Reading Ahead: July 2018, part 3

One of the best parts of summer, for me, is the opportunity to take one of those long, lazy afternoons and lose myself in a book. If you're looking for a story to lose yourself in this summer, try one of the following, due out next month.

Clock Dance, by Anne Tyler. In a novel of defining moments and transformation, Tyler (Ladder of Years, etc.) introduces readers to Willa Drake, whose life is captured in snapshots of pivotal moments: the disappearance of her mother, a newlywed, a young widow. What happens next is completely out of character, a leap of faith that takes her across the country to care for a family she's never met, surrounded by neighbors that look out for one another, impulse leading to solace. Tyler is a favorite for a reason. Also available in Large Print. 

The Summer Wives, by Beatriz Williams. In 1951, Miranda is still a schoolgirl still mourning the loss of her father in WWII. When her mother marries Hugh Fisher, Miranda is suddenly thrust into a life of the moneyed elite, arriving unprepared at the Fisher summer home on Winthrop Island. World-weary new stepsister Isobel is eager to introduce Miranda into the arcane customs of the summer families on Winthrop, but Miranda is uneasy, preferring the company of Joseph Vargas, whose father is the island's lighthouse keeper. As the summer winds to a close, though, Miranda is caught up in a catastrophe that changes the island's cherished tranquility forever. When she returns to the island eighteen years later, everything is the same on the surface. What lurks beneath, though, are secrets that Miranda means to reveal, no matter the cost.

A Question of Trust, by Penny Vincenzi. 1950s London. Tom is a man on the rise, charismatic, bent on political reform. His wife, a former nurse, shares his vision. Then a woman from his past resurfaces--Diana seems to be everything he means to change in the world, but there's still a certain allure. The affair between them could destroy them both, and when Tom's child becomes ill, he will have to make choices that put his marriage and his political career in serious jeopardy. Classic Vincenzi.

The Quiet Side of Passion, by Alexander McCall-Smith. The day-care gate is often a good place for parents to meet one another. So it is that Isabel, mother of two, meets Patricia, a single mother and musician. Patricia takes to Isabelle, but Isabel is wary, trying to be civil and supportive while keeping Patricia at arm's length. When she sees Patricia with a man, she is convinced that it is the biological father of Patricia's son, and her determination to get to the bottom of things turns everything on its head. What happens when you find you've misjudged all of the people in your life? Isabel is about to find out.