16 Books to Watch for in June 2011

Like a nightmare that gets scarier and scarier as the hyperrealistic details mount, Will Allison's psychological thriller Long Drive Home (Free Press) can shake you up. This short, taut novel  is, on the surface, the story of Glen Bauer, an ordinary suburban father whose modest case of road rage turns into a game of chicken that leaves another young driver dead. Never mind that the police rule the whole thing an accident; Glen's conscience—and maybe his 6-year-old daughter, who was in the backseat—knows better. But while wondering whether Glen will get arrested is what keeps you turning pages, Allison's eye for the details of marriage and fatherhood, and his deconstruction of what can happen when a good guy makes one false move, are what will break your heart.

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