From Haiti to the Arctic, May鈥檚 best reads transport
These are the fiction titles our reviewers liked best this month.
The Pillagers鈥� Guide to Arctic Pianos,听by Kendra Langford Shaw (Pantheon)
Arctic pianos? Pillagers with a guidebook? Its intriguing title aside, Kendra Langford Shaw鈥檚 debut novel offers a blast of fresh polar air to the fiction landscape. Twin storylines set in an alternate version of the Alaskan Arctic usher readers into a wind-blasted world of water, ice, and sea lions where families eke out lives at once bracingly solitary and community dependent. In the current-day tale, the feisty Spahr clan lives in a house over a fjord near Disillusionment Bay. It鈥檚 hand-to-mouth survival. Teenagers Milda and her brother Finley hunt for lucrative听pianofortes abandoned by the first homesteaders; the ivory keys alone bring much-needed money and goods on the trade market. The novel then zips back in time to Moose, an introspective boy 鈥� and the Spahrs鈥� ancestor 鈥� who reluctantly joins, along with his equally skeptical mother and dream-filled new father, the inaugural homesteader expedition in which the travelers packed sturdy pianos in the hopes of bringing 鈥渃ulture鈥� to their Arctic settlements. It鈥檚 an utterly engrossing read from Shaw, who not only writes, but currently serves as a city councilwoman in Billings, Montana.听鈥� Erin Douglass
Why We Wrote This
Historical anniversaries share space with satisfying mysteries and far-flung, imagination-stretching novels in our roundup of May鈥檚 best reads. They include Matt Haig鈥檚 鈥淭he Midnight Train鈥� and a look at the 鈥減erfect coincidence鈥� surrounding Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
The Calamity Club,听by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)
It鈥檚 1933 in Mississippi, code for tough times are ahead. Birdie 鈥� responsible daughter, long-suffering sibling, and bootstrapping 20-something 鈥� heads upstate to Oxford to see what, exactly, is going on with her newlywed and lately out-of-touch social climber of a sister. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Meg, a whip-smart child abandoned at the local orphanage, would love nothing more than to return to her Exceptional Learners group at school if she could only get herself adopted. In Kathryn Stockett鈥檚 overloaded novel, her first since 鈥淭he Help,鈥� both the have-lots and the have-nots must transform to survive. It鈥檚 a labyrinthine story of savvy and gall with an irresistible pull. (Be warned: There will be brothels.)听鈥� Erin Douglass
Dear Missing Friend,听by Susan McGuirk (Sea Crow Press)
Inspired by the author鈥檚 ancestor, this captivating epistolary novel illustrates the hopes and hardships of 19th-century Irish immigrants starting over in America. Catherine McGuirk lands in Manhattan with her brothers. Spirited and independent, Cathy rejects a proposal from fellow passenger Patrick, who remains her 鈥淧enFriend.鈥� Instead, she falls in love with a whaleman and dreams of becoming a governess. The book is historically rich and emotionally riveting.听鈥� Stefanie Milligan
Death of the Soccer God,听by Dimitry Elias L茅ger (MCD)
Haitian-born soccer star Gil Chevalier鈥檚 life bounces from scoring the winning goal for the 1950 U.S. World Cup team to facing a firing squad ordered by Haitian President Fran莽ois 鈥淧apa Doc鈥� Duvalier. This fast-paced novel, which unfurls with the energy of one of Gil鈥檚 beloved soccer games, explores politics, racism, and the struggle to hold on to personal dreams when they clash with family expectations. The book draws to a satisfying, unexpected conclusion.听鈥� Joan Gaylord
The Young Will Remember,听by Eve J. Chung (Berkley)
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ellie Chang is a multilingual Chinese American correspondent for the Global Tribune working alongside soldiers, field nurses, and other journalists stationed in Korea in late 1950. After her plane makes an emergency landing in North Korean territory and is surrounded by enemy fighters, Ellie gets rescued by a distraught woman with a mysterious mien. From this encounter, Ellie鈥檚 grueling 鈥� and often horrifying 鈥� journey back to safety unspools. Bonds are forged, escapes made, evacuations endured, and hardships faced. For readers looking to understand the Korean War鈥檚 complex roots, the novel offers much to consider.听鈥� Erin Douglass
The Last Mandarin,听by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung (Minotaur)
From bestselling author Louise Penny and journalist Mellissa Fung comes a gripping political thriller with the concerns of our tightly woven world squarely in view. 脺ber-famous Chinese dissident and Tiananmen Square activist Vivien Li and her food-blogger daughter Alice are dragged into a high-stakes, high-tech showdown between the United States, China, and a mysterious organization determined to wreak havoc upon the globe. The action races between Washington, D.C., mainland China, and Taiwan, as characters double-cross, angle, plot, and panic. It鈥檚 a big story about forgiveness, trust, and the poison pill of revenge.听鈥� Erin Douglass
The Midnight Train,听by Matt Haig (Viking)
With a wink to Charles Dickens鈥� 鈥淎 Christmas Carol,鈥� Matt Haig鈥檚 newest tale achieves modern classic status. When successful businessman Wilbur Budd dies not having appreciated the good moments in his life, he boards the mysterious Midnight Train. On the trip, he revisits pivotal life moments, including his happiest 鈥� his Venice honeymoon. The book offers wisdom, redemption, and the journey of a lifetime for Wilbur, and for readers.听鈥� Stefanie Milligan听听
A Perfect Hand,听by Ayelet Waldman (Knopf)
Ayelet Waldman鈥檚 felicitous Victorian-era novel is an intricately told upstairs-downstairs saga with splendid characters. Lady鈥檚 maid Miss Alice Lockey and valet paramour Charles Wells conspire to maneuver their respective employers, Lady Jemima and Lord Wynstowe, to marry, so they might, too. Waldman鈥檚 earnest, romantic romp also manages to squeeze in details of the early women鈥檚 suffrage movement in England. The book soars with pitch-perfect prose, wit, and insight.听鈥� Stefanie Milligan
The Secrets of the Abbey,听by Jean-Luc Bannalec (Minotaur)
Commissaire Georges Dupin and his crackerjack team are at it again. In this outing, they鈥檙e investigating the mysterious death of Second Inspector Thierry Kadeg鈥檚 wealthy aunt, whose gorgeous seaside estate was once owned by monks. The stakes mount when Kadeg is violently attacked. As the investigation accelerates, Kadeg family secrets come to light. Jean-Luc Bannalec鈥檚 invigorating prose will envelop readers.听鈥� Stefanie Milligan
These are the nonfiction titles our reviewers liked best this month.听
Torched,听by Jonathan Vigliotti (Atria/One Signal)
Award-winning CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti provides a breathless, on-the-ground account of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires in 鈥淭orched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A.鈥� The metropolis, which has seemingly adopted the 鈥渕ove fast and break things鈥� ethos, failed to learn the lessons from the 2018 Woolsey fire, Vigliotti argues. Now, in the rush to rebuild for the 2028 Summer Olympics, he asks: Will Los Angeles be prepared for future fires?听鈥� Mackenzie Farkus
A Perfect Coincidence,听by Jim Rasenberger (Scribner)
July 4, 2026, marks not only the 250th anniversary of the听Declaration of Independence, but the 200th anniversary of the deaths of two of America鈥檚 most significant founders: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Historian Jim Rasenberger鈥檚听absorbing account illuminates their complex relationship, which spanned friendship, rivalry, estrangement, and, finally, reconciliation. The author also puts their near-simultaneous deaths in historical context.听鈥� Barbara Spindel
When the Declaration of Independence Was News,听by Emily Sneff (Oxford University Press)
From the moment the Declaration of Independence was approved in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, it was clear the colonies had reached a point of no return. Local printers mass-produced copies of the 1,320-word document, and sent them by carriages and horseback to towns and cities all through the colonies, and by ships to Europe and around the globe. Using eyewitness accounts and journal entries, Emily Sneff captures the intense fight to control the narrative about an independence movement whose influence would be felt worldwide. (Read the full review.)听鈥� Scott Baldauf