Great Escapes

Now with Memorial Day behind us and the beginning of summer has arrived--unofficially at least--hopefully we'll all be able to enjoy some R & R on the beach, poolside, or maybe just on the chaise lounge in our own backyard. 

If you are looking for some good escapism, here are a few titles that are sure to take you away for a while.

Most of my guilty pleasure reading consists of mystery and crime novels. Two of my preferred series are authored by Linda Fairstein and Patricia Cornwell. Fairstein's Alex Cooper series is a favorite because each novel also unravels the history of my native New York City. Her latest, Terminal City, follows Cooper and her partner Mike Chapman as they track a serial killer and revisit the iconic Grand Central Station.

Kay Scarpetta returns in Patricia Cornwell's Dust, along with her partner, former detective Pete Marino. Together they will travel to Washington, D.C. and while they attempt to capture a "spectacle killer" they find themselves fighting organized crime and corruption as well.

If it's a thriller you're looking for, Dan Brown's latest Robert Langdon novel takes the university professor back to Italy where he and his doctor must unravel the codes of a scientist whose obsession with Dante's inferno is equal to his obsession with global destruction.

For some historical drama take your pick between Jennifer Chiaverini's The Spymistress or Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. 

The Spymistress tells the story of Elizabeth Van Lew, who risked all by staying loyal to the Union when her native Virginia seceded in 1861. She cared for Union POWs and stole Confederate secrets while helping construct the Richmond Underground and coordinate escapes from the Confederate Libby Prison.

A remote farm in 1829 Iceland is the setting for Kent's Burial Rites, which tells the tale of Agnes, a young woman accused of the brutal murder. Awaiting execution at the farm, the host family first avoids Agnes. But as the novel unfolds those around her befriend her and learn her side of the story.

A summer wedding sets the scene for Maggie Shipstead's Seating Arrangements and apart from the perfect romantic setting, nothing is as it seems. Social and family drama abounds turning a fairy-tale wedding into a parade of improprieties.

Relationships are also at the core of The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer. Six summer camp friends reunite after fifteen years and learn that life doesn't always turn out as expected. How many of us are the same as we were at fifteen? In rekindling their friendships they will rediscover each other, and to a certain degree themselves as well.

Cecilia Fitzpatrick of The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty is faced with many questions when she finds a letter her husband intended she read upon his death. The contents of that letter may have been easier to face and somewhat diminished by a widow's grief, only . . . her husband is quite alive and well. How well do we really know those we love the most? Cecilia addresses this and learns some things about herself in the process.

There are fewer places more likely to inspire romance than the coasts of Italy, where Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins begins. The relationship near-miss that transpires there in 1962 will not fully end there either, as the players find each other again, fifty years later, in Hollywood--a place that couldn't be more different than their first encounter.

Last, but nowhere near least, is Herman Koch's latest novel, Summer House with Swimming Pool. Though it sounds like a light read, this story will keep you thinking about family and friends, life and death, and tragedy and fortune. Sure to surprise, it might very well unsettle you as well--but it will be well worth the read.

I hope you find something here you enjoy. If you've already read any of these, tell me your thought in a comment. And by all means, feel free to share your own recommendations!