June 2020 is a month filled with tremendous books, but one book that I am especially looking forward to is Devolution by Max Brooks. I’ve been a fan of Brooks since a friend gifted me The Zombie Survival Guide and I’m really excited about this next one. Throw in a Sasquatch and this is going to be a day one purchase for me.
This month also brings the latest from B.A. Paris, the queen of suspense, as she releases The Dilemma. This one seems small and intimate in setting which always makes for a higher level of suspense. At least, in my experience it does! It was actually released in the UK a couple of months ago and I got a copy sent over to me from a girlfriend there. It was a book that I generally enjoyed but I had some real frustrations with.
By genre, here is a list in my opinion of some of the best books being released in June 2020:
Best Upcoming Cozy Mystery Books: June 2020
Booked for Death by Victoria Gilbert - Buy at Amazon: A new book from Victoria Gilbert is always a treat and this one should be especially sweet for book lovers. It takes place at the Chapters Bed-and-Breakfast which is a reader’s paradise and features a rare book dealer turning up dead. The B&B’s owner, Charlotte, is the top suspect and she’ll have to prove her innocence in this one.
Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross - Buy at Amazon: Jane Darrowfield is a year into retirement and starting her new career as the go-to person for situations that need fixing. She’s brought in to a 55-and-over condo community to de-escalate hostilities among the residents, but it turns out she’s too late when one of the residents is bludgeoned to death with a golf club. Jane sees this as a situation that needs fixing and sets herself on solving the mystery.
Still Knife Painting by Cheryl Hollon - Buy at Amazon: There are many great cozy mystery series out there, but this is a chance to get in on the ground floor of a new one. Cheryl Hallon wrote this one and it will be the first in the Paint & Shine Mystery. The series starts off with Miranda starting up a brand new business in the Red River Gorge: outdoor painting classes paired with moonshine and southern cooking. The business is an early success until someone kills the cook, the best biscuit maker in the Red River Gorge. Miranda needs to solve this case to clear her name and to save her business.
Nothing Bundt Trouble by Ellie Alexander - Buy at Amazon: The 11th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series is another delicious and delectable entry in the series. The book sees Jules discovering a long-forgotten dossier in her deceased father’s belongings and decides to look into the decades old case.
Witch Hunt by Cate Conte - Buy at Amazon: Violet Mooney is the owner of The Full Moon crystal shop in North Harbor, Connecticut in this one. She’s trying to make her business work, but councilwoman Carla Fernandez thinks that it’s a “voodoo shop” and picks a very public fight with her over it. When Carla turns up dead, Violet is immediately seen as the prime suspect. A visit from her estranged mother Fiona and a surprise sister, Zoe, reawakens a long-dormant power in Carla that she’ll need to clear her name.
Best Upcoming Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books: June 2020
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho - Buy at Amazon: This wuxia fantasy is a unique combination of historical myth, comedy, and old school martial arts movies. It all begins when a bandit walks into a coffee house and ends up joining up with a group of thieves to protect an ancient object which ends up being way more than Guet Imm imagined it would be.
The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso - Buy at Amazon: If you are looking for epic fantasy, you should check out this book by Melissa Caruso. The story takes place at a black tower deep within Gloamingard where Ryxander is a Warden. There is one warning that all Wardens here know: nothing must unreal the Door. You can imagine how that goes and what type of story is unleashed afterwards. Caruso deftly combines political intrigue and magical chaos in this epic story.
The Empire of Gold by S. A Chakraborty - Buy at Amazon: Fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series will enjoy the Daevabad Trilogy series. This book is the third and final chapter in the series about a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince who join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow - Buy at Amazon: A modern fantasy about black mermaids, friendship, and self discovery. Tavia is a siren, but in this world she must hide her powers. While her best friend Effie fights against literal demons from her past. The two are trying to get past junior year of high school, but everything changes for them when Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment. They’ll need to rely on each other to get through what’s coming.
Obliteration by James S. Murray - Buy at Amazon: This sci-fi thriller could very easily fit in the horror category, but I am going to put it here. The book takes place in the Awakened universe and focuses on a New York City Mayor who is on a hunt to decimate every nest of creatures on the planet. Creatures are emerging from their subterranean homes and an all-out war against humanity is on the way.
Best Upcoming Horror Books: June 2020
The House of Whispers by Laura Purcell - Buy at Amazon: A creep work of gothic fiction, this book takes place on the Cornish coast in a rambling house by the sea. Forty years ago, Dr. Pinecroft lost his wife and all his children save for one daughter. The two of them move to a Cornish home where the Doctor devotes himself to controversial medical trials. His daughter is scared from the tales of fairies hunting the land that their new maid shares with her. Now, forty years later, Miss Pinecroft is paralyzed and a new nurse named Hester heads to the home to take care of her. Hester soon finds that the new home may be rather dangerous for her.
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks - Buy at Amazon: The author of World War Z returns with a horror story that brings the journals of Kate Holland to light. Kate was a resident of Greenloop, an eco-community that gets cuts off from the rest of the world when Mount Rainier erupts. The town is completely unprepared for what is to come and find themselves in a fight for survival – against Bigfoot.
Category Five by Ann Dávila Cardinal - Buy at Amazon: This book takes place in post-hurricane Puerto Rico where Lupe, Javier, and Marisol are trying to recover on the tiny island of Vieques. The group is dealing with developers who are trying to come in and buy up the land at cheap prices, while also dealing with a series of murders that may have a supernatural threat behind them.
Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles by Ellen Datlow - Buy at Amazon: This collection of short stories comes from Blumhouse, the same company responsible for hit movies like The Conjouring. This is a collection of new and terrifying stories inspired by the world of film and television.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Buy at Amazon: A unique take on the haunted house novel that takes place in 1950s at an isolated mansion known as High Place. The mansion has a reputation for swallowing the dreams of young women and the setting itself is a character in the story. Noemi Taboada has to go to High Place after receiving a letter from her cousin begging someone to save her from a mysterious doom. She can get there just fine, but leaving might be a bit harder.
Best Upcoming Mystery/Thriller Books: June 2020
The Dilemma by B.A. Paris - Buy at Amazon: The queen of suspense delivers this story of Livia’s 40th birthday. Her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime, but their daughter won’t be there. This is good news to Livia as she has found a secret about her daughter that could ruin the family. She hasn’t told her husband yet while he has plans to surprise her by flying in their daughter. Before she arrives, Adam hears some terrible news that he isn’t ready to tell Livia yet. They are both trying to protect the ones they love, but how far will they go?
I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick - Buy at Amazon: Anna arrives in a small Hamptons village for a summer nanny job and finds a town rocked by the disappearance of Zoe Spanos. She has been missing since New Year’s Eve and Anna herself bares a resemblance to Zoe which makes her want to delve deeper into the story. Two months later, Zoe’s body is found and Anna is charged with manslaughter. Something doesn’t add up to Martina Green, host of the Missing Zoe podcast, and she isn’t quite sure that Anna really did this.
Safecracker by Ryan Wick - Buy at Amazon: The safecracker in this book refers to the lead character, Michael Maven. He gets the simple job to steal a rare coin from a New York City apartment, but things get complicated when the coin’s owner comes home with a woman who then proceeds to murder the coin’s owner and steal the coin. The woman’s boss is a drug lord who forces Michael into a far more dangerous job that he’ll be killed if he doesn’t complete.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley - Buy at Amazon: This story sees a group of guests gathering to celebrate a wedding. The bride, the groom, and their guests all gather off the coast of Ireland for this event. It doesn’t take long into the celebration for resentments and jealousies to start popping up, and things get much worse when someone turns up dead. This book feels like classic Agatha Christie in all the right ways.
Lockdown by Peter May - Buy at Amazon: This book was actually written fifteen years ago and focuses on London in the midst of a quarantine due to a deadly virus. At the time, people didn’t think that this was possible and the author struggled to find a publisher. Now, everyone knows the reality of this all too much and the story follows D.I. Jack MacNeil as he’s sent to investigate a murdered child during a global pandemic.
Best Upcoming Romance Books: June 2020
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon - Buy at Amazon: A fun rom-com that celebrates the joy of female friendships. Samiah Brooks has the date from hell and a viral live tweet has revealed that she has been catfished by a real jerk of a boyfriend. The guy has two other girlfriends, London and Taylor, who meet up with Samiah to form a strong bond. The girls decides to invest in themselves and spend the next six months without dating or men.
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth - Buy at Amazon: This story features seventeen-year-old Saoirse Clark meeting Ruby. The two girls strike up a quick relationship with Ruby insisting that the two spend their summer reliving all the cliched movie montage dates. When the summer is over, the relationship is over and they can move on without a messy breakup. The only problem with the plan? People tend to fall in love when the montage is over.
Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean - Buy at Amazon: The third book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series featuring a scoundrel duke who has spent years trying to find the one who got away and the powerful woman who could steal his heart again.
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai - Buy at Amazon: Layla Patel returns home after her life falls apart. Her father still sees the best in her though and offers her an office space above his restaurant to start her new business. What she doesn’t know is that her father has all set her up on a variety of dates. Sam Mehta, a CEO of a corporate downsizing company, has also contacted Layla’s father about the office space and a miscommunication leads the two of them into sharing the office. The two face off in the close quarters, but there is no denying that the sparks are flying.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - Buy at Amazon: This is the second book in the Brown Sisters series. The story begins with Danika Brown in a workplace fire drill gone wrong. She’s rescues by the brooding security guard Zafir Ansari and the video of the incident goes viral. Zafir has a sports charity for kids and is hoping to use the situation to create some publicity. He decides to ask Dani to be in a fake relationship with him to help with the publicity, but what happens when this fake relationship turns real?
There is definitely a varied mix of books in June and I’m sure my Kindle is going to be working overtime. Then again, that’s every month for me. I just love reading so much and with the weather getting nicer, there’s nothing better than sitting on the porch with my Kindle and a cup of coffee.
Did I miss anything? I can only read so much so if you have any recommendations be sure to go ahead and share them with me in the comments below. Or just let me know what books you are most looking forward to this month.
