Bookshelf, Summer 2026

This summer’s collection of books I’m reading covers quite a range. As usual, most of these titles are destined for future coverage on this blog and, in two cases, New Books Network interviews, so there will be more information about them going forward. All are historical fiction or dual-time novels, with the exception of Laurie R. King’s latest. So here, in brief, are the titles on my bookshelf for the summer of 2026.

Rhys Bowen, The Castle in the Glen (Lake Union Publishing, August 2026)

I love Rhys Bowen’s Lady Georgiana mysteries, but she also has several other series, including one set during World War II and now this historical mystery that follows a ghostwriter charged with completing a famous author’s mystery series in 1965, only to discover that the crime actually occurred sixty years before on the Isle of Skye, off the western coast of Scotland. I’d read this anyway, because of the author and the premise, but having family in Scotland and fond memories of Skye make it irresistible. I’ll have a New Books in Historical Fiction interview with Rhys when the book comes out, and apparently the novel will be available through Kindle Unlimited, for those of you who subscribe to that service.

Tom Hindle, A Fatal Crossing (Dutton, July 2026)

A classic locked-room mystery set on a trans-Atlantic ship in 1924, A Fatal Crossing came out in the UK in 2022 but is being released in the United States at the end of this month. It features the combination of an amateur detective—Timothy Birch, a troubled seaman on the Endeavour, the ship in question—and James Temple, who claims to be a Scotland Yard detective. The body of an elderly man is discovered at the foot of a staircase; the ship’s captain does all he can to have the death declared natural, but when Temple refuses to accept that verdict, the captain assigns Birch to keep an eye on the police officer, and the action is off and running. I’ve been promised answers to written questions to run here around the end of this month.

Laurie R. King, Those Who Are Gone (Ballantine, September 2026)

The followup to 2022’s Back to the Garden, which I really enjoyed, Those Who Are Gone delves into the past of the San Francisco Police Department detective Raquel Liang, who has returned to active duty from the Cold Case Department only to discover links between her current case and several unsolved murders from the 1980s and earlier. Although nothing can quite hook me as much as King’s Mary Russell series, Raquel is a fascinating character, and the embrace of the modern technology available to her makes for a fun contrast with what those earlier detectives had access to in the 1920s.

Elizabeth Letts, Fallen for France (Bantam Books, July 2026)

This gripping novel casts a new light on World War I—an achievement in itself, these days—by focusing on the often-ignored involvement of cavalry forces, especially early in the war, and on colonialism. Here, the colonial aspect involves Moroccans who served on the side of their French conquerors. But the story’s particular charm lies in its focus on a single, beautiful Arabian mare—a perfect specimen of her type—and the people who, out of love or avarice or a range of other motives, fight to own her. You can find out more from my planned interview with the author in a couple of weeks.

Terri Lewis, When They Came Home (Miami University Press, 2026)

Another WWI novel, again with a different take. In this case, the novel looks at the lives of soldiers who fought for the United States after they returned home, getting at the severe effects of wars on the men sent to fight them. Despite the at-times-grudging public awareness of veterans’ struggles after the fighting in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, this message never seems to prevent future conflicts, so it can’t be repeated often enough. Of the six books listed, this is the only one that’s already in print, and I expect to feature it on New Books in Historical Fiction in September.

Bo Wang, The Chinese Lady (HarperVia, September 2026)

This novel about Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman admitted to the United States, begins in the 1820s in Canton and follows the heroine—who has many names reflecting the stages of her exploitation by others, ranging from her sale as a child to her being treated as a “curiosity” at P. T. Barnum’s circus, and her eventual establishment in San Francisco as a woman to be reckoned with. Like the novel by Elizabeth Letts, this story explores colonialism and its effects, but from a rather different perspective. I expect to conduct a written Q&A with the author here on the blog in September, around the time of the book’s release.