10 Books You Need To Read This Summer
In our latest episode of Group Chat, we discuss whether there’s really such a thing as a “summer book.” The consensus? Any book can be a summer book—as long as it’s compulsively readable.
For me, it’s not officially summer until I’ve read a book outdoors in a single sitting, and these books were chosen with that criteria in mind. Happy reading!
Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
After graduating with a degree in archives and records management—but spending most of his time at university indulging in "a carnival of flesh"—our unnamed protagonist vows to give up men and moves to Tuscany to catalogue a 92-year-old baronessa’s art and antiques. There, he’s thrust into a chaotic household with a colourful cast of characters, as well as an unlikely friendship with his at-times difficult employer. Greer, who won a Pulitzer for his 2017 novel Less, describes the effervescent Villa Coco as a "charm novel" that was loosely inspired by his own friendship with a nonagenarian baronessa. Out now.
Layaway Child by Chanel Sutherland 🇨🇦
These perfectly crafted and occasionally heartbreaking stories largely focus on Caribbean women and the children they leave behind to build better futures for their families in Canada. Sutherland draws on her own experience as the daughter of a domestic worker; she and her younger sister were raised by their grandparents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines until their mom could afford for them to join her in Montreal. Out now.
Motherclown by Harriet Alida Lye 🇨🇦
Twenty-one-year-old Elizabeth moves to Paris to attend theatre school shortly after her beloved father dies. Her mother, Catherine—who’s contending with widowhood, a newly empty nest and lapsed creative ambitions—soon books her own one-way ticket. Elizabeth, who now goes by Elise (“It sounds better in French,” she tells her baffled mom) accuses Catherine of following her “across the world” to “live [her] life.” And after Catherine shares a secret she’s been keeping from Elizabeth since her birth, their already fractured relationship faces a turning point. Out now.
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Daphne hasn’t seen her beloved former stepfather, Eddie, in more than 40 years. After a chance encounter in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, they become enmeshed in one another’s lives and unpack the complicated circumstances around Eddie’s marriage and divorce from Daphne’s mother. Out now.
Venom Lake by Emma White 🇨🇦
The four members of Murder Mamas, a true-crime book club, are fake friends who share a fascination with serial killers. But there’s at least one murderer amongst them—if not more. And after one of the Mamas is found dead during their annual cottage getaway, the last thing the remaining women want to do is call the cops. Out now.
Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi 🇨🇦
Shortly after 31-year-old Simran finally kisses Leo, her best friend’s brother, for the first time, she reluctantly leaves Toronto for her cousin's wedding festivities in New Jersey. After a besotted Leo, in New York for a work trip, decides to take a detour and stop by Simran's cousin’s engagement party—uninvited—a Bollywood-style plot rife with family drama unfurls. Out now.
It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
In her 20s, Jane—a character who first appears in Jewell's excellent 2025 thriller, Don't Let Him In—escapes a scary situation with a seemingly dangerous man. In her 50s, a lost dog leads her back to the same London house, and she becomes ensnared in a mystery involving a missing girl. Out now.
The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson
Twenty-something writer Caroline moves from NYC to small-town Massachusetts. There, she falls in love with an older guy whose insular group of hard-partying friends—and their secrets—unknowingly inspire her work. June 30.
Getting Away With Murder by Shari Lapena 🇨🇦
Ted and Jill are an overleveraged Brooklyn couple who run out of cash. Desperate to maintain their posh lifestyle, they decide to murder Ted's wealthy older brother, Greg. After a lunch of crustless chicken salad sandwiches, Dom Pérignon and toasts to "the future," Ted tosses Greg over the edge of his 36-foot-sailboat—and stands to inherit millions. But while the couple is certain they’ve committed the perfect crime, a series of anonymous texts sent to Ted suggest otherwise. July 28.
Dèy by Edwidge Danticat
After surviving a deadly mall shooting, Magnolia re-examines her past and her bonds with her partner, daughter and parents—while coming to terms with the trauma of the tragedy. (Dèy is the Creole word for mourning.) August 25.
Want more great reads? Here are my favourite books of spring 2026—including the tradwife tale Yesteryear, which remains the best book I’ve read so far this year.
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Maureen Halushak is the editor-in-chief of Chatelaine. Outside of work she's an avid runner, writer, reader and dog walker.
