As late spring shifts to summer, beach read season is nearly upon us. Q&Q takes a look at some of the highlights from the season’s fresh crop of books. 

Fiction

Novels from CanLit stalwarts and debut authors are hitting bookstores in time to be packed into a bag for the beach or the park. 

The Return of the Nish
Tyson Stewart
Cormorant Books

What Gentlemen Do
Todd Babiak
McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada, June 23

Hustle, Baby
Priya Guns
Penguin Canada, July 14

Mistress of the Persian Boarding House
Marina Nemat
Viking Canada/Penguin Random House Canada, July 14

Favourite Daughter
Morgan Dick
Anchor Canada/Penguin Random House Canada, July 21

Read sweetly to me

New romance and romantic comedy titles out this spring and summer include a fifth bestselling title from Carley Fortune. 

Our Perfect Storm
Carley Fortune
Viking Canada/Penguin Random House Canada

Leave and Come Back
Lavanya Lakshmi
Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House Canada, June 16

Lost in France
Claire Ross Dunn
Crooked Lane Books/Alcove Press, June 23

Dangerland!
Erin Singer
Scribner Canada/Simon & Schuster Canada, July 7

Mystery and thriller

Masters of the genre Linwood Barclay and Shari Lapena return to the page this season along with a number of debut works.

Fear the Worst
Linwood Barclay
Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House Canada

Blood Typed
Jane Doucet
Nimbus Publishing

The Longest Death
Kevin Jagernauth
Spiderline/House of Anansi Press, June 16

Taking Down Names
Bridget Canning
Breakwater Books, June 30

The Intrigue
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Del Rey/Penguin Random House Canada, July 14

Getting Away with Murder
Shari Lapena
Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House Canada, July 28

Fantasy and sci-fi

A pair of titles that bring new fantastical tales to the shelf.

The Coffin of Honey
Geoffrey D. Morrison
Coach House Books

The Feywild Job
C.L. Polk
Random House Worlds, June 30

Nonfiction

New titles offer readers perspective on different aspects of the real world, including Shaughnessy Cohen Prize winner Maggie Helwig’s latest title, a grand canoe journey across the continent, and a look at the history of Haida Manga.

Instructions for the End of the World: Homilies of Comfort and Resistance
Maggie Helwig
Coach House Books

The Great North American Paddling Odyssey
Herman Perry
Breakwater Books

The Lost Haida Manga: A Compendium
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Douglas & McIntyre

Uncover Up: How to Think Clearly in an Age of Conspiracies
Lee Kuhnle and Nathan Radke
ECW Press, July 28