Waterstones

Waterstones has named Kala by Colin Walsh as its July Fiction Book of the Month, a gripping novel that continues to be a hit nearly a year following its release. When childhood friends Helen, Joe and Mush reunite in their Irish hometown on the sea, it’s not for the reason they had hoped: Kala, who was once the beating heart of their seemingly inseparable group, has been found dead in the woods. The three friends must take a closer look at their village, their history and themselves in order to come to terms with what happened to Kala and to find answers about her disappearance and later death.

One murder mystery wasn’t enough? Try the Thriller of the Month, Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle. The idyllic Italian shores of Castello Fiore make the perfect place for a glamorous wedding, but the serene atmosphere rapidly dissipates when a guest is killed moments before the ceremony. Paradise turns into a nightmare as the guests try to piece together what has happened and who could be next.

Social Media

Recently on social media, the third instalment of Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid series, The Housemaid Is Watching, has been making its mark in the thriller communities. Only published in early June, McFadden’s third book in the immensely popular series has hit the ground running. Following on from the previous novels, Millie has recently left her cleaning days behind her and has moved into a beautiful home with her husband and children. However, her new street is filled with mysterious figures watching from windows and is left with a warning: be careful of your neighbours. Millie begins to wonder if she has really moved on from her troubled past – has she left it all behind or has it followed her here? 

Another book that has been on the move up the social media grapevine is Leila Mottley’s collection of poetry called Woke Up No Light. The former Youth Poet Laureate has made her debut with poetry that traces her journey from girl to woman in a world on the brink of senseless destruction. The collection is made up of four parts: “girlhood”, “neighbourhood”, “falsehood” and finally “womanhood”. Her work has been described as a “revolution of words and worlds, readying to become” by Mahogany L. Browne, where her distinctive voice marks the page with its yearning, desires and dreams for a future. 

Noteworthy Author

American author Kate Quinn is best known for her historical fiction novels, which she describes as featuring an “irreverent twist”. Best known for her Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Alice Network, Quinn’s work often focuses on the complex stories of women in World War II. Her upcoming release, The Briar Club, follows a group of women at a Washington D.C. boarding-house in the aftermath of the war and has been named one of the most anticipated books of July by Goodreads. Quinn is from California and attended Boston University, where she studied Classical Voice.