The best book to read on the beach this summer

Please try to imagine. You are sitting on the beach and the sun is shining on you. One hand is holding a cold drink and the other is holding a big book.

But there is only one question. What book is?

Reading a decent beach can be hard – you need an easy enough way to make sure your brain isn’t working very It’s heavy on vacation, but it’s meaty enough to last all day in the sun.

And with premium suitcase space, these all-important books should fit right in.

We sifted through the summer reading list for five holiday-ready hits.

From subtle fringes to moody thrillers, here are our recommendations for summer.

Carrie Soto returns as Taylor Jenkins Reed (Hutchinson)

Taylor Jenkins Reed is quickly emerging as a smart and sophisticated beach quiz novelist. Her previous novel, Mali Blazing, was a stealth hit last year.

This is the latest long-awaited story about Carrie, a legendary tennis player who was forced into retirement at the age of 37 when a British player surpassed her record 20th Grand Slam title.

If you’re still mourning Wimbledon, this is a novel for you.

Purchased at Waterstones for £16.99.

Lisa Jewel Family Heirlooms (Century)

The queen of the obsessive-compulsive psychological thriller returns with another remix of her trademark social realism and gravity-defying plot.

When a bag of human bones was found on the banks of the Thames, the detective in charge of the case was surprised to find a rare tree seed in it.

The incident leads him down the path of historical murder. There it was discovered that three people were murdered in a Chicago mansion 30 years ago while the boy slept upstairs. A novel full of family secrets.

Purchased at Waterstones for £16.99.

Desert by Sarah Dugido (Tinder Press)

Two teenage girls board a boat somewhere off the coast of Scotland.

Something is terribly wrong, but what exactly do you find in this intensely atmospheric novel about a couple whose parents suddenly have to travel to a Scottish island to care for their murdered nieces? In a traffic accident.

Keep in mind that the beautiful depictions of the landscape and wildlife you live in may tempt you to do the same.

Bought at Waterstones for £20.

Square One by Nell Fritzl (Bantam Press)

Nell Fritzl’s new book sounds like a chick flick on paper. Hannah was surprised that she was still single and childless in her thirties when a friend posted a wedding invitation and shared a pregnancy scan.

However, Frizel is a more sophisticated writer than the genre suggests, and Square One shares a similar spot with the recent successes of Daisy Buchanan and Megmason.

A clever and witty portrait of a modern female relationship.

Purchased at Waterstones for £14.99.

Alexandra Heminsley (Little, Brown) in the same star

Alexandra Heminsley already looks like this, thanks to a nonfiction book about running, wild swimming and transsexuals by her ex-partner with children.

Her first novel is the story of a young woman who discovers she has a stepmother and travels to Norway to find her. Heminsley has a way of exploring the relationship between a woman’s body and the landscape, as well as complex family dynamics.

Promise to be a coker.

Purchased at Waterstones for £14.99.

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