As we settle into Labor Day weekend, and those last great days of summer, we’ve been talking about the great books we’re reading. Please share some of your favorite summer reads as well.

Susan Vaughan: I’m reading the newest releases by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson in their Code-Name Chandler thriller series. Hit is a prequel novella that is nonstop action, witty dialogue, and sexy banter. I’ve just started reading Three, the third novel in the series. Can’t wait to follow the developments of the three sisters and the next case for Hydra.

Gerry Boyle: At the moment? Whitey Bulger: American’s Most Wanted Gangster and Manhunt that Brought Him to Justice, by Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy.

Interesting to be reading this as the trial was ongoing. Sort of like Cliff’s notes …Also tells you that the trial didn’t get even close to showing the corruption on the part of the FBI and the scope of Bulger’s sociopathy. What it looks like when someone doesn’t believe murder is wrong.

John Clark: As you noted, I post frequently about what I read. However, I’m about to read The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp because we saw the previews for the movie last week and I’m really excited about seeing it, so I figured reading the book first would add to my understanding and enjoyment.

Lea Wait: Recent reads have included Linda Fairstein’s latest, DEATH ANGEL, which includes (along with the requisite murder and its solving) wonderful history of Central Park and the Dakota.  I love all of Fairstein’s books because of her unique takes on historical parts of New York City: plus, her years as the attorney charged with prosecuting sex crimes in New York City gives her an insider’s perspective on what really happens in investigations and the court system. Really enjoyed her latest.  Also enjoyed fellow Maine crime writer Paul Doiron’s latest, MASSACRE POND.

Also: finally read fellow-Mainer Richard Ford’s CANADA, which was a major seller last year. Ford writes beautifully, and CANADA is in the Theodore Dreiser tradition of American novels in which one or two events (often a crime) change the course of an average person’s life.  A good book for slowing down the pace and just appreciating the journey.  I’ve also been dipping in and out of MY DEAREST FRIEND: Letters of Abigail and John Adams.  Two of my favorite people in American history, and a treat to see their life together from the inside. I only wish more of their letters had been included!

Right now I’m preparing to catch up with YA mysteries books by people who I’ll be on a panel with at Bouchercon. I already know Chris Grabenstein’s and Harlan Coben’s books for young people; on my bedside table now are Cara Brookins’ MARK OF THE CENTIPEDE, Charles Benoit’s YOU, and Beth Kanell’s THE SECRET ROOM. I’m looking forward to reading all three, and to seeing their authors in Albany in September!

Kate Flora: I recently finished Ethan Canin’s CARRY ME ACROSS THE WATER and loved it. It has some of that time shifting that many “modern” books do that takes some getting used to, but it’s the kind of book I’ll be handing to friends for years to come. For my birthday, my older son gave me Neil Gaiman’s THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE. Not my usual cup of tea, being very much in the realm of the supernatural, but another “can’t put it down” book, and lovely and scary. Now I’m exploring the real North Korea in Barbara Demick’s book, NOTHING TO ENVY. My plan is to spend the weekend buried in books, and do no work at all.

Kaitlyn Dunnett: I’m currently reading Mary Jo Putney’s new historical romance, Sometimes a Rogue, but among my recent mystery reads are Charles Todd’s A Question of Honor and Rhys Bowen’s Heirs and Graces. In the non-fiction field, I’m also reading a biography I bought at Books in Boothbay, James S. Leamon’s The Reverend Jacob Bailey, Maine Loyalist. Aside from the Maine history angle, I was interested in the book because Dr. Leamon was one of my professors when I was a student at Bates College and I remembered him as an excellent teacher.