Now Read This, July 29th Edition

Further Out Than You Thought 
(William Morrow Paperbacks, paperback, $15)
By Michaela Carter
Set during the 1992 L.A. Riots, Carter’s literary debut follows three despairing young people whose reality has not met their expectations: a stripper struggling to pay her way through grad school; her boyfriend, a starving artist who spends every penny he has on getting stoned; and their best friend, a singer in a nightclub. When chaos breaks out after the Rodney King verdict, the three are galvanized into political activism, the push for change, and the creation of new life.
Out: August 5

Dear Daughter: A Novel 
(Viking Adult, hardcover, $27)
By Elizabeth Little
Janie Jenkins was always the “It Girl” until her mother’s death landed her in prison with a 10-year sentence. When she’s released on a technicality, Janie is free to discover what really happened to her mother the night she died.
Out: July 31

The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel 
(Grand Central Publishing, hardcover, $60)
By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
From Pomona College graduate Douglas Preston and longtime partner Lincoln Child comes the third installment in the Gideon Crew series. Living on borrowed time, Gideon has little to lose, so he takes on the mysterious task of stealing a page from the Book of Kells, a priceless artifact displayed (and heavily protected) in New York. He manages, only to realize that the parchment is also a treasure map that could save his life along with the whole human race.
Out: August 5

The Big Hit 
(MysteriousPress.com/Open Road, paperback, $12)
By James Neal Harvey
After a 15-year hiatus, Harvey is back with a new thriller. NYPD homicide detective Jeb Barker is skeptical when a celebrity turns up dead in what looks like an armed robbery. Rightly suspecting foul play, Barker tracks the hit man to Las Vegas and then California, where even the warm weather cannot melt the assassin’s icy heart.
Out: July 29

City of Ghosts 
(Minotaur Books, hardcover, $27)
By Kelli Stanley
Kelli Stanley offers up the latest installment in her Miranda Corbie mystery series, which takes place in her adoptive hometown of San Francisco. Set in 1940, it follows the private detective as she tracks a chemistry teacher suspected of Nazi espionage as a favor to an old friend. With the country on the cusp of war, Miranda’s quest is not easy, and with powerful enemies she finds herself isolated and framed for a murder she did not commit.
Out: August 5

The Magician’s Land 
(Viking Adult, hardcover, $28)
By Lev Grossman
It’s only taken three years, but Lev Grossman has finally released the finale of his Magicians trilogy. This final installment follows Quentin Coldwater on yet another quest as he struggles to find satisfaction after losing his loved ones, his crown, and his kingdom. The trilogy is more mature than its childish counterparts and it is fraught with serious lust, love and loss, as the world of magic is not as easy and carefree as one might think.
Out: August 5th

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal 
(Crown, hardcover, $27)
By Ben Macintyre
This nonfiction work centers on legendary British intelligence spy Kim Philby, who deceived those closest to him by providing secret information to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. A Spy Among Friends is the first definitive biography of Philby, told with incredible suspense and insight into the psyche of a man whose closest friends believed in him until the devastating end.
Out: July 29

The Good Girl 
(Harlequin MIRA, hardcover, $25)
By Mary Kubica
Colin Thatcher seemed like the perfect one-night stand–at least, that’s what Mia Dennett thought. But going home with him proves to be a nightmare as she realizes their meeting was no coincidence at all–he’s been commissioned to abduct Mia and deliver her to his deadly employers. The situation gets worse when he ditches the plan and hides Mia in a remote cabin, far from where her socialite mother is looking. Kubica’s debut novel is a chilling thriller that proves just how deceitful perfection can be.
Out: July 29

Of Metal and Wishes 
(Margaret K. McElderry Books, hardcover, $18)
By Sarah Fine
Set in reimagined Asia, this novel tells the story of 16-year-old Wen, guilt-ridden after a ghost grants an impulsive, brutal wish to harm a Noor man who works in her father’s medical clinic. She befriends the Noor and their leader, Melik, but as her feelings for him grow, she must decide whom to trust before the factory explodes and takes her down with it.
Out: August 5

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption 
(Random House, paperback, $16)
By Laura Hillenbrand
From the author of Seabiscuit comes another page-to-screen work, this time focusing on World War II and the fate of airman Louis Zamperini. His story of persistence, suffering, and courage after surviving a crash into the Pacific Ocean is a testament to the strength of the human mind when put to the test.
Out: July 29