Photo: Martha Pavlidou

3 of 5
If You Were Here
384 pages; Harper
This author reminds me of Laura Lippman in the sense that you know you're in good hands with her, and can relax without wondering if things are going to fall apart midway through. Burke is a former prosecutor, and this book starts out as an investigation. A reporter chasing the story of a woman who saved a teenager on the subway tracks realizes the rescuer may be a friend who'd disappeared. Burke's female characters are always very involving, with big, strong voices.
— Gillian Flynn