Sunscreen: check. Umbrella: check. Towel: check. You might think you’ve planned your perfect beachside getaway, your solo fishing trip, or your weekend in the cabin by the river, but no matter how thorough your planning, you’ll never predict the twists in these splashy summer mysteries. These mysteries are dripping with secrets, suspense, and something that lurks below the surface. Come on in, the water’s chilling.
In Vanessa Westermann’s Shudder Pulp (May 3, Mystery), an artist is creating an immersive pulp exhibit based on the local lake monster…until a vicious crime marks that monster as a murderer. When a town rebrands a monster as a scapegoat, will a killer get away with a crime driven by human nature?
In The Iron Storm, by Jack Du Brul and Clive Cussler (Sept 9, Suspense/Action), a storm of a different sort threatens series detective Isaac Bell when he’s asked by the president to undertake a special mission, the outcome of which will determine America’s role in the Great War. With global stakes, the fate of a nation hangs in the balance. Talk about a watershed moment!
Holly S. Roberts’ Depth (April 22, Adventure) plunges a biologist into a deadly standoff with a shark. As if that weren’t bad enough, she’s encountered this predator before. Scarred by a past nightmare at sea she finds herself reliving, this aquatic adventure pits woman against nature. There’s not a boat big enough to ignore this problem!
In If Two Are Dead by Rick Mofina (May 1, Contemporary), an unsolved murder from Clear River haunts a witness, but a downpour and a traffic accident sends her off-duty cop husband looking for answers to a different question. When these two tributaries merge, the water runs deeper than anyone thought possible.
In Simon Toyne’s The Black Highway (June 24, Contemporary) a body turns up in the river Thames, but it’s no ordinary victim. No head, no hands could mean no identity—until a person from the forensic specialist’s past comes forward with an identification. This river runs through the dark corners of her past and might take her with it.
It’s been fifty-one years since Peter Benchley’s Jaws hit bookshelves and fifty since the movie became the event of the summer. After half a century, you might be tempted to think it’s safe to go back in the water. After hearing about these summer reads, you might want to think again.
