Friends, New Yorkers, countrymen, lend me your ears…

This month’s picks are all about family. Ties that bind can become bonds that strangle.  People who you love the most can be the source of the deepest hurts.  Those closest to you, may be the strangers in your midst. These stories show that loved ones are sometimes best held close, and sometimes best set free.

Fifth of July by Kelly Simmons; Narrated by Various Narrators

Vivid scenes of summer transport the listener to the beaches of Nantucket.  The privileged Warner family has been part of this idyllic resort for over thirty years.  But all the handmade ice cream and clam bakes in the town can’t hide the fact that this year is different.  Tripp, head of the family is behaving less like the family patriarch and more like an unmanageable child. Alice, his wife, is hiding secrets under her graceful composure, while her tightly wound daughter Caroline is reliving trauma from the past and jaded son Tom is still trying to prove his worth to them all.  Somewhere in this lovely beach town there is a predator on the loose, and a war with a brash new neighbor is escalating.   And then tragedy strikes. Fifth of July blends the complex lives of the upper classes with the locals who serve them, and serves up two parts domestic fiction and one part intrigue.  Told by a cast of multiple narrators whose distinct voices bring to the surface old scars, scores and secrets.

For readers who enjoyed: The Book of Summer by Michelle Gable, The Girls in the Garden  by Lisa Jewell, and Run by Ann Patchett and the authors Harriet Lane, Graham Swift and Anne Lamott

Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner; Narrated by Juanita McMahon

Manon Bradshaw is a strong female detective on the job, but at home she is an awkward figure, single and pregnant and worried about her other adopted son.  When a man is mysteriously stabbed in her rural English county side, evidence points too close to home. Her son is just twelve years old, but he is black, and when he is accused of murder she is thrown into a criminal investigation that unearths truths she must face about white privilege, police power, racism, manipulation, prostitution and greed.  Do the rules of law and order always apply, and are they always right?  Manon must find out, and the suspense grows.  Narrator Juanita McMahon skillfully weaves a British accent with remarkable range from the tantrums of a toddler, to the angst of a teenager, from the cynicism of a prostitute, to the outrage of a protective mother. Persons Unknown is an emotionally intense mystery with a satisfying end.

For readers who enjoyed: The Lake House by Kate Morton, So Say the Fallen by Stuart Neville, The Vault by Ruth Rendell, and Beau Death by Peter Lovesey and the authors Chris Bohjalian, Donna Leon and Brenda Joyce

The Visitors by Catherine Burns; Narrated by Kate Reading

Marion Zetland is not a likeable character.  You will pity her, you will loathe her, you will be repulsed by her…and you will cheer her on.  Socially isolated, bullied and emotionally abused her whole life, Marion is dependent on her menacing older brother.  In her fifties, unattractive, friendless, and lonely, she lives in denial about her brother’s depravities, and instead finds solace in daydreams and teddy bears.  Yet no matter how much she tries, she cannot escape the haunting screams and pleas that rise from the basement. When her brother falls ill Marion is forced to confront the horrors that live in the dark places of her home…and in her own heart.  This debut novel is creepy and disturbing, and yet the listener will want Marion to win in the end.  But does she deserve a happy ending? This psychological suspense story is intricately plotted and well-written.  Kate Reading gives Marion a voice that is sweetly innocent. On one hand, this makes the listener bond with her, and at the same time making it difficult to see Marion as flawed as she really is.  

For readers who enjoyed: The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase, I Found You by Lisa Jewell, Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood, Wilde Lake by Laura Lippmann and the authors Gillian Flynn, Michael Cox and Minette Walters

The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs by Janet Peery; Narrated by Juliana Francis Kelly

A small town tale exploring family dynamics, and the complicated threads that tie loved ones together by blood, guilt and circumstance.  Janet Peery examines the American family, sibling rivalry, marriage, expectations, and disappointments in this engaging piece of domestic fiction.  Able and Hattie have had a long marriage built on compromise, traditional values and well defined roles.  But, somehow their small town values have not made their way to their five adult children, who are all dysfunctional in one way or the other.  Billy, the youngest, is drug addicted, flamboyant, engaging and manipulative.  Enabled by his mother, scorned by his siblings, condemned by his father, Billy’s escapades bring to the limelight all the lies that live behind the proverbial white picket fence.  A bittersweet, yet moving novel with flawed but relatable characters.

For readers who enjoyed: Winter Solstice by Elin Hildebrand, The Family Man by Elinor Lipman, My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout and the authors Jenny Wingfield, Nancy Clark and Meg Donohue

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!