THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 3
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Book Review JULY 26, 2020
Fiction
7 Horror
Reviewed by
Danielle Trussoni
9 TRUE STORY
By Kate Reed Petty
Reviewed by Megan Abbott
10 ALICE KNOTT
By Blake Butler
Reviewed by
Lauren Wilkinson
10 BLACKTOP WASTELAND
By S. A. Cosby
Reviewed by Daniel Nieh
11 AFTERLAND
By Lauren Beukes
Reviewed by Stephen King
12 MOTHER DAUGHTER
WIDOW WIFE
By Robin Wasserman
Reviewed by
Chandler Baker
12 LOVE AND THEFT
By Stan Parish
Reviewed by
Adam Sternbergh
16 THE GOLDEN CAGE
By Camilla Lackberg
Reviewed by Mary Kubica
16 THE SHADOWS
By Alex North
Reviewed by Flynn Berry
18 IMPERFECT WOMEN
By Araminta Hall
Reviewed by Sarah Lyall
19 SURVIVOR SONG
By Paul Tremblay
Reviewed by Justin Cronin
20 HIS & HERS
By Alice Feeney
Reviewed by Megan Goldin
26 The Shortlist
Novels of Suspense and
Isolation
Reviewed by Tina Jordan
Nonfiction
8 THE KING OF CONFIDENCE
A Tale of Utopian Dreamers,
Frontier Schemers, True
Believers, False Prophets,
and the Murder of an
American Monarch
By Miles Harvey
Reviewed by Chris Jennings
20 THE UNIDENTIFIED
Mythical Monsters, Alien
Encounters, and Our
Obsession With the
Unexplained
By Colin Dickey
Reviewed by Deborah Blum
Children’s Books
22 Novels
Sarah Harrison Smith
reviews “The Time of Green
Magic,” by Hilary McKay.
Elisabeth Egan reviews
“Raising Lumie,” by Joan
Bauer.
Features
6 By the Book
Aimee Bender
13 Essay
The Radical Black Thriller
By Adam Langer
14 Northern Exposure
Your Guide to Nordic Noir
By Tina Jordan and
Marilyn Stasio
17 Essay
The Horror of Connection
By Margot Harrison
27 The Literati
H. G. Wells vs. G. B. Shaw
By Edward Sorel
Etc.
4 New & Noteworthy
5 Letters
23 Best-Seller Lists
23 Editors’ Choice
24 Inside the List
24 Paperback Row
Cover illustration by
The Heads of State
“A MAJOR WORK...
A GOTHIC CATHEDRAL OF A NOVEL.
IN ONE CORNER YOU WILL FIND
A DARK THRILLER, IN ANOTHER
A HUMOROUS NOIR, IN ANOTHER
A POETIC EXISTENTIALIST TEXT.”
—Ernesto Quiñonez, author ofBodega Dreams
Fromtheacclaimedauthorof
AMillionDrops,aWASHINGTONPOST
BESTBOOKOFTHEYEAR,apsychological
thrillerthattracesawidower’sdescent
intotheseedyunderbellyofMadrid.
“DelÁrbol’sAMillionDropswasone
of2018’smostcomplexandpower-
fulthrillers.Hisfollowup,Breathing
ThroughtheWound,cementshisplace
asoneofthemostexcitingvoices
incontemporaryEuropeannoir.”
—CrimeReads
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