10 hot books you won't want to miss this summer
Don't fill up your beach bag just yet. Save space for these hot new summer books. Whether your taste runs to mysteries, romance, humor or sports, USA TODAY's Jocelyn McClurg has you covered.
1. I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart (37 INK/Atria, non-fiction, on sale now)
What it’s about: In this memoir, the funnyman recounts his rise to the top from hardscrabble beginnings, making jokes along the way.
Why it’s hot: Hart has conquered stand-up and movies (his hits include Think Like a Man and The Secret Life of Pets), so why not publishing?
2. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, fiction, on sale now)
What it’s about: In a modern twist on the English manor house mystery, a London book editor investigates the suspicious death of one of her best-selling crime authors.
'Magpie Murders' dishes up two tasty mysteries in one
Why it’s hot: This Agatha Christie-inspired homage arrives a few months before a new, star-studded film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express pulls into theaters this fall.
3. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown, fiction, on sale now)
What it’s about: Estranged adult twin sisters, raised separately after their parents’ divorce, must decide whether to reconcile when their father dies.
Why it’s hot: Take the summer setting (The Identicals hops between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) and the plot device of feuding sisters, and you’ve got the recipe for another Hilderbrand beach hit.
4. Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani (Harper, fiction, on sale now)
What it’s about: In 1949 South Philly, an engaged World War II vet (now a cab driver) finds himself suddenly smitten with the Bard and Calla Borelli, who runs the local Shakespeare troupe.
You'll fall for Adriana Trigiani's 'Kiss Carlo'
Why it’s hot: “A delightfully sprawling comedy full of extended families,” says Kirkus Reviews.
5. But Seriously by John McEnroe (Little, Brown, non-fiction, on sale now)
What it’s about: The brash tennis star (now mellowed a bit) is ready to volley again in this sequel to his best-selling 2002 memoirYou Cannot Be Serious.
Why it’s hot: In his second career, McEnroe has proved to be a champion tennis analyst, and his new book arrives as he’s calling Wimbledon for ESPN and the BBC.
6. Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures by Ben Mezrich (Atria, non-fiction, on sale July 4)
What it’s about: Real-life thriller goes inside the Harvard lab of geneticist George Church as he and his team attempt to “resurrect” the extinct Woolly Mammoth.
Why it’s hot: Mezrich has a flare for the cinematic: His book The Accidental Billionaires became the acclaimed movie The Social Network, and Fox has snapped up film rights for Woolly.
7. The Late Show by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, fiction, on sale July 18)
What it’s about: Young LAPD Detective Renée Ballard — a new Connelly character — is banished to the night shift after filing a harassment complaint against a supervisor, but that doesn’t stop her from pursuing risky cases during the day.
Why it’s hot: Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels are the inspiration for the Amazon series Bosch, and his most recent Bosch novel, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, hit No. 1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list.
8. Sour Heart: Stories by Jenny Zhang (Lenny, fiction, on sale Aug. 1)
What it’s about: This debut collection of short stories about young women in New York City has a definite Brooklyn hipster vibe.
Why it’s hot: Sour Heart is the first book from Random House’s new Lenny imprint, run by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of Girls fame.
9. Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta (Scribner, fiction, on sale Aug. 1)
What it’s about: A placid divorcee becomes obsessed with an X-rated website, while her jock son struggles with the gender wars waging at his college.
Why it’s hot: Perrotta’s often-satirical suburban tales include Election, Little Children and The Leftovers, the basis for the HBO series.
Read an excerpt from Sue Grafton's new 'Y Is for Yesterday'
10. Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood Books/Putnam, fiction, on sale Aug. 22)
What it’s about: P.I. Kinsey Millhone is drawn into a disturbing case involving murder and a sexual assault at an elite private school.
Why it’s hot: Grafton fans are counting down the days, and the alphabet, as her beloved series nears “Z.”