Five hot new books to read in May

From a story about a mysterious illness spread by smartphones to a posthumous collection of essays by a young woman whose life was tragically lost in a car accident, here are our top picks of the month.

By Chatelaine

May 1, 2014

Photo, Getty Images.

May book reviews

The double-cross

Dominique Monaghan is scheming to get even with Gary, her low-life ex-boyfriend, until they are unexpectedly kidnapped and everything goes horribly wrong. Dominique’s brother Desmond is pulled into the fray to investigate his sister’s disappearance, providing welcome respite from the underhanded ploys of Gary’s enemies. This riveting convoluted tale of blackmail, murder and shifting allegiances keeps you guessing until the end. — Anna Redman

Blood always tells, Hilary Davidson, $30.

Flights of fancy

An ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano eruption shuts down airspace over Europe, setting off a chain of events that alters the course of the lives of Harriet Smith and her family forever. The quiet skies are strangely liberating: Harriet seizes a career opportunity, her husband (stuck in New York) ignites an old flame, and her son smokes pot for the first time. Two years later, when a stowaway falls from a plane's landing gear onto Harriet's car, their lives take another dramatic turn. – Lora Grady

Landing Gear, Kate Pullinger, $30.

A life cut short

This posthumous collection of essays and stories by Marina Keegan depicts the struggles millennials face as they search for a meaningful place in the world. Keegan captures all the hope, excitement, love, loss and uncertainty of a generation growing up with the War on Terror and a global financial crisis. her non-fiction essays give us a heartbreaking glimpse of how she wanted to live and are a reminder of how life can change in an instant. –

Kristene Quan

The Opposite of Loneliness, Marina Keegan, $27.

Folk meets future

In her first book, Violet Kupersmith reworks the traditional Vietnamese ghost stories told to her by her grandmother, with a modern twist. In these entertaining yet eerie stories, everyday people run up against supernatural creatures who are seldom what they seem. Expect to meet an alluring woman who has an insatiable thirst, a kindly old man who transforms into a gigantic serpent and other magical beings. – Marissa Miller

The Frangipani Hotel, Violet Kupersmith, $30.

Lost words

This debut novel from Brooklyn writer Alena Graedon is both a cracking good thriller and a thoughtful meditation on language. The action takes place in a future world where people no longer use words to communicate; even emails are obsolete. Smartphones called Memes have taken over and can anticipate people's needs, hailing taxis and ordering food the minute their stomachs rumble.

Doug Johnson, a noted lexicographer and one of the few holdouts, disappears on the eve of publishing what might be the last English dictionary. He leaves only a one-word clue for his daughter, Anana. The search for her father leads her into an intriguing shadow world of secret societies, hidden passageways and the boardrooms of an evil online retailing site, Synchronic. Anana's joined in her quest by Bart, who worked with her father on the dictionary and has long adored her from afar. But Bart soon succumbs to the menacing "word flu" that is engulfing the world and causing sufferers to lose their language.

Philosophically complex, The Word Exchange is a compelling and thought-provoking read. After reading this ambitiously inventive story about the intersection of language and technology, you'll never look at your smartphone the same way. – Robert Wiersema

The Word Exchange, Alena Graedon, $30.

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