Meg's Picks: September 2014

I've been hard at work these last few months, keeping my ear to the ground and taking note of what new releases have been generating the most in-house buzz, just so that I can share them with you! If you want to know ahead of time what people will be reading and talking about in the next few months, this is a great place to start!

The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell. Mitchell, best known for his ambitious novel Cloud Atlas, has returned with what critics are calling this new book a "genre-warping, time-tripping, metaphysical thriller" and "a stunning work of invention, incident and character." When fifteen-year-old Holly Skye leaves her home in North Kent after a fight with her mother, it is to fall into a life she'd never expected. Mitchell then takes readers through Holly's life through a series of interconnected stories, each told by someone in Holly's new life. This has already been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, so readers, take note.

Neverhome, by Laird Hunt. Ash Thompson doesn't really exist. It's a name she uses now that she is disguised as a Union soldier in the Civil War, having left her husband and their farm behind. Part historical fiction, part mystery, Hunt's novel explores what war might have been like for the adventurous women who chose to go and fight instead of staying behind. I am hugely intrigued, and if the advance praise is any indication, I don't think I'll be remotely disappointed.

The Monogram Murders: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery, by Sophie Hannah. Agatha Christie's first novel was published in 1920, and in the last 94 years, over two billion copies of her books have been sold world-wide. So it's no surprise that the guardians of her legacy made absolutely sure they had the right author for the job of carrying on her work--by all accounts, Hannah does great credit to Christie's legacy with this new Poirot mystery, set in 1920s London. Fans and critics alike have given rave reviews, calling it "charming", "ingenious", "utterly engaging", and full of "excruciatingly precise clues".

The Drop, by Dennis Lehane. Based on Lehane's screenplay for the new film The Drop (starring Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini and Noomi Rapace), The Drop returns to the streets of Lehane's bestselling Mystic River and follows a former criminal whose attempts to build a new life for himself fall apart when he becomes mixed up in a robbery gone wrong. Lehane is a great suspense writer--genre fans should make it a point to pick this one up, along with Mystic River if they've missed it.


I can't believe it's almost September, and that I'll be back on Thursday sharing what I've been reading this month. In the meantime, happy reading!