It’s that time of year again. The heat is on, the holidays are looming, and it’s time to decide what you want to read as you laze on a beach, by the poolside, or up on a mountain. Here are just some suggestions to get you started.

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

What if you meet a stranger in a dog park one day and realize that you know her deepest, darkest secrets? That’s what happens to ‘Greta’ when she bumps into the woman she has christened ‘Big Swiss’ in her mind. Greta, an audio transcriptionist for a sex therapist, introduces herself to Big Swiss and a complicated – and not entirely honest – relationship between the two women develops, which will change both their lives.

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Sally Diamond can’t figure out what she did wrong. Her father had told her that when he died she should put him out with the bins. So, that’s what Sally did, incinerating his dead body along with the household waste. So, why is everyone so angry with her, and why have the police been involved. This dark, twisted, and yes, strange story will keep you up all night as it delves into Sally’s past, where nothing is as it seems.

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose

Mom murders, suspense in suburbia, domestic drama; they may seem like tired old tropes. But in the hands of Disha Bose, they come alive in her debut novel set in Ireland. Ciara Dunphy is the momfluencer with a picture-perfect curated life, who seems to have it all: a loving husband, amazing children and a beautiful home. But it all comes crashing down when she is found murdered in her home. As Mishti Guha, Ciara’s best friend, and her fellow mom, Lauren Doyle, get dragged into the mystery surrounding her death, the only way to clear their names is to air, you guessed it, the dirty laundry.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for a weekly live comedy show (think Saturday Night Live), in her late 30s, divorced, and disillusioned with love. When her colleague, Danny Horst, starts dating a famous and hot actress who is way out of his league, she writes a sketch about how this would never happen with an average looking woman and a hot, famous male star. But then, that week’s show host, Noah Brewster – an ageing pop icon – arrives on set, sparks fly and Sally begins to wonder if she is finally starring in her own romantic comedy.

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

This is the fifth book in the Hawthorne-Horowitz series and unlike the others often lapses into third-person narrative. But that doesn’t impede the flow of the story which begins, as always, with a murder. This victim this time is an unlikeable character called Giles Kenworthy, who ends up dead with a crossbow bolt in his neck. Every single neighbour in Riverview Close – where he recently moved – has a motive to want him dead. And it is up to Horowitz to convince Hawthorne to share the name of the killer with him.

Read Also: give it time: why some things are worth the effort and the patience