Top picks from celebrity book clubs, a new release from Stephen King, and beachy murder mysteries perfect for your summer reading have made this week a great week for book releases. We all know Mondays can be tough, so here’s a list of three books you *need* to read this week, including Stephen King’s The Outsider, Rachel Rhys’s Dangerous Crossing, and Anthony Ray Hinton’s The Sun Does Shine.
What?
The Outsider by Stephen King
Image Via Tor
Synopsis:
An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation.
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakingly to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls.
Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face?
Why?
As per usual, Stephen King doesn’t disappoint with his newest novel. Backed up by The New York Times “Monsters of one kind or another are what the man does best, and The Outsider delivers a good one.”
Instead of the typical monsters you’re used to seeing in King novels like It and The Mist, The Outsider probes the monstrous side of human nature, making the horror of this novel hit even closer to home than ever before. With an expansive collection of works, King adds new influences to his newest work, making his legacy as a writer stand out more than ever by diversifying his literary range.
What?
Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys
Image Via Penguin Books UK
Synopsis:
1939: Europe is on the brink of war when young Lily Shepherd boards an ocean liner in Essex, bound for Australia. She is ready to start anew, leaving behind the shadows in her past. The passage proves magical, complete with live music, cocktails, and fancy dress balls. With stops at exotic locations along the way — Naples, Cario, Ceylon — the voyage shows Lily places she’d only ever dreamed of and enables her to make friends with those above her social station, people who would ordinarily never give her the time of day.
But Lily soon realizes that she’s not the only one hiding secrets. Her newfound friends are also running away from their pasts. As the glamour of the voyage fades, the stage is set for something sinister to occur. By the time the ship docks, two passengers are dead, war has been declared, and Lily’s life will be changed irrevocably.
Why?
In all honesty, who wouldn’t want to read about a whirlwind around-the-globe trip on a boat with all the flair of the 1940’s? Not only does Dangerous Crossings fulfill the adventure and escapism aspects of the perfect beach read, it also throws in some danger and death, making it irresistible. Paula Hawkins, the queen of beachy, or really anytime, murder mysteries herself even called it “thrilling, seductive, and utterly absorbing.”
What?
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
Image Via GPB News
Synoposis:
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.
But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. As Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon — transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
Destined to be a classic member of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hinton’s member tells his dramatic thirty-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.
Why?
Not only is it Oprah’s newest book club pick, this memoir details Hinton’s time in prison including how he has created a fulfilling life by starting a book club for fellow death row inmates and becoming a motivational speaker. This memoir shines a light on the justice system in 1980’s Alabama and how books gave him a fighting chance during his wrongful sentence. When asked about the book club Hinton had started, he said “I’ve often thought books give you — put you in a world that you never thought you could go. And I often would say, I don’t need to go to California. Give me a book that talks about California. And I can put it in my head and imagine what it looked like.”
Featured Image Via Game of Glam.