This month’s reading was heavy on thrillers, which probably isn’t surprising if you’re a regular here. From a thought-provoking sci-fi-adjacent page-turner to a glamorous romp through the Hamptons and Lake Como, these books kept me up way past my bedtime.
I also snuck in a cozy mystery set in Melbourne that completely stole my heart (Sally Hepworth is a genius with her characters), an art world thriller that made me genuinely anxious (in a good way!), and a twisty podcasting whodunit. Plus, a Block Island love story and a Lena Dunham’s memoir (that might just be the book of summer?). Let’s get into it!
Everything i read in May 2026
I would really love to hear what you’re reading in the comments! And if you are new here, check out The Library. I have kept this page meticulously updated for the past twelve+ years. It has every book I’ve read, and you can search, filter by genre, and rank from best to worst.
PS – Last month’s list.
Thrillers
The Take, by Kelly Yang
This is one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve read in ages. It reads like a fast-paced thriller (I gobbled it up on a Saturday), but it’s more than that. Similar to books like Yellowface and Such a Fun Age, it’s also a meditation on power balances, race, and class (and in this case, aging). Ingrid Parker is a (white) veteran film producer, with piles of money and a successful career. But she can already see her shelf life fading as she begins (at age 53) to feel irrelevant and her (white male) counterparts no longer seem to give her the time of day. When she learns of a cutting-edge medical procedure that can take ten years off of her life, she hires Maggie Wang. Maggie is a smart Asian American writer: young, broke, and in need of mentorship (and income). Ingrid offers Maggie $3 million and mentorship in exchange for ten experimental medical sessions. The only thing? As Ingrid ages in reverse, Maggie may age 10 years doing this. As the women’s relationship intensifies, they use each other in complicated ways. I couldn’t put it down. I cringed at times, I gasped at others . . . but ultimately, it made me think. It would be a great book club read as there’s so much to talk about! Overall Score A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Plunge, by Lila Raicek
This one is a wild ride. It starts out sleepy and then takes you from New York to the Hamptons to Lake Como. Liv is a writer in her early thirties and fresh off the shocking death of her fiancé. She spends her days, listless, unable to write . . . living in the maid’s room of an old mentor. One night at a party, she runs into Damon, her former (very magnetic) neighbor. He is a high-end jewelry designer, and by his side is Isabel, an equally magnetic older widow. Liv finds herself drawn into their glamorous world of parties and trips out east (and later, to Italy). There is an incredible spark between Liv and Damon, and they find themselves having an affair. Meanwhile, Damon is married and leading Isabel on. As Isabel confides in Liv, and Liv has her affair with Damon, the tension builds and builds. All the while, there is another man in Isabel’s orbit, Rex. Rex is a journalist, who threatens to reveal Liv’s most haunting secret. I couldn’t put this down. The writing is beautiful and transportive, and the pacing is perfection. I felt almost relieved when it was over though (a testament to the writing!) — the dynamic between the characters was toxic and stressful. Overall Score B+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Paris Widow, by Kimberly Belle
This is a fun read-it-in-a-day thriller set in Paris. (The setting was my favorite part, I felt like I was right there!) Stella is on vacation with her husband, Adam, when a massive explosion takes place in the square. She survives, but cannot find Adam anywhere. As she races around, trying to find him and figure out what happened, she learns that Adam was keeping secrets and may have been the target of the explosion. The French authorities tell her that he was stealing rare antiques and selling them to a roster of criminal clients. Another source tells her that he was forging these items. Stella is not sure who to believe. Was her beloved, down-to-earth antique store-owning husband a random victim, or was something more sinister at play? She can’t reconcile it, and can’t believe that the man she loved may have done such terrible things. Stella won’t leave Paris until she figures out what happened to her husband. To do so, she must put her own life in danger as she confronts both her own past and her husband’s potentially shadowy actions. Overall Score B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Mad Mabel, by Sally Hepworth
If you loved The Maid, you will love this. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is a cantankerous eighty-one-year-old living in a quiet suburb of Melbourne. She loves her life, her street, and even some of her rather annoying neighbors. But when one of them (her nemesis!) turns up dead, the past that Elsie worked so hard to conceal gets dug up. You see, when Elsie was fifteen, she was known as “Mad Mabel,” the youngest convicted murderer in Australia. As Elsie finds herself a suspect in her neighbor’s death, she has to make a decision: will she finally share her side of the story? The book alternates between modern day and the fifties, where Mabel grew up as the town pariah with negligent parents and (thankfully) an amazing aunt. It’s one of those rare cozy mysteries that’s also very heartwarming. I couldn’t put it down, and I loved all of the characters. Grumpy Elsie, her Aldi-obsessed neighbor Peter, seven-year-old Persephone, suspicious Joan . . . they were all lovely in their own ways, and very memorable. Overall Score A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Fine Art of Lying, by Alexandra Andrews
This was the Reese’s Book Club pick, and if they choose a thriller, I will order it without knowing anything about it. And that is what I did here. I was absolutely delighted when I realized it’s an art world thriller! I tore through it in just a couple of days; it is incredibly twisty and highly stressful (in a good way!) to read. Clare Best is feeling a little bit lost. She’s married into the wealthy Bast family and suddenly finds herself a stay-at-home mother, with an abandoned PhD. The one thing saving her is her husband Jed’s boss’s wife, Tasha: a well-connected socialite who sits on the board of the museum of contemporary art. Suddenly, Tasha is introducing her to curators and gallerists: the dream! Things take a turn when Clare starts up an affair with a handsome older art dealer. She feels herself coming alive again until (murderous music plays), she finds herself at the center of a horrible murder (and stolen masterpiece). A true “wrong place, wrong time” scenario, Clare must now rush to hide her affair, and figure out what happened . . . or risk becoming the police’s main suspect. What has she gotten herself into? This book made me extremely anxious . . . in a good way! Overall Score A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
This Story Might Save Your Life, by Tiffany Crum
This book is a rare blend of thriller and love story. Joy and Benny are best friends who host a podcast together. From the first episode about Joy’s severe narcolepsy, it’s been a runaway success: a comedy podcast about life-or-death situations and survival stories. Now managed by Joy’s husband Xander, Joy and Benny are on the verge of signing a massive $30mm deal with one of the biggest podcast networks. One morning, Benny heads to Joy and Xander’s home to record, only to find broken glass and neither Joy nor Xander anywhere to be found. An investigation takes place, and Benny (armed only with Joy’s unfinished memoirs) is determined to figure out what happened. Things get more and more complicated as Benny discovers secrets about Joy and Xander’s marriage, that someone was stalking Joy, and that something darker was at play with one of their advertisers. Meanwhile, he finds himself at the center of the investigation, a suspect in their disappearance. I will say no more but this is very very twisty and definitely kept me on my toes! Overall Score B+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Contemporary Fiction
June Baby, by Shannon Garvey
This one was a like, not a love. But still very enjoyable, especially as a beach read, and even more so if you are from New England like I am. My two qualms were a) a messy younger woman as the female lead (I struggle with this type of main character) and b) that the two love interests seemed a little bit one-dimensional. Otherwise, it was great. After her mother passed away when she was seventeen, Ruth spent summers on Block Island with her mother’s friend Diana. Diana is a very talented photographer who ultimately became a mentor and a very close friend. When Diana passes away from cancer, Ruth is grief-struck once more. She returns for her funeral. In returning, she’ll also reunite with Charlie, Diana’s nephew (the man she’s loved since they were teenagers). Dianna has left her a box of her possessions, revealing a shocking secret that makes Ruth question everything she knew about her mother and her mentor. Meanwhile, just as Diana is about to confess her feelings, it turns out that Charlie has his own explosive secret. Drama!! My favorite part was the setting; I felt like I was right there on Block Island. Overall Score B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Non-Fiction
Famesick, by Lena Dunham
I listened to this, and I am glad I did. As with any celebrity memoir, it’s fun to feel like you’re spending twelve hours with your new best friend as they tell you their life story. In this case, the writing is so excellent that I think it would be wonderful to read on paper too. My big gripe was how much medical stuff there was. It’s a lot. If you get squeamish about those sorts of things, you may want to skip or read it on paper and skim through those parts. There were a few parts in particular where I felt nearly sick to my stomach / wanting to pass out! That being said, I ultimately loved it. Dunham is so vulnerable about the cost of fame, about her relationships and friendships. Of course, there are always two sides to every story, but I felt like she did a great job holding herself accountable and acknowledging what she could have done better. She’s also an incredible writer and storyteller. My favorite parts were the early chapters about Girls, the later chapters about breaking up with her best friend, and all the bits about her parents — I love how close she is with them. It’s hard to believe that she started writing (and filming) Girls when she was just twenty-three. This seems to be the book of summer. I’m really glad I read it! Overall Score A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
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