Fiction
Buddhaland Brooklyn, by Richard C. Morais. A Japanese Buddhist priest decamps for Brooklyn, where he’s charged with opening a temple and building a congregation.
Evel Knievel Days, by Pauls Toutonghi. Not many novels connect Cairo, Egypt, with Butte, Mont. This one, which Kirkus calls “superbly entertaining,” does.
Homesick, by Roshi Fernando. It’s 1982 in a Sri Lankan household in London. The whiskey’s been poured and the pappadams served. Let’s dig deeper into the complexities of this family, shall we?
Nonfiction
Soundings, by Hali Felt. You think the mid-oceanic ridge along the ocean floor mapped itself? Nope. Scientist Marie Tharp devoted her career to it.
The Violinist’s Thumb, by Sam Kean. He illuminated the Periodic Table with “The Disappearing Spoon.” Now Kean turns his clever eye and engaging prose to unveiling the secrets of our DNA.
The General, by Jonathan Fenby. Would modern France be modern France without Charles de Gaulle? Award-winning Fenby thinks not.
Global Gumshoes
Only One Life, by Sara Blaedel. Did the young immigrant girl found in Holbraek Fjord drown by accident, or did someone in Copenhagen fling her into the drink?
Death in August, by Marco Vichi. It’s 1963 in Florence, Italy, and the mosquitoes and summer heat aren’t the worst of it — murder is in the air.
Off Side, by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. “The center forward will be killed at dusk” reads the note. Can Barcelona detective Pepe Carvalho solve the soccer mystery?
Memoir
Klonopin Lunch, by Jessica Dorfman Jones. She’s in her 30s, bored and restless. What does she do? Cocaine and rock stars. Fun times!
Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety, by Daniel Smith. According to his editor, Daniel Smith is one of the funniest, bravest and sweatiest guys you’ll ever meet. Chronic anxiety will do that.
Zombies
21st Century Dead, Edited by Christopher Golden. A collection of zombie-related short stories from Chelsea Cain, Dan Chaon, Brian Keene and others. Stay hungry!
