True Detective and CSI fans rejoice: there is a summer read for you, too. Local author James Hayman—who has been known to write in the bar the Great Lost Bear—puts detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe on the case again in the quiet coastal town of Machias. Addiction and the death of a young woman set the scene for this thriller.

Witness Impulse | October 2013 | $8

Short, sweet, and to the point, this is one to gift to a new grad. Based on a commencement speech that Saunders gave at Syracuse University, it’s a tale of how one will never regret being kind. “It’s a small book, but it’s honest prose and it’s disarming. By the end of the book you feel inspired,” says Bowe.

Random House | April 2014 | $14

In this beautifully crafted, curated children’s book, poet Paul Janeczko and illustrator Melissa Sweet make classic poetry accessible and enjoyable for children. Inside, 36 poems are accompanied by watercolors, gouaches, and mixed-media illustrations that journey through the seasons.

Candlewick | March 2014 | $17

Jim Stegner, a depressed but well-known artist whose life has been a mixture of violence and poor decisions, narrates Peter Heller’s latest novel. Stegner flees town in an attempt to rediscover his soul, settling in rural Colorado. He spends his time fly-fishing and painting, but soon learns that he can’t escape his past. “It’s a coming-of-age book for adults,” says Bowe. “The main character feels like your brother by the end.”

Knopf | May 2014 | $25

Local author Lily King has written two award-winning novels, The Pleasing Hour and The English Teacher. Her latest book Euphoria is set on foreign land: New Guinea in the 1930s. It puts the reader right in the middle of a complicated love triangle between three passionate, emotionally scarred anthropologists, who together discover a female-dominated tribe.

Grove Atlantic | June 2014 | $25