The Tiny Slice

“As I age, I’ve found myself more and more in awe of the genius of [Jane Austen’s] writings.… [They] energize me with something I’m perfectly comfortable labeling as love.” —From Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser (September 2)

Fantasy for Grownups

In The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar (known for his 1998 YA classic, Holes), a princess is betrothed to a prince she despises, so the king enlists the court magician to enchant her into compliance. He’s reluctant, but defying the king to protect the princess would risk the kingdom’s ruin. (August 5)

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (August 26) is a mind-bending time-travel tale featuring a library full of memories and a woman determined to defend it from agents seeking to alter history.

Blockbusters

Circle of Days by Ken Follett (September 23) is a sweeping epic centered around the building of Stonehenge, conceived by a visionary priestess to unite warring tribes. 

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (September 9), Brown’s sixth Da Vinci Code novel, has Professor Robert Langdon romantically involved with an iconoclastic scientist. When she goes missing, he travels the globe searching for answers.

Reviews

The Elements by John Boyne (September 9)
The Irish author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006) offers four absorbing, overlapping stories about characters who’ve experienced, perpetrated or been associated with terrible crimes, and how their lives are transformed.

Amity by Nathan Harris (September 2)
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Coleman, an intellectual, quirky Black servant, sets out on a dangerous cross-country journey to find his sister, who’s trekked to Mexico with their former enslaver. It’s a riveting adventure tale that brings a chaotic era to life.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (August 12)
This gripping thriller kicks off a new series by the author of the Will Trent novels. We meet officer Emily Clifton, who has to uncover some dark secrets in her small Georgia town to identify the killer of two local teens. —Christina Ianzito