–Camille Perri ( New York Times Book Review) Either way, you must grapple with the question: If the dream itself is a false promise, why not achieve it through fakery?” She uses the device to flip Asian and Asian American stereotypes inside out and upside down … You can decide for yourself whether Counterfeit is a tale of genuine American gumption or not. Except nothing in this novel is what it seems … Make no mistake, Counterfeit is an entertaining, luxurious read - but beneath its glitz and flash, it is also a shrewd deconstruction of the American dream and the myth of the model minority … Readers love a twist and I won’t spoil this one by revealing too much, but Chen is up to something innovative and subversive here.

“Seemingly, what you see is what you get - a con artist story, a pop-feminist caper, a fashionable romp. Kristin Chen, Counterfeit (William Morrow) Thanks to Barton’s airtight plotting and impeccable characterization, a minibreak by the sea will never seem relaxing again.” Her retired librarian neighbor Ronnie, who’s eager to play amateur sleuth and surprisingly adept at sussing out clues, provides much-needed comic relief in this intense story of greed gone terribly wrong. Foremost among them is the compelling and well-drawn Elise, who’s struggling to adjust to life back on the force after returning from medical leave. Ebbing’s weekenders have their own complex motivations-especially a mild-mannered gay caterer and a middle-age father who are mysteriously connected to each other, and maybe to Charlie as well-but it’s the locals who will really draw readers in. “Though Local Gone Missing‘s plot is wonderfully twisty with a surprising and satisfying conclusion, it’s the characters who stand out. The mystery element in The Lunar Housewife is light, but the Cold War intrigue it conjures is gripping, and Louise’s dilemmas and adventures will hold sympathetic readers in thrall.”įiona Barton, Local Gone Missing (Berkley) Woods has written an elegant novel of political and cultural suspense. “Sager balances the novel’s short timeline and limited setting with rich characterization for all, especially Katherine, whom the reader meets as she nearly drowns in the dark, freezing lake, and Casey, whose never-ending supply of snarky one-liners and wisecracks never quite camouflages the deep emotional turmoil that ended her once-successful acting career…The House Across the Lake is a psychological thriller that’s thoroughly personality-driven, following women whose motives, means and opportunities are as murkily fascinating as the titular loch…An addictive beach read that fans will devour in one sitting-and leave feeling thoroughly sated.”Ĭaroline Woods, The Lunar Housewife (Doubleday) Riley Sager, The House Across the Lake (Dutton)

Elemental by Erika Kobayashi