Jess Walter (born July 20, 1965) is an American author of six novels, a collection of short stories, and a non-fiction book. His books have been published in twenty-six countries and translated into twenty-eight languages. He is the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, among others, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2006.
With Friends Like These (2025) Alissa Lee "A terrific debut, the kind of smart mystery that grows ever more suspenseful as we watch a group of longtime friends begin to confront a haunted past."
Daikon (2025) Samuel Hawley "Daikon is a gripping and fascinating work of historical fiction that's so convincing I felt like I'd stumbled onto an extraordinary World War II documentary with indelible characters and haunting footage from a vantage I'd never imagined. Daikon will sweep you away."
The Horse (2024) Willy Vlautin "I loved The Horse like I love all Willy Vlautin joints - for its melodic prose and its unflinching heart. This terrific parable of art and aging, laced within the bittersweet story of an old casino musician, is like the literary equivalent of a classic album by Tom Waits or Townes Van Zandt."
Pelican Girls (2024) Julia Malye "Pelican Girls is a marvelous achievement, an immersive and moving novel, as beautifully written as it is impeccably researched. I haven't been this swept away by a piece of historical fiction since Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet."
Idlewild (2023) James Frankie Thomas "Idlewild is the funniest, most moving novel I've read in years, a story of youth and love in all its precocious glory. James Frankie Thomas channels a pair of brilliant, searching friends with precision (complete with research paper citations and fanfic), and invites the reader into its big, hidden heart."
Devil Makes Three (2023) Ben Fountain "Devil Makes Three is the sort of expansive, heartbreaking, thrilling novel I didn't realize I was missing until it grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. Writing at the peak of his considerable powers, Ben Fountain makes a harrowing period in Haiti's recent history come wonderfully and tragically alive. This morally complex novel is why we read fiction."
Dayswork (2023) Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel "I was equally charmed and fascinated by Dayswork, this slender but capacious book about marriage and solitude, about Melville and Hawthorne, about literature and obsession and whether they might not be the same thing. Wry, intimate, and wholly original, the novel surprised me and edified me with every page I eagerly turned."
The Stolen Coast (2023) Dwyer Murphy "I loved the dark, twisty world that Dwyer Murphy conjures in The Stolen Coast, which is as smart and stylish a crime novel as any fan of noir and basketball (or mussels and jewelry heists, for that matter) could ever want."
Return to Valetto (2023) Dominic Smith "I was completely charmed and transported by Return to Valetto, Dominic Smith's smart, engaging novel about the secrets held within a dying Italian village. This terrific novel, about loss and family and the weight of history, is probably as close as I'll ever get to buying one of those picturesque Italian villas, and surely a wiser investment."
The Weight (2023) Jeff Boyd "You've never met a fictional character quite like Julian Strickland, the soulful, searching character at the heart of Jeff Boyd's wondrous new novel, The Weight. It's a delight to watch him drum, stumble and sleep his way across the pale, smoky clubs of Portland, Oregon in this moving, comic and prodigious debut."
Homestead (2023) Melinda Moustakis "Moustakis's writing is so good, so precise, so strong, and so deeply felt that it immediately creates a sense of time and place, and builds a quiet suspense about Marie and taciturn Lawrence. Homestead manages to be laconic and wry and visceral and primal and almost subversive in its depiction of marriage as a lovely, profound hardship."
Two Nurses, Smoking (2022) David Means "Midway through the title story of his dazzling new collection, Two Nurses, Smoking, David Means suddenly reverses course on the tale you've been reading, about two soul-weary health care workers embarking on a tentative romance."
Mercury Pictures Presents (2022) Anthony Marra "Mercury Pictures Presents is a wonder--intimate and sweeping, heartfelt and satirical, one of the funniest and most moving novels I've read in a long time. A novel of fascism, war, and refugees finding freedom through art and storytelling, it's both a joy to read and highly relevant to our times."
Fire Season (2022) Leyna Krow "Devilishly funny and endlessly inventive, Fire Season is a remarkable debut novel, a wry alternate history of Northwest schemers, dreamers and scorched earth. Leyna Krow is a wildly talented young writer."
The Long Answer (2022) Anna Hogeland "A brilliant debut, both coolly empathetic and searingly personal, a powerful bridge between fiction's two current modes. Anna Hogeland writes beautifully, with unwavering passion and insight, about the complexities of motherhood and female relationships."
It All Comes Down to This (2022) Therese Anne Fowler "A smart and lively novel, one that had me turning its faster and faster, wondering if this indelible family could really untangle the deep lies that reveal an even deeper truth."
Body Grammar (2022) Jules Ohman "A terrific debut, cool and laconic on its glamorous surface, but roiling with deep questions of identity and art, love, and the irrepressible need for meaning in life. Jules Ohman is a young writer worth watching."
Forbidden City (2022) Vanessa Hua "Forbidden City is a wonderful novel, immersive and fascinating. Vanessa Hua writes with an audacious mix of intimacy and narrative sweep about one of the most enigmatic figures and most misunderstood moments in history."
The Good Left Undone (2022) Adriana Trigiani "At once epic and intimate, a delightful novel about the mysterious lore of an unforgettable Italian family whose characters walk right off the page."
The Family Chao (2022) Lan Samantha Chang "I loved Lan Samantha Chang's The Family Chao, at once a brilliant reimagining of Dostoevsky and a wholly original and gripping story about the passions, rivalries, and searing pressures that roil a singular immigrant family."
Appleseed (2021) Matt Bell "This is a fiercely original book—at once intimate and epic, visceral and philosophical—that sent me scurrying for adjectives, for precedents, for cover. Matt Bell commands the page with bold, vigorous prose and may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas."
Truly Like Lightning (2021) David Duchovny "Truly Like Lightning is a terrific novel--smart, moving, propulsive--at once a satire of Hollywood power brokers and a dead-serious contemplation of American values and ideals. David Duchovny writes with the heart of a great comic novelist and the soul of a philosopher."
Such a Fun Age (2019) Kiley Reid "Such a Fun Age is such a fabulous book-a crisp, wry, and insightful novel about class, race, and relationships. Kiley Reid is a gifted young writer with a generosity that makes her keen social eye that much funnier and sharper."
Come with Me (2018) Helen Schulman "Come with Me is an inventive and incisive novel about the way we live now and the way we might have lived. Helen Schulman is a gifted and generous writer."
Mr. Dickens and His Carol (2017) Samantha Silva "Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a novel of pure charm and humor, a terrific holiday tale. Samantha Silva had me haunting those dark streets alongside her inspired Dickens."
Midnight At the Bright Ideas Bookstore (2017) Matthew Sullivan "With Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, Matthew Sullivan has written - with great panache and suspense - a smart, twisty crime novel filled with compelling characters set in a world that book-lovers will adore."
The Lost History of Stars (2017) Dave Boling "Dave Boling has a rare gift for finding humanity in historical fiction. His new novel, The Lost History of Stars, is another gripping tale about living in war’s barbaric shadow, and how moments of decency and heroism and glimpses of the natural world sustain us."
Call Me Home (2015) Megan Kruse "Call Me Home is an uncommonly powerful debut novel. Megan Kruse writes with great heart and intelligence as she crafts a gripping story from the shards of a broken family."
Third Rail (2014) (Eddy Harkness, book 1) Rory Flynn "Third Rail gets off to a ripping start and never lets off the gas."
(b.1965)
