The start of August marks the end of the Summer season. The leaves are beginning to lose their grip among the trees, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose your grip on the hottest books to read for the Summer. Read them while they’re hot, and while the weather is still warm.

If you are upset that Summer is coming to an end, immerse yourself in these gripping books that you will not be able to put down. With all the time you spend reading these page turners, the season will have completely changed, and while you will be sad to see the Summer gone, you can at least say you spent your last days exploring a few fantastic books!

Hot Pick

The Two Lila Bennetts

Synopsis:

Lila Bennett’s bad choices have finally caught up with her. And one of those decisions has split her life in two. Literally.

In one life, she’s taken hostage by someone who appears to be a stranger but knows too much. As she’s trapped in a concrete cell, her kidnapper forces her to face what she’s done or be killed. In an alternate life, she eludes her captor but is hunted by someone who is dismantling her happiness, exposing one secret at a time.

Lila’s decorated career as a criminal defense attorney, her marriage, and her life are on the line. She must make a list of those she’s wronged—both in and out of the courtroom—to determine who is out to get her before it’s too late. But even if she can pinpoint her assailant, will she survive? And if she does, which parts of her life are worth saving, and which parts must die? Because one thing’s for certain—life as Lila Bennett knew it is over.

Why?

People say what goes around comes around, and karma comes down hard on this story’s heroine. From page one you’ll be thrown into the hair-raising action as both Lila Bennetts endure the torture of their mistakes bringing them down. There have been tales similar to this⁠—where a character is forced to answer for their crimes⁠—but the juxtaposition of these two diverting stories of the same character is captivating and original. You will be on the edge of your seat from beginning to end as “captured Lila” and “free Lila” struggle to save her life from being destroyed by the people who wish to see her punished for all her crimes.

Beach Read

Task Lyst

Synopsis:

Elliott is a struggling musician who is trying to piece together enough cash every month to keep his dream of performing alive while also paying his rent. That’s when he discovered the new app TASK LYST. As a service provider, he sets his own hours, his funds are delivered covertly in bitcoin and the rates continue to grow…but so does his suspicion over the type of tasks that he is being asked to complete. Is the anonymous nature of app-based freelance work enough to abate Elliott’s suspicions… and conscience?

Meanwhile, the glossy new Task Lyst corporation is looking for start-up capital and perhaps an extra way to make the app profitable, by assisting the government in spying on users. Alice Seeger is a smart and beautiful executive who once had a promising future in Silicon Valley, but a few bad investments have put her on the edge of being fired and saddled with a lifestyle that she can no longer afford. At first glance, Task Lyst seemed like an app to pass on…until she discovers it’s dark underbelly which makes it more appealing financially while also being an enormous legal liability. She must test her own professional judgment against her morals in determining at what price she finds her own success.

This gig-economy thriller takes a look at the on-demand service industry, and it’s shady possibilities. Apps have become all-encompassing in our fast-paced modern lives and their utility is undeniable. In this gripping thriller, we follow the many sides, shades and shadows of the app economy and test the question: how far is too far?

Why?

Things are not what they seem, and neither are the people in this thrilling, crime novel. What first appears to be an innocent leap of faith into a mysterious opportunity, leads into a downward spiral of moral dilemmas that leaves you questioning what’s right and what’s wrong. While the story’s pace is a little on the slow side at first, everything being set up beneath all the calm is chilling. This mysterious app entitled “Task Lyst” is taking the world by storm, consuming each individual who comes across it. Everyone has good and bad in them, some have more flexibility with their moral codes than others and this tale of mystery and lies reveals the true nature of people trapped in dire situations. Certainly a page-turner and a book you won’t be able to put down, this is Task Lyst.

Dark Horse

Cornelius Sky

Synopsis:

Cornelius Sky is a doorman in a posh Fifth Avenue apartment building that houses New York City’s elite, including a former First Lady whose husband was assassinated while in office. It is 1974 and New York City is heading toward a financial crisis. At work, Connie prides himself on his ability to buff a marble floor better than anyone, a talent that so far has kept him from being fired for his drinking. He pushes the boundaries of his duties, partying and playing board games with the former First Lady’s lonely thirteen-year-old son in the service stairwell—the only place where the boy is not spied upon mercilessly by the tabloid press and his Secret Service detail.

Connie believes he is the only one who can offer true solace and companionship to this fatherless boy, but his constant neglect of his own sons and their mother reaches a boiling point. His wife changes the locks on his own door, and he finds himself wandering the mean streets of the city in his uniform, where unlikely angels offer him a path toward redemption. Cornelius Sky is an elegant picaresque that beautifully captures an opulent city on the edge of ruin and recovery.

 

Why?

Not many characters touch upon the crude reality of how flawed and broken human beings can be. Cornelius Sky manages to build a likeable and simultaneously detestable character. Raw and surprisingly relatable, Cornelius, also known as Connie, is a trouble man with a heart of gold. Having ruined his relationship with his wife and daughters, Connie is left to roam the streets. Although the city is beginning to crumble in the financial crisis, he finds, in a way most of us can’t imagine, people along the way who are kind. The book throws the worst of humanity in your face, and at the same time lifts your spirit up. Human nature is a complex enigma, and this book perfectly captures that with straightforward writing and compelling characters.

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