The Come Apart

by Susannah Felts

Soaked with nostalgia for an early-aughts Chicago (cheap beer at the Rainbo, anyone?), this rock ’n’ roll novel by Felts, who earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is as lyrical as the music she writes about. Best read while listening to Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” the book asks what happens when the dreams we hold tight begin to slip away. June 15

The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom

by Talya Jankovits

From an early age, Etty dreams of grandeur, but after a series of social mishaps squashes those desires, she finds herself living what she considers a remarkably mundane life. Set in a Hasidic community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this debut novel by Jankovits, who lives in Chicago’s West Ridge, reveals the quiet beauty of the ordinary moments that collectively create an extraordinary life. June 15

Keep Them Close

by David Ellis

When Finley Brice is found dead in a dumpster, all signs point to his estranged wife, who also happens to be one of Chicago’s top lawyers. This quick, twist-filled thriller wonders if the past ever brings closure as relationships are tested and well-established narratives are reexamined. An added bonus: Ellis, an Illinois appellate judge, provides a master class in how to hide the body. June 30

Man Overboard!

by Kathleen Rooney

Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick is in a bit of a pickle. He’s fallen (or jumped) into the ocean, and as his cruise ship slowly leaves him behind, Kick has to decide how badly he wants to stay alive. Rooney, a Chicago contributor, brings us into Kick’s psyche with prose that’s both meditative and whimsical — complete with a cast of talking marine life. July 7

Tenderness

by Rowan Beaird

Set amid the simmering tension of the 1970s, the novel unfolds over a weekend on a remote island off the coast of Virginia where guests have gathered to celebrate the marriage of a former Synanon cult member to her college sweetheart. Beaird, who lives in Lincoln Square, has crafted a lush, atmospheric look at privilege, love, and the things we do for inner peace. July 21

Majestic Hills

by Dawn Turner

Following her acclaimed 2021 memoir, Three Girls From Bronzeville, former Chicago Tribune reporter and columnist Turner probes questions of race and class in her new novel. A young Black couple purchase their first home in a seemingly idyllic Chicago suburb, but when the family’s carefully manicured façade begins to fall apart, questions about friendship, justice, and what it means to be a good neighbor begin to bubble to the surface, testing a marriage and long-held notions about the American dream. August 4

Bisquick: An American Seance

by C. Russell Price

During a busy Chicago summer, you can digest a poem or two at a time from this delightful and provocative book as you ride the L to yet another festival. But chances are, you’ll want to devour it all in one sitting. “Grief will gallop beside us like a rerun,” writes Price, who conjures a ghost cowboy and dancing ghost horse while exploring spiritual realms and queer Americana culture. August 15