 Supporting COMMUNITY. Inspiring DISCOVERY. Promoting LITERACY. |
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Fiction A to Z August 2026 |
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| Names Have Been Changed by Yu-Mei BalasingamchowOphir (one of our flawed-but-likeable narrator's many names) fled Singapore ten years ago. She'd agreed to hold $60,000 for a friend who was subsequently arrested, and, desperate to keep her own freedom, Ophir took the money and ran. Using fake identities, she found work in Japan, England, and the United States, before starting the confessional podcast that comprises this memorable debut. Try these next: Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang; Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman. |
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| Lady X by Molly FaderAfter her Hollywood actor husband cheats, devastated Margot heads to Pittsburgh with her teen daughter to escape the press. In her childhood home, she finds information about 1970s vigilante Lady X, including a blurry news photo. In troubled 1977 New York City, Ginger and her two roommates stick together, so when one is assaulted, they get a bit of payback. Signing their handiwork Lady X, they inspire copycats. For fans of: atmospheric dual-timeline novels; fast-paced stories of fed-up women. |
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| Rasputin Swims the Potomac by Ben FountainIn the near future, reporter Clarence Thomas, Jr. (no relation) is at an unnamed U.S. president's political rally when a crying illness hits. At the White House, reality star turned comms aide Faith Spack helps handle the crisis. Then, charismatic pro wrestler Rasputin discovers he can cure the weeping. Running for his third term, the president sees Rasputin as a running mate...but Rasputin wants more in this "brilliant satire" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Lawrence Wright's Mr. Texas. |
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| The Lake Club by Lina PattonIn a wealthy Minnesota lakeside community, 32-year-old Danika Crawley seems to have it all with her successful husband and two adorable preschoolers, but she's an outsider with no real friends. Augie Elling, reeling from a post-grad scandal in New York, has come home to recover and keep her head down. But both are drawn to Danika's handsome new male nanny, producing waves of gossip and surfacing buried secrets. For fans of: Emma Rosenblum's Bad Summer People. |
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| The Great Wherever by Shannon SandersUnderpaid 32-year-old Aubrey Lamb is still mourning her father when her boyfriend breaks up with her. Learning that she's inherited her dad's stake in a large Tennessee farm, she leaves D.C. to meet her three cousin co-owners, who explain their relative was one of the state's first Black landowners. Meanwhile, their ghostly ancestors watch, gossip, and discuss it all in this sweeping, witty, and moving debut. Read-alikes: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers's The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois; John Vercher's Devil Is Fine. |
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Voyagers
by Meg Charlton
When the Signal—a mysterious transmission pulsing from the edge of the solar system— arrives, the world changes overnight. Planes are grounded, satellites fail, and speculation abounds. With many believing this could be first contact with extraterrestrial life, humanity holds its breath. But for Alex, a thirtysomething lawyer who’s spent years distancing himself from the unexplainable, the Signal feels deeply personal—the opening of an old wound. Decades ago, Alex and a girl named Ana both vanished for thirty-six hours while on vacation near Palm Springs. When they returned, dazed but unharmed, the six-year-olds’ account of their experience had all the hallmarks of an alien abduction. The media frenzy that followed made them famous, and the long months of child stardom, of talk shows and sitcom cameos, forged a seemingly unbreakable bond between them—until the mystery behind their disappearance began to tear them apart. Now, with the world on edge and the Signal growing stronger, Alex is drawn back to the one person who might have answers.
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| Cool Machine by Colson WhiteheadTaking place in the 1980s, this lyrical, atmospheric 3rd in Colson Whitehead's acclaimed Harlem trilogy focuses on successful businessman and sometime criminal Ray Carney. First, Ray agrees to a heist in order to finance his wife's business. Five years later, he risks everything to help his dead cousin's son, who's mixed up with the wrong people. In 1983, Ray's friend Pepper finds himself looking for an expensive African mask in the East Village's gritty art and club scene. For fans of: atmospheric New York novels; Walter Mosley. |
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| The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa YangMarine biologist Dr. Jo Ness is mourning the loss of her best friend when she gets a call from one of the only other people she's ever been close to, inviting her to a small Maine island to investigate a strange jellyfish. When Jo arrives, her friend isn't there and the community members have different ideas about the giant, glowing animal they call Clementine and her strange effect on them. For fans of: novels about grief, friendship, and marine life, such as Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 703-248-5030 (TTY 711) mrspl.org
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