The 32 best beach reads for summer 2024

The 24th Hour: Is This the End?
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown and Company)

The latest “Women’s Murder Club” installment finds San Francisco police sergeant Lindsay Boxer and Co. investigating the death of a prominent billionaire couple. Out now

Alternate EndingsAli Rosen (Montlake)

Divorced mom Beatrice Leal’s life is upended when her boss moves from NYC to Ireland and her company hires a new CTO — a man who broke her heart two decades ago.

They hook up one night on the Emerald Isle and Beatrice wonders if the episode should be tightly contained, or if being happy sometimes means embracing life’s messiness. Out now

Angel of Vengeance: A Pendergast Novel Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing)

In the final book in the Pendergast series, the time-traveling FBI agent andhis ward Constance Greene make a final push to stop a brutal New York serial killer.

Constance is trying to save her siblings from murder, while Pendergast navigates a family connection to the killer. August 13

By Any Other NameJodi Picoult (Ballantine Books)

The bestselling-author’s newest focuses on two women living centuries apart.

In modern times, up-and-coming playwright Melina Green writes about one of her ancestors from the Elizabethan era, Emilia Bassano, and submits the work under a man’s name to be taken more seriously.

In the late 16th century, a bright young Emilia Bassano struggles with her place in society and being forced to be a mistress to an English aristocrat. August 20

The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthurby Lev Grossman

The bestselling author of “The Magicians” trilogy reimagines the legend of King Arthur — looking beyond Lancelot and Gawain and giving quirkier characters such as Sir Palomides, the fool Sir Dagonet and Merlin’s apprentice Nimue a chance to shine. July 16

ButcherJoyce Carol Oates (Knopf)

The Pulitzer Prize finalist gives the historical fiction treatment to the life of Dr. Silas Weir, a 19th-century doctor who performed gruesome experiments on inmates at the New Jersey Asylum for Female Lunatics. Out now

Camino GhostsJohn Grisham (Doubleday)

In the author’s third thriller set on Camino Island, bookstore owner Bruce Cable relays a juicy story.

A wealthy mega-developer is trying to take over a nearby island, but its past — and the last remaining resident — get in the way. May 28

Eruption
Michael Crichton and James Patterson (Little, Brown and Company)

Crichton — the creator of “Jurassic Park,” “ER,” “Westworld” and “Twister” — was working on a new book when he passed away from cancer in 2008.

His wife, Sherri Crichton, eventually enlisted the help of another blockbuster author, Patterson, to help finish the manuscript, which centers around a volcanic eruption that’s about to destroy the big island of Hawaii — and a military secret that’s even more explosive. June 3

Extinction
Douglas Preston (Forge Books)

The latest thriller from the bestselling author is drawing comparisons to Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park.”

A massive resort in the Colorado mountains lets guests see woolly mammoths, giant sloths and other extinct creatures brought back to life.

But then people start turning up dead.

Authorities initially blame eco-terrorists, but a deeper, darker force may be to blame. Out now

Fire ExitMorgan Talty (Tin House Books)

This debut novel from the author of the acclaimed short story collection “Night of the Living Rez” is set on a Native American reservation in Maine.

Charles Lamosway has watched his neighbor Elizabeth’s life unfold since she came home from the hospital as a baby, but kept it secret that she’s his daughter — until now. June 4

Five Broken BladesMai Corland (Red Tower Books)

This epic fantasy is expected to be another blockbuster for the publisher behind Rebecca Yarros’ hit “Empyrean” series.

The first book in a trilogy, it’s inspired by Korean legend and told from the point of view of six different characters — five of them assassins trying to kill the same king. Out now

Funny Story
Emily Henry (Berkley)

The rom-com master’s new book finds a woman named Daphne moving to a small Michigan town after being left by her fiancé for another woman.

She ends up meeting that woman’s ex, and they concoct a plan to make it seem like they’re having the best summer ever. Out now

JamesPercival Everett (Doubleday)

Everett’s 2020 novel “Telephone” was a Pulitzer finalist.

His latest is a reimagining of “Huckleberry Finn” told from the point of view of escaped slave Jim.

It’s drawing comparisons to Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead.” Out now

Just for the SummerAbby Jimenez (Forever)

This bestseller focuses on a seasonal fling that might be something more.

Justin is notoriously cursed: After he breaks up with a girl, she finds her soulmate.

But then he meets a traveling nurse named Emma. Out now

Lies and Weddings
Kevin Kwan (Doubleday)

The “Crazy Rich Asians” author is back with more lavish weddings and lusty affairs of the wealthy.

Rufus Leung Gresham is the son of a glamorous supermodel and on track to be an earl, but his playboy lifestyle has depleted his trust fund.

So, his mother comes up with a plan for him to seduce a rich woman at his sister’s wedding.

Too bad Rufus has always loved the girl-next-door, whose daddy is a mere doctor, not a sultan. Out now

Long Island CompromiseTaffy Brodesser-Akner (Random House)

Brodesser-Akner follows up her acclaimed “Fleishman is in Trouble” (and its great Hulu adaptation) with a novel set in one of Long Island’s wealthiest enclaves, as a businessman is kidnapped, beaten and held for ransom for a week in 1980.

Decades later, he and his family struggle with the lasting effects. July 9.

One Perfect CoupleRuth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press)

It’s Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” meets “Love Island.”

Five couples are set to compete on a reality show called “Ever After Island.”

But soon after they arrive at the remote, tropical destination, things start to go wrong, and the couples find themselves fighting to survive. Out now

Mind Games
Nora Roberts (St. Martin’s Press)

A young woman named Thea has visions that predicted the murder of her parents when she was 12 and also helped to send their killer to jail.

But the man who destroyed her family is out for revenge — and he has similar psychic gifts. Out now

The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press)

This spy romance thriller comedy is already set to be a six-part BBC series from top indie entertainment company A24.

In the near future, a millennial civil servant takes on a new job that has her helping with a government time travel experiment — and falling in love with a Victorian explorer who initially died in 1845. Out now

Pearce OystersJoselyn Takacs

Family drama unfolds on the Louisiana coast after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Amidst the crisis, a black sheep musician returns from the city to help his brother and widowed mother run their oyster farm business. June 25

Real Americans
Rachel Khong (Knopf)

This social novel from the author of “Goodbye, Vitamin” is set in the late ’90s in New York City.

Lily, a broke intern from Tampa, falls in love with Matthew, the East Coast heir to a pharmaceutical fortune.

Years later, Lily is a single mom to a teenage son who is asking questions about his father. Out now

Shadow of Doubt: A ThrillerBrad Thor (Atria)

In the 23rd book of the Scott Horvath series, the Secret Service agent and former Navy SEAL is swept up in international intrigue.

A cargo plane surrounded by Russian fighter jets takes off from a distant airbase, a Russian dissident carries deadly secrets and seeks asylum in Norway and an agent in Paris discovers a huge conspiracy. July 23

Shanghailanders
Juli Min (Spiegel & Grau)

This debut starts in 2040 and works backwards to 2014 to tell the story of a sophisticated Chinese family.

Leo Yang is a wealthy Shanghai businessman married to Eko, an elegant Japanese-French woman.

One of their daughters has acting aspirations, the other is Harvard bound. Out now

The Sicilian Inheritance Jo Piazza (Dutton)

The bestselling author’s new book is about a woman searching for herself in Sicily after divorce, professional setbacks and the death of a beloved aunt.

But she finds more than gelato and Mediterranean breezes when she discovers that her Italian great grandmother was murdered — and that she herself may be in danger. Out now

TehrangelesPorochista Khakpour 

\In this satirical novel, the Milanis — a wealthy Iranian-American clan living in a McMansion in Los Angeles — are about to get their own reality show, when family secrets start to come out.

Each of the four spunky Milani daughters has something to hide, as does the family Persian cat. Out now

Someone Like UsDinaw Mengestu

In the latest from the acclaimed author of “How to Read Air” and “All Our Names,” an Ethiopian-American man leaves a troubled marriage in Paris and seeks refuge in his family in Washington, DC.

But, when his father dies suddenly, he embarks on a roadtrip and wrestles with family secrets. July 30

This Strange Eventful HistoryClaire Messud (W. W. Norton & Company)

This sprawling 448-page epic follows the pieds-noir Cassar family for seven decades, as they’re separated during World War II and later reckon with their relationship to their Algerian homeland.

Messud, who was long-listed for the Booker Prizer with 2006’s “The Emperor’s Children,” has said the new book was partly inspired by her own family’s saga. Out now

Swan SongElin Hilderbrand (Little Brown & Company)

The last and latest of Hildebrand’s Nantucket novels finds the island community in a tizzy when a $22 million home is purchased by a mysterious wealthy family named the Richardsons.

They own two yachts and throw over-the-top parties, but things turn dark when their new home burns to the ground and a key employee disappears. June 11

Tom Clancy Act Of Defiance Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) 

The 24th Jack Ryan novel portrays President Ryan navigating the unexpected launch of Russia’s deadliest submarine.

The circumstances are similar to those four decades earlier when Ryan, then a young CIA analyst, successfully dealt with a Soviet sub named Red October. Out now

Very Bad CompanyEmma Rosenblum

In this satire of corporate culture, from the bestselling author of “Bad Summer People,” a group of employees from a buzzy startup heads to Miami for a fancy retreat.

But a high-level executive vanishes after the first night, and everyone scrambles to pretend it’s all OK. Out now

Wives Like UsPlum Sykes (Harper)

The “Bergdorf Blondes” author sets her shrewd eyes on the wealthy set in the English countryside.

An American divorcee, three wealthy wives and two tycoons mix and mingle in a sprawling Cotswold cottage. Out now

You Like It Darker: Stories
Stephen King (Scribner)

The horror master has released a collection of 12 thrilling short stories, including one called “Rattlesnakes” that’s a sequel of sorts to his 1981 classic “Cujo.”

It focuses on a grieving widower who unexpectedly gets an inheritance — but that comes with some unpleasant conditions.