ALWAYS OPEN-HEARTED, SOMETIMES UNCOMFORTABLE, generously candid memoir in essays of a life lived in stories—from a hardscrabble Massachusetts childhood, years of wandering (literally and metaphorically), to a deep home in the literary community. A MINUS

DIRTBAG, MASSACHUSETTS
Bloomsbury Publishing
2022

STUNNING DEBUT THRILLER mixes police procedural and the paranormal. Evocative settings in New Mexico and on the Navajo Nation add even more depth to a powerful story. A MINUS

SHUTTER
Soho Crime
2022

A FIERCE WORKPLACE BATTLE at a high-profile magazine is no place for a brand new assistant like aspiring writer Noora, but here she is propping up her brilliant hot mess of a boss. Fun novel is journalism’s The Devil Wears Prada! B PLUS

A HUNDRED OTHER GIRLS
Sourcebooks Landmark
2022

ATMOSPHERIC HISTORICAL THRILLER follows currents of greed, corruption, and vice in a far-north mining community at the tail end of the gold rush. Rich in detail, and in subtle characterization. SOLID B

THE ICE BARN
Anywhere Books
2022

A FATHER’S UNEXPECTED DEATH sends a young woman on a journey to understand him—and herself—better. Pitch-perfect evocation of an overachieving twenty-something life of share houses, late nights at work, and reckless choices. A MINUS

THE CATCH
Random House
2022

SPECTACULAR LITERARY TIME TRAVEL takes readers from an eventful 1982 high school production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” to the 2016 lives of the cast and their charismatic, predatory director. Stunning tragicomedy of manners! A MINUS

CYCLORAMA
Bloomsbury Publishing
2022

EXQUISITELY POETIC NOVEL centers on a undersea expedition gone awry, and its impact on a scientist and her shorebound wife. But it’s also an extraordinary examination of love, loss, and the power of the natural world. A MINUS

OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA
Flatiron Books
2022

DEATH ON “INFLUENCER ISLAND”: timely thriller with an interesting narrative structure adds some freshness to the Battle Royale trope. Lots of grimdark atmosphere to boot. SOLID B

INFLUENCER ISLAND
Greater Path LLC
2022

A TRANSLATOR FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL DIPLOMATS is the chief suspect in a locked-room murder even more complicated than it seems. Marvelous worldbuilding of a near-future, post-First Contact, climate-ravaged Manhattan—and a tightly plotted whodunnit. A MINUS

DRUNK ON ALL YOUR STRANGE NEW WORDS
Tordotcom
2022

FAMILY SECRETS AND A COMPLICATED childhood are the headliners in Carmen Rita Wong’s fascinating and incisively perceptive memoir. Come for the telenovela-esque family drama, but stay for the powerful writing and keen observations. B PLUS

WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?
Crown
2022