Summer is right around the corner (and if you live in NYC, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s already arrived!). And we at 3RP are eager to delve into our favorite summer reads, from our press and from others! Here are our recommendations:

Amy got caught reading Crime Plus Music!

Amy Cardoza, Editorial Assistant: Crime Plus Music—I brought it to the beach. Which is perfect because they’re short stories. You can read a few stories, get a little tan, take a little nap. It fits right in with my love of thrillers and page-turners, and really keeps you interested. I also love reading James Patterson’s Alex Cross books and last year enjoyed The Girl on the Train.

Constance cuddles up with Swing State.

Constance Renfrow, Editor: Swing State by Michael Fournier. In the summer I love reading in the park, so I like to delve into a really good novel. Swing State has the perfect small town, end-of-summer feel to it—with characters jumping into reservoirs, sneaking cold beers in the woods. Every few summers or so I’ll also reread Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckling adventure The Count of Monte Cristo, and Daphne du Maurier’s super creepy mystery Rebecca is a new summer love!

Peter had to put down Dark City Lights to make lunch.

Peter Carlaftes, Co-Director: Dark City Lights edited by Lawrence Block. As an anthology, these are stories that move quickly, you can jump in, jump out—get a lingering taste of noir before putting it down and going for a swim. Then come back, read another story. Other favorites are the Parker novels by Richard Stark—a good friend of Lawrence Block. They follow Parker, a cold, calculating criminal as he teams up with other cold, calculating criminals and tries to pull off a crime, which inevitably fails and becomes a revenge story.

Kat’s snack has to wait until the end of the paragraph in Hello Devilfish.

Kat Georges, Co-Director: In the summers I like to read stuff that’s action-oriented, not heavy, or else something that’s funny or transports you to another place. If I want funny, I’ll go for Hello Devilfish! by Ron Dakron or John Marshall’s The Greenfather, but if I’m more in the mood for action, I’ll pick up Crime Plus Music or any of the Have a NYC series. I also love anything by Kurt Vonnegut, or mass-market mysteries—Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, other characters named Jack. And I like reading travel books during the summer too!