I was experiencing a bit of a reading slump, during which I was picking up my phone more often than a book. Luckily, these books helped me out of my slump. I hope that one or more of them might appeal to you.

Wealthy Manhattanites flock to their beach homes on Fire Island each summer, spending their days sunbathing, drinking, and gossiping about their summer neighbors. This summer there is more to gossip about than ever: affairs between married friends, a handsome new tennis instructor, a #MeToo scandal, and maybe even murder. In “Bad Summer People,” Emma Rosenblum uses multiple perspectives to slowly peel back layer after layer of intrigue and betrayal, and all of her characters’ stories converge during one night that changes everything in their summer community forever. This is a frothy, quick read perfect for the beach.

Nicole is struggling to keep up with the boys’ club at her law firm in “Please Join Us” by Catherine McKenzie. She’s been warned to increase her billable hours and recruit new clients. When she receives an invitation to join an exclusive women’s networking group, she thinks “what could it hurt?” She joins their annual new member retreat, which turns out to be more of a team building boot camp than relaxing vacation. After three days of intense exercises to build their teamwork, ingenuity, and strength, Nicole and four other women become a tight-knit group committed to advancing each other’s personal and professional lives. Nicole’s confidence in her decision to join the group wavers as the requests for assistance begin to increase in number and level of commitment, until one night she is asked to do something unspeakable. This was a riveting thriller filled with hidden agendas and twisty relationships.

Samanta, Anna, and Jessica have one thing in common – tech CEO and serial charmer Jake Sarnoff. College girlfriend Samanta was instrumental to the coding of Jake’s social media app, ex-wife Anna supported his company’s growth and Jake’s rise to stardom, and current wife Jessica helped perfect the app and Jake’s public persona. But Jake hasn’t given credit to any of the women. With the company’s IPO looming, the three women are on a collision course with each other and with Jake, and all are ready to claim their due. I enjoyed “Women Are the Fiercest Creatures,” Andrea Dunlop’s exploration of these women and their fight to find their own place out of Jake’s shadow.

Lenora Hope was the only one left on the evening that the rest of her family was murdered in 1929. There wasn’t enough evidence to charge Lenora with the crime, but she was found guilty in the court of public opinion and sentenced to a lonely existence sequestered in her family’s mansion. Fifty years later, Kit McDeere, also publicly shunned, becomes Lenora’s caretaker. Lenora’s reputation as a murderer makes Kit fearful, but Lenora is paralyzed and mute, able to communicate only with her left hand. As Kit learns more about Hope House and the night of the murders she realizes that there is so much more to Lenora’s story than meets the eye. And Lenora might be the only one who can tell it, if she’s telling the truth. Riley Sager delivers another twisty, chilling gothic thriller with “The Only One Left.” I raced through it!

Visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose “Library Catalog” to place a request for any of these titles. Library staff would also be happy to help you place a request in person or by phone at 507-359-8331.

The library is located at 17 North Broadway and is open Monday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.