What books to read this summer

If you liked Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl...

THE SHINING GIRLS BY LAUREN BEUKES (HarperCollins, £12.99)

Like reading about time travellers and scaring yourself silly with serial killers? Then you’ll love this chilling tale of — you’ve guessed it — a time-travelling serial killer. Set in Chicago over seven decades, the thriller tells the story of a Depression-era derelict, Harper Curtis, who voyages through the years picking out the eponymous ‘shining girls’ for a grisly fate. Until, that is, one of them gets away and vows revenge. The book was the subject of a major bidding war for the film rights after its April publication in South Africa.

If you liked Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels...

KISS ME FIRST BY LOTTIE MOGGACH (Picador, £14.99; out next month)

How easy is it to disappear without a trace? Well, in a world where so much of our lives is lived online, not that easy. On the other hand, who’s to say it’s really you sending emails or posting photographs on Facebook? Such is the intriguing premise of Lottie Moggach’s disturbing debut novel, which tells the story of Leila, a clever but socially awkward young woman persuaded to impersonate a complete stranger for reasons that only gradually become clear. One thing’s for sure: you won’t feel quite the same in an internet chatroom after you’ve finished it.

If you liked Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom...

BIG BROTHER BY LIONEL SHRIVER (HarperCollins, £16.99)

Pandora Halfdanarson’s life is going pretty well: she’s happily married, she gets on tolerably with her stepchildren and, almost by accident, she’s launched a phenomenally successful business. So things feel settled enough for her to invite her brother Edison, a jazz musician down on his luck, for an extended visit. But when she picks him up from the airport, Pandora is deeply shocked; in the four years since she last saw him, he’s gained a vast amount of weight. Her attempts to rescue him from a suicidal descent into obesity form the basis of the latest compelling, humane and bleakly comic novel from the author of We Need To Talk About Kevin.

If you liked Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger…

LIFE AFTER LIFE BY KATE ATKINSON (Doubleday, £18.99)

This may well be one of the most enjoyable books you’ll read this year — and you’re certainly unlikely to find a more intriguing premise. The novel opens with Ursula Todd being born on a snowy night in 1910; then being born again, and again, and again, the details of her life changing — sometimes dramatically — with each rebirth. Sound too weird for words? Take it from us: such is Kate Atkinson’s skill as a storyteller — at one point Ursula even stands on the verge of assassinating Hitler — that soon you’ll be wishing that the wonderful Ursula had even more lives.

If you liked Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road…

ALL THAT IS BY JAMES SALTER (Picador, £18.99)

The 87-year-old American is a real writer’s writer, praised by the likes of Richard Ford, Julian Barnes and John Banville, and the publication of his first novel for 34 years has been one of the literary events of the year. It’s a corker: a marvellous dissection of the life of one man over four decades, from his time in the US Navy during the Second World War to the flowering of his career and his passionate relationships.

If you liked Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds…

THE HIRED MAN BY AMINATTA FORNA (Bloomsbury, £16.99)

The prize-winning writer was born in Scotland, brought up in Sierra Leone and has lived in Iran, Thailand and Zambia — which, of course, makes it entirely natural that her new novel is set in Croatia. In common with her previous books — two novels and a memoir that described the murder of her dissident father — The Hired Man explores the aftermath of war as told through the story of Laura, who arrives in a quiet Croatian town with her teenage children. She plans to renovate a house, and enlists the help of a handyman — but the ghosts of Gost refuse to stay quiet.

If you liked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun...

AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED BY KHALED HOSSEINI (Bloomsbury, £18.99)

Hosseini’s first two novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, won the Afghan-born American novelist legions of fans, with the former also making the transition to film. His new book is every bit as absorbing; the tale of a fiercely loyal brother and sister who are separated by circumstance. Ranging from Afghanistan in the 1950s to Paris, San Francisco and Greece, the novel is an epic portrayal of sibling love and family sacrifice.

If you liked Anne Enright’s The Gathering...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE BY MAGGIE O’FARRELL (Tinder Press, £18.99)

Difficult as it may be to imagine, given the chilly start to this summer, in 1976 Britain sweltered for weeks. Standpipes appeared on the streets, cracks split open baked fields and Tarmac melted. Maggie O’Farrell has recreated that steamy time with pinpoint accuracy, making it the backdrop to a family mystery. One early morning, a retired father of three pops out to pick up the paper and never comes back. His wife and three adult children attempt to put the pieces together — with unnerving results.

If you liked Dave Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius...

SISTERLAND BY CURTIS SITTENFELD (Doubleday, £16.99)

Vi and Daisy have always known there’s something special about them beyond the natural bond they feel as twins. Since they were children, they’ve experienced something they call the ‘senses’ — glimpses into the future that come scarily true — but as adults they’ve reacted very differently to this complicated gift. While Vi styles herself a psychic, Daisy tries to live the most conventional life possible. But when Vi predicts that an earthquake will hit St Louis, Daisy must think again. A gripping tale from the author of Prep and American Wife.

If you liked Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad…

WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE BY MARIA SEMPLE (W&N, £12.99)

Semple is a renowned screenwriter whose credits include Beverly Hills, 90210 and Ellen. Her second novel was the dark horse on this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist, a breathtakingly original comedy that tells the story of eccentric mother and daughter Bee and Bernadette. When glamorous recluse Bernadette goes missing, just as the family are about to leave their Seattle mansion for Antarctica, Bee is left figuring out a highly elaborate puzzle.