11 New Paperback Books to Take to the Beach

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash is the ideal beach day read — after all, the seaside vibes are right there in the title! The sweeping historical fiction novel, which spans the dark days of WWII to the 1970s, explores what it’s like being torn between two worlds and interweaves multiple perspectives to tell its epic tale. Londoner Beatrix is just 11 years old when her working-class parents send her to America to escape the threat of war in England. After arriving in the States, she’s taken in by the affluent Gregorys, and she soon grows to love her new life with the family. But when the war in Europe ends and Bea’s parents call her back to England, Bea must confront difficult questions about family, home, and who she truly is. “This debut novel captivated me from start to finish” (Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton Series).

Cat Shook’s If We’re Being Honest is a lovely family dramedy to escape into this summer. The novel centers on the Williams family, a boisterous bunch who travel far and wide to Georgia to mourn the death of their patriarch, Gerry. Friends and relatives gather in the small town of Eulalia for the service, where Gerry’s best friend stuns everyone with a surprise disclosure during his eulogy. As each family member grapples with the revelation and their grief, they must also navigate their personal dramas — from recently heartbroken Delia to fresh-off-a-dating-show Grant in pursuit of an unavailable lover. Brimming with heart and humor, If We’re Being Honest makes a delightful beach read. If you love it, make sure to pick up Shook’s new novel, Humor Me, which just hit the shelves this July.

M. T. Edvardsson’s The Woman Inside is a fantastic domestic thriller to give you chills on a sweltering summer day. The book introduces us to Karla, a law student and aspiring judge who rents a room from widower Bill Olsson. To make ends meet, Karla works as a housekeeper for a wealthy couple, the Rytters. It soon becomes clear that something is wrong in their house: Mrs. Rytter suffers from a mysterious condition and has not left the home in months, while Mr. Rytter is obsessive and controlling. But when both of the Rytters turn up dead, it’s Karla whose past might merit deeper scrutiny.

Bestselling author Tracey Lange’s upcoming book, What Happened to the McCrays?, is set to hit shelves in January 2025. While we count down the days, be sure to check out Lange’s The Connellys of County Down, which is out now in paperback. It’s a moving family drama about three siblings dealing with their own issues. Tara, fresh out of prison on drug charges, returns home to live with her siblings as she attempts to get her life back on track, but the cop who put her away keeps popping up unexpectedly. Her brother, meanwhile, is a single dad struggling with the lingering effects of a brain injury, while her sister is wrestling with some deep-rooted family secrets. Everyone in the family is holding plenty inside, and all of it threatens to tear them apart.

Beach-bound political memoir fans are sure to enjoy this instant New York Times bestseller by Valerie Biden Owens, the sister and longtime campaign manager of President Joe Biden. In it, Biden Owens chronicles her achievements as the first female campaign manager in U.S. history and shares the life lessons she’s learned as a member of the close-knit Biden family. Biden Owens’s political skill was evident from an early age — in high school, she oversaw her brother Joe’s successful run for class president. Since then, Biden Owens has stood by her brother as a confidante and trusted political adviser, managing Joe Biden’s many campaigns, from his first election for New Castle County Council in Delaware in 1970 to his seven U.S. Senate victories. Suffused with warmth and humanity, Growing Up Biden is a fascinating glimpse of everyday life inside the Biden world and “a ringing endorsement of the power of a supportive family, especially for those in the public eye” (Kirkus). Out in paperback on August 6, 2024.

From bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Timothy Egan, A Fever in the Heartland is a gripping historical account of America’s violent past that has chilling parallels to the present day. The nonfiction narrative tracks the rise of the Klan in the 1920s, when the hate group boasted an array of powerful allies and nationwide membership in the millions. The book focuses on not only D.C. Stephenson, a dangerously charismatic con man who rose to become the group’s leader, but also Madge Oberholtzer, a brave woman whose deathbed testimony helped bring Stephenson and the Klan to their knees.

Of course, we had to add a celebrity memoir to our list for those who enjoy a star-studded first-person account. And what could be better than a celebrity memoir that’s both juicy and poignant? Elliot Page’s Pageboy was featured on many “best of” lists in 2023, including those from TIME and The New York Times. Out now in paperback, the touching memoir details Page’s early life, rise to fame, and Hollywood struggles. It also details Page’s discovery of himself as a queer person, and his wholehearted embracing of a transgender identity in a world not always hospitable to gender difference or LGBTQ+ identities. There are plenty of Hollywood stories here — and a whole secret relationship with Kate Mara — but the true beauty of Pageboy is the heart that radiates off its pages.

Many people spend summer with their relatives, which is why books about family are so popular, capturing familial togetherness in all its messy beauty. Elizabeth Acevedo’s Family Lore is a great choice, as it’s a NAACP Image Award winner and a gem of a novel. The book centers on Flor, who can predict the exact date when people will die. Flor decides she wants a living wake, which makes her three sisters suspicious about what she knows. Each sister has secrets of her own, as do some younger relatives, and the three days leading up to the wake are eventful, to say the least.

In search of a compelling mystery to complement your seaside summer adventures? Look no further than Small Mercies, bestselling author Dennis Lehane’s latest crime drama. The New York Times bestseller is just as engaging as Lehane’s other novels — which include Mystic River and Shutter Island — and you’ll want to tear through it in as few sittings as possible. It’s set in Boston circa 1974, during a crushing summer heatwave and the recent desegregation of city schools. When Mary Pat Fennessy’s daughter goes missing the same night that a young Black man dies under mysterious circumstances after being struck by a subway train, Mary Pat starts asking questions. She eventually upsets Marty Butler and his Irish mob cronies, and it becomes clear that the disappearance and the murder may not be so separate after all.

S. A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed appeared on a host of best-of lists last year, including roundups from TIME, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Even former President Barack Obama put the book on his summer reading list. And since the paperback is out now, we’re adding it to our own paperback-focused summer reading list. Cosby’s acclaimed Southern mystery is set in Charon County, Virginia, where Titus Crown has a murder on his hands a year after becoming the area’s first-ever Black sheriff. When a teacher is killed by a former student, and that student is killed by police, Titus uncovers a much larger case than he anticipated — a serial killer is on the loose and possibly has ties to a local church.

Riley Sager is one of the biggest names in the thriller world, and we likely don’t need to sell you on the appeal of his suspense-steeped narratives. That said, we do want to make a special plug for this deliciously twisted tale. The Only One Left is a super-fun whodunit with a gothic vibe that’s of course packed with twists and turns. It’s 1983, and home aid worker Kit McDeere takes a job caring for Lenora Hope after her last caretaker mysteriously bolted. Lenora lives at Hope’s End, a cliffside mansion she has refused to leave since she was assumed to have murdered her sister in 1929. Lenora tells Kit she wants to explain what really happened to her sibling all those years ago. But is Lenora telling the truth — or setting a trap? If you’re dying to cap off your summer with a nerve-jangling chiller, The Only One Left delivers.