Last Summer

This fast-paced, if flawed, psychological thriller from Lonsdale (All the Breaking Waves) offers an intriguing setup. San Francisco journalist Ella Skye wakes up in a hospital, where she’s told she has been in a car accident and has lost the baby she has been carrying for five months; however, Ella has no recollection of the accident or of being pregnant. Her doctors can’t explain her selective memory loss, and her fabulously wealthy, sexy, brilliant, athletic husband is evasive and “won’t make eye contact.” The couple return to their condo on Russian Hill, where the tension between them continues. Unable to find sensible answers from her friends and family, Ella decides to investigate her own past in the hope of uncovering the reason for her amnesia. Meanwhile, she’s assigned to interview rich, ruggedly handsome celebrity adventure show host Nathan Donovan. She accompanies Nathan to Alaska, where “all it takes [is]... one light touch to ignite what’s been simmering between them.” Readers are left to wander into a labyrinth where betrayal and lies wait around every turn, but weak motives and even weaker logic render the puzzle unsatisfying. Romance fans will best appreciate this one. Agent: Gordon Warnock, Fuse Literary. (July)