Six best new books to read in June
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June's best books
The granny spy
Red Joan by Jennie Rooney, $22. Available at Indigo.ca or Amazon.ca.
Joan Stanley is a cardigan-clad granny who keeps a handkerchief tucked in her sleeve and goes to watercolour classes at the church hall on Tuesday au001ffternoons. But when she reads about the death of an old acquaintance in the newspaper, she knows it’s only a matter of time before they come for her too. Before she can run, there’s a loud knock at her door, and two anonymous agents of MI5 are on her stoop accusing her of treason.
Red Joan is a captivating tale loosely inspired by the unmasking of 87-year-old Melita Norwood, the “granny spy” who was the KGB’s longest-serving secret agent in Britain. Set against a backdrop of political tension and the threat of nuclear war in the late 1930s, the novel tells of Joan’s introduction to espionage. It begins when a schoolmate, the worldly, red-lipped Sonya, slips through the window of Joan’s university dorm room at Cambridge, then introduces her to her cousin, charismatic Communist Leo Galich. Jennie Rooney’s elegantly crau001ffted tale moves fluidly from Joan’s present-day interrogation by MI5 to her past transformation from guileless science student to cunning KGB informant. As Joan struggles to do what she believes is just and necessary to protect both her country and the men in her life, she unwittingly betrays them all in a riveting tale of deception, treachery and love. —Sydney Loney
A woman scorned
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud, $30. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.
Teacher Nora Eldridge is a nice woman. She's tried hard to be that all her life. Then Nora meets student Reza Shahid and his parents and falls in love with each of them. As she sheds her notions of what she ought to be, her internal world and society's expectations collide. By the author of The Emperor's Children, this book is a seething depiction of an angry woman. —Laurie Grassi
Interview: Claire Messud wonders why women can't be angry
The kindness of strangers
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, $25. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.
The feds have captured her father; her house is going up in flames. Within hours, eight-year-old Havaa will be rescued by her neighbour, Akhmed, and sheltered by Sonja, a doctor in a nearby hospital. Over the next five days, the lives of these three strangers will be forever transformed. With war-torn Chechnya as his backdrop, Anthony Marra deftly criss-crosses the turbulent years between 1994 and 2004 to reveal the ties that can bind even the most troubled souls in a country ravaged by conflict. —Alanna Glassman
Circles of secrecy
Inferno by Dan Brown, $30. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.
Dan Brown in back with his latest novel, Inferno. Once again, his hero, symbologist Robert Langdon, is at the centre of a thrilling mystery — this time surrounding Dante's Inferno. A review copy of the book wasn't available at press time, but whether you like Brown's writing or not, you know this is going to be a page-turner. —Laurie Grassi
On a wing and a prayer
The Miracles of Ordinary Men by Amanda Leduc, $20. Available and Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.
When Sam wakes up one morning to find two feathery knobs protruding from his back, he’s convinced he’s hallucinating. But as the days go by he realizes he is, in fact, growing wings. Meanwhile, twentysomething Lilah searches for meaning by exploring a dangerous relationship with her sadist boss. Where will Sam’s and Lilah’s spiritual journeys lead them? Will their paths eventually cross? And will Lilah prove to be Sam’s salvation or damnation? —Dominique Lamberton
Rome, sex and art
The Wolves of St. Peter's by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk, $20. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.
Forced to work as a humble servant to artist Michelangelo, Francesco prefers the company of other, more amenable artists as well as prostitutes in a nearby brothel. When one of the girls drowns, Francesco finds himself entangled in the mystery of what happened and caught up in the corruption invading Rome. A thrilling tale of beauty and ugliness in Renaissance Italy. —Lora Grady
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