Stories for sunny summertime

The end of the school year and the arrival of summer send many of searching for the perfect read for a warm, sunny day lounging by the pool or lazily waiting for a fish to bite. Whichever is your form of relaxation, be sure to take a great read along with you. Northwest-Shoals Community College library director Lori Skinner has these titles to recommend:

“Killers of a Certain Age”

By Deanna Raybourn

An Amazon Best Book of 2022 and described by Buzzfeed as “Golden Girls meets James Bond,” Deanna Raybourn’s “Killers of a Certain Age” is at the top of my personal reading list. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie have been friends for 40 years – throughout their careers as assassins, as a matter of fact. When they are sent on an expenses-paid luxury trip to mark their retirement, they discover their agency seems to have marked them for death.

“City on Fire”

By Don Winslow

For a heavier read, “City on Fire,” a novel by Don Winslow, features two New England criminal empires in the 1980s crashing against each other in a conflict over a beautiful woman. When the conflict turns brother against brother and stacks body on body, Danny Ryan rises to become a master of the game to protect his family and friends. “City on Fire” is the first in a planned trilogy; the second installment, “City of Dreams,” was released in April.

“Project Hail Mary”

By Andy Weir

“Project Hail Mary,” a novel by Andy Weir, features an astronaut, the sole survivor of a mission, on a desperate quest to save the earth from disaster. When Ryland Grace awakens, he can’t remember his name or the fact that he is on a mission to save Earth. He just knows he is millions of miles from home and has two corpses for company. As his memories begin to slowly return, he realizes he has to figure out how to save the human species from an extinction-level threat. This one is currently in production to be released as a film starring Ryan Gosling.

“These Tangled Vines”

By Julianne Maclean

“These Tangled Vines,” a novel by USA Today best-selling author Julianne Maclean, follows Fiona as she travels to Italy after a lawyer calls with shocking news that her biological father has left her an incredible inheritance. Rich with atmospheric details of Tuscany, this story follows Fiona as she navigates a journey of tricky family relationships, a deeper understanding of her mother’s affair and discovering the father she never knew.

“The Bodyguard”

By Katherine Center

For a fun, light-hearted read, reach for “The Bodyguard” by Katherine Center. Evoking beloved rom-coms from the 90s, heartthrob movie star Jack Stapleton finds himself in need of a bodyguard to protect him from an overzealous, corgi-breeding stalker. Enter Hannah Brooks, Executive Protection Agent, who poses as Jack’s girlfriend when he heads home to Texas to help out on the family ranch. Be prepared to laugh with this one!