August's New Fiction Explores Roots, Identity, and Family

August's new fiction releases focus on themes of roots, identity, and family, as summer draws to a close. The month's offerings include a variety of genres, from thrillers to literary fiction. Notable titles include Katy Simpson Smith's 'The Maltese Version,' a novel about strained relationships and a man who flees to Malta; Claire Carusillo's 'The Responsible Party,' which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly for its portrayal of a family of women tied to ill-fated ships; Natalie Sue's 'You'll Love It Here,' about a young woman who becomes a building's super; Siang Lu's 'Ghost Cities,' which traverses contemporary and ancient China; Thao Thai's 'Seekers Of Deer Creek,' about estranged sisters brought together by a lost work of art; Sarah Pinborough's 'They Say A Girl Died Here,' a genre-bending mystery; Fiona Mozley's 'Awake Awake,' a coming-of-age story about identity and family; Montserrat Roig's 'Goodbye, Ramona,' spanning three generations of women named Ramona against the backdrop of Franco's dictatorship; Momo Yamaguchi's 'Hello, Limerence,' about a 25-year-old woman navigating romance and sexuality; David Lagercrantz's 'Post Mortem: A Mystery,' the third in his Rekke series; Emily McBride's 'Queen Mab,' which explores motherhood and mental illness and received a starred Kirkus review; and S.C. Godfrey's 'The Enigma Challenge,' about an academic who studies ciphers. These novels collectively delve into the people, places, and things that shape who we are.