Death in the Air (2024) Ram Murali "Unexpected delights await on every page of Ram Murali's impressive and captivating debut. Crisp as a gin and tonic and delightfully wicked, this smart, smart novel delivers a sophisticated, subversive murder mystery set in the highest stratosphere of the international idle rich. I had to force myself not to binge it in one night so I could savor it like the rare and exquisite meal that it is."
Wives Like Us (2024) Plum Sykes "Wives Like Us made me laugh so hard I actually knocked over my lamp. Can a book be so wickedly smart, so effortless, so chic and hilarious that you would stumble through the night to find a new lightbulb just so you can keep reading way past your bedtime? In a word, yes."
Pineapple Street (2023) Jenny Jackson "Nothing beats a story told this well.... I could not stop laughing at this hilarious insider's view of Brooklyn Heights WASPs. Truly the smartest and most deliciously fun novel I've read in ages."
The Goddess Effect (2022) Sheila Yasmin Marikar "The Goddess Effect is a fall-on-the-floor funny, fresh, and modern take on one woman's journey to hell and back - and by 'hell and back,' I mean a three-month stay in Los Angeles. Here, the devil smells of Santal 33, has hair that cascades in beachy waves, and wears this season's Rick Owens. Our charming tour guide of Hades on the 405 is Anita Kathlikar, the hilarious love child of Bridget Jones and Lucille Ball who I didn't know I needed but ended up loving more than I can tell you. Sheila Yasmin Marikar is a pitch-perfect comic genius who delivers a sparkling miracle of a book that left me asking: What exactly is my soul's highest purpose and what exactly is the best Instagram filter for this picture of my power greens smoothie and collagen toast?"
Songs in Ursa Major (2021) Emma Brodie "I’ve never read a book that so uniquely captures the experience of creativity and the shimmering coolness of being in a recording studio as music history is made. Emma Brodie perfectly channels the languorous romance of the time and the beautiful struggle of an artistic soul trying to break free. So many of the passages throughout Songs in Ursa Major are such pure poetry, I got chills as I read them. I could drink a case of this book, and I’d still be on my feet."
How to Kidnap the Rich (2021) Rahul Raina "Rahul Raina's voice crackles with wit and the affecting exuberance of youth. His ripping good story grabs you on page one and doesn't let go, taking you on a monstrously funny and unpredictable wild ride through a thousand different Delhis at top speed. How To Kidnap the Rich roars with brilliance, freshness and so much heart."
Lurkers (2021) Sandi Tan "How is Lurkers simultaneously hilarious and horrifying? I’ll tell you how: PURE GENIUS. Sandi Tan populates Santa Claus Lane, her leafy corner of suburban LA, with such viscerally original characters that I found myself laughing at their outrageousness while nodding at their familiar humanity. Every page of this wildly original book is a surprise and a delight."
Polite Society (2018) Mahesh Rao "So funny, smart, sophisticated and captivating, you just want to spend your whole life with it."
The People We Hate at the Wedding (2017) Grant Ginder "Not only does it have the best title in the universe, The People We Hate At The Wedding is wickedly smart and shamelessly funny."
