REQUIRED READING

Fire Island

Jack Parlett (nonf iction, Hanover Square Press) A thorough, fascinating account of Fire Island and the role it has played in art, culture and queer history — complete with groundbreaking writers from Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde to James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith and more — over the past century.

The House Across the Lake

Riley Sager (f iction, Dutton) Recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher is spending some quiet time at her family’s lake house retreat in Vermont, hoping to escape from some bad press. With little to do, she takes up spying on the glamorous couple Tom and Katherine Royce in the house across the water. When she ends up saving the wife one day from drowning, the two strike up a friendship — but when Katherine suddenly disappears, she suspects Tom of foul play.

A Blind Corner

Caitlin Macy (f iction, Little, Brown) A playful, biting short story collection from the author of “Mrs.” and “The Fundamentals of Play,” covering everything from Americans abroad to women who try to do a good deed, only to see it backfire spectacularly.

Little Nothings

Julie Mayhew (f iction, Raven Books) Liv Travers always struggled with female friendships until she met fellow moms Beth and Binnie. The trio are beyond close — until Ange shows up and the competition starts. Suddenly, with her encouragement, the group starts wanting more exclusive schools, better restaurants and fancy vacations. Liv can’t keep up — and she starts to despise the woman who broke up their cozy group.

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

Patrick Radden Keefe (nonf iction, Doubleday) This expertly compiled book brings together some of Keefe’s articles from the New Yorker, with, as he describes it, a unifying theme: “They reflect on some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.” From the author of “Say Nothing” and “Empire of Pain.”

Gilt

Jamie Brenner (fiction, GP Putnam’s Sons) The Pavlin family built an empire out of diamond engagement rings; their rings are synonymous with love. But when a publicity stunt pits the 3 Pavlin sisters against each other in pursuit of a family jewel, their close bond is broken. Over a decade later, it’s unclear if they can repair the mistakes of the past.