From the ‘master of light and shadows’ to the master of the dark and twisty tale, this month’s novels are strokes of genius
our pick
THE SUMMER GUESTS
Tess Gerritsen
We make a second visit to Gerritsen’s small town of Purity, Maine, where 15-year-old Zoe, a veritable water baby, has gone missing from the lake. Acting inspector Jo Thibodau is on the case, and The Martini Club – five superannuated spooks, well-fed and cocktail-fuelled – are bent on helping her to solve it, whether she likes it or not. If Zoe didn’t drown, what has become of her, and what connects her disappearance with that terrible day in 1972 when a local carpenter ran amok, mowed down three people and shot dead a cop? An intoxicating mix of horror and humour, densely plotted, to leave you shaken and stirred.