By Neil Nyren

It’s summer, which means it’s time for beach reads, and for me that always means murder. Here are two books that occupy the same suburban neighborhood, but, believe me, it’s not one in which you’d like to live. In this place, all the residents are well-off, but no one rests easy; secrets and scandal lie behind every front door; and violence simmers just below the surface until it finally boils over.

The two books, both debut novels, are THE BLOCK PARTY by Jamie Day, published this July, and WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW by Melissa Adelman, published in June. They are guaranteed to bring just a little bit of darkness into even the sunniest day.

You’re welcome.

Recommended by Neil Nyren, Ellery Queen Award-winning Editor