Books to Look Out For in June 2026: Part One

Lots of goodies to look out for in June beginning with one from a favourite author of mine. In Ann Patchett’s Whistler, Daphne and her husband are visiting a museum before Jonathan sets off for Wisconsin to help his sister clear their late mother’s house. The dapper elderly man so interested in Daphne turns out to be her stepfather, the in-between father before her publicist mother married one of her authors. Daphne adored Eddie, and he her, but she’s not seen him since the night he drove them into a tree on their way to see the stars traveling back from visiting Daphne’s sister in hospital. I loved this warm, intimate portrayal of family, the many layers of stories which make a life and the renewal of a loving bond, almost forgotten, which had become a bedrock of Daphne’s life without her knowing it. Shame about that cover, though. Review soon…

I always expect to enjoy Andrew Sean Greer’s novels more than I do but that probably won’t stop me reading Villa Coco. A young man is under the impression he’s to catalogue the contents of a beautiful if dilapidated Tuscan mansion owned by a wealthy widow but finds his days filled with all manner of other things, not least getting in the way of Coco’s plan to track down the long-lost love of her life. ‘As summer turns into autumn and the Italian countryside begins to work its magic on our protagonist, the secrets of Villa Coco and its inhabitants are slowly brought to light – and with them, an unforgettable story of the enduring power of friendship’ according to the blurb aiming squarely at the summer reading market.

Silvia Avallone’s Dark Heart is also set in Italy but that’s where the similarity ends. Emilia has chosen the isolation of a small Piedmontese village to punish herself for the terrible crime she’s committed. Bruno, her nearest neighbour, is also living in solitude after a dreadful loss. An unlikely connection forms between these two, threatened by the resurfacing of Emilia’s secret. ‘From bestselling Italian literary sensation Silvia Avallone, Dark Heart is the shocking, deeply moving story of trauma, love and forgiveness, set against an unforgettable mountainous backdrop’ according to the blurb all of which may sound a little overwrought, but I can’t resist that setting.

The Children is YA author Melissa Albert’s first novel for adults which features a children’s author whose bestselling series has inspired readers throughout the world. With both parents long dead in a terrible fire, Edith’s daughter is publicising her memoir recalling an idyllic childhood while beset with anxiety that her estranged brother, now a notorious artist, may be about to destroy the family image she’s carefully crafted. ‘Told in alternating narratives between 1990s Vermont and present-day New York, The Children is a twisting narrative of family secrets and long-held resentments, which asks whether we can ever really exorcise the ghosts of a childhood forsaken in favour of a parent’s artistic vision’ according to the blurb. Not entirely sure about this one but I’m intrigued enough to give it a try.

Mary H.K. Choi’s Pool House has summer reading written all over it but it’s the Hollywood angle that attracts me. It follows a mother and daughter, one desperate to escape the spotlight, the other poleaxed by the death of her lover and TV husband. Close to broke, neither Stevie nor her mother can afford to live alone, renting their home out to make ends meet and moving into the pool house in its grounds. Things come to a head when Moon’s TV son arrives for the funeral reigniting Stevie’s girlhood crush. ‘Hilarious, biting and unexpectedly moving, Pool House is a brilliantly observed novel about the complexities of love, sex, fame, family and grief, and an unforgettable portrait of two women grappling with what it means to grow up and grow older in Hollywood’ say the blurb. This one could go either way but I’m hoping for some enjoyable entertainment.

The Typing Lady is Ruth Ozeki’s first short story collection. Comprising eleven pieces, it sounds very inventive, ranging from a Beat poet who finds his way into a publishing assistant’s head and proceeds to rant about modern literature to a grandmother who spies on her granddaughter via a dating app with uncomfortable results. ‘Spanning eras and geographies, The Typing Lady is an electrifying meditation on the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we abandon and the stories we become’ promises the blurb. Looking forward to this one.

That’s it for June’s first batch of new fiction. As ever, a click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis for any that take you fancy. Part two soon…