Around the World in Books (5/5/21)

Today’s spotlight takes us around the world to a remote coastal landscape as a woman examines her life, one of Iceland’s most isolated villages with a teacher seeing ghosts, a gorgeous Brittany beach resort after a murder, and a rural village in Northern China to find justice.

SECOND PLACE by Rachel Cusk

4 starred reviews

“It’s a novel that feels timeless, while dealing with ferocious modern questions.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Cusk has written a novel about what it might mean to be whole within one’s self and with others, and about the artist’s responsibility and art’s power.”–Booklist, starred review

“Once again, Cusk (the ‘Outline’ trilogy) delivers a novel so thorny with ideas that every sentence merits a careful reading, yet crafted in language as ringingly clear as fine crystal.”–Library Journal, starred review

“Brilliant prose and piercing insights convey a dark but compelling view of human nature.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THE GIRL WHO DIED by Ragnar Jónasson

“A draw for Jónasson’s growing fan base, along with fans of Jennifer McMahon, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and Camilla Läckberg.”–Booklist, starred review

THE GRANITE COAST MURDERS: A Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec

“Bannalec’s mysteries are both well crafted and impossible to read without wanting to use them as guides for future trips to the region.”–Booklist, starred review

THIEF OF SOULS: An Inspector Lu Fei Mystery by Brian Klingborg

“A maverick Chinese police detective hunts a twisted serial killer…Klingborg’s twisty, tense police procedural seems poised to kick off a series.”–Kirkus Reviews

SECOND PLACE by Rachel Cusk; 9780374279226; available now.
THE GIRL WHO DIED by Ragnar Jónasson; 9781250793737; available now.
THE GRANITE COAST MURDERS: A Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec; 9781250753069; available 5/11/21.
THIEF OF SOULS: An Inspector Lu Fei Mystery by Brian Klingborg; 9781250779052; available now.