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On a recent broadcast of NPR's Morning Edition, librarian and bibliophile extraordinaire Nancy Pearl discussed nine books she termed "under the radar reads" - books you might not have heard of that make wonderful reading as the summer winds down towards the busy days of autumn.

Of her nine summer reading choices, seven are currently available in Kindle editions:

The Good Son, by Michael Gruber. THRILLER. Henry Holt. Print Length: 400 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In this richly layered tale, Sonia Laghari’s attempt to convene a conference in Pakistan called 'Conflict Resolution on the Subcontinent: A Therapeutic Approach' goes awry when the conferees are abducted by jihadis and told that one of them will be beheaded after each fresh infidel outrage. In the U.S., Sonia’s commando son, Theo, instigates a plot to bring about a military-backed rescue. But Sonia, with her wiles and her understanding of her captors, just might rescue herself. That’s the simple outline, but one of many pleasures in The Good Son is the way Gruber confounds simple explanations. Sonia, for example, is a Catholic Pole who converted to Islam before writing books that scandalized the Islamic world. She practices both religions without compunction and is a Jungian psychologist, to boot. And, before he became a shooter for the U.S. Intelligence Support Detachment, Theo was a mujahedeen hero in Afghanistan. (Trust us, it works.) ...there are twists and tension aplenty - ideas, too. If only governments were half as interested in the psychology of violence, maybe war itself might become a work of fiction. - Keir Graff for Booklist.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...one of those few and far between thrillers that, in addition to providing the requisite thrills, is both complex, intelligent and gives us a fully developed cast of characters."

Instead of a Letter, by Diana Athill. MEMOIR. W. W. Norton & Company. Print Length: 237 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"As a young woman, Diana Athill was engaged to an air force pilot. Instead of a Letter tells how he broke off the engagement, married someone else, and, worst of all, died overseas before she could confront or forgive him. Evoking perfectly the picturesque country setting of her youth, this fearless and profoundly honest story of love and modern womanhood marks the beginning of Athill's brilliant literary career." - Publisher.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...to my mind, still her best memoir... I loved it when I read it in 1962 and lent copies to all my friends until it went out of print. But now, mirabile dictu, her publisher has remedied this situation and made Instead of a Letter available for a new generation of readers."

Finding George Orwell in Burma, by Emma Larkin. TRAVEL. Penguin. Print Length: 304 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The author, an American journalist fluent in Burmese, writing under a pseudonym, notes that there's a joke in Burma (now Myanmar) that Orwell wrote not one novel about the country, but three: Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984. The first takes place during the British colonial days, while the latter two, Larkin argues, more closely reflect the situation there today... Indeed, providing an accurate representation of Burmese life proves daunting, as Larkin encounters a nation bristling with informants and paranoia. Her language skills, however, allow her to glean information and mingle with the country's reserved and cautious intelligentsia. In addition to Larkin's depiction of the political landscape, the book also features wonderfully vibrant descriptions of the land and people. Larkin's prose is striking and understated, and she allows the people she meets to speak their parts without editorializing. In this way, she comes across not as an idealist but rather as an inquisitive and trustworthy guide to the underlying reality of a country whose leaders would rather have outsiders focus only on their carefully constructed veneer." - Publishers Weekly.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...a lively combination of biography and armchair travel..."

Blood Harvest, by S. J. Bolton. THRILLER. Minotaur Books. Print Length: 384 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The Fletchers' beautiful new house is everything they dreamed it would be. Built between two churches in Heptonclough, a small village on the moors that time forgot, it ought to be paradise for this young family of five, but they barely have a chance to settle in before they find that they’re anything but welcome. Someone seems to be trying to drive them away - at first with silly pranks but then with threats that become increasingly dangerous, especially to the oldest child, ten-year-old Tom Fletcher, who begins to believe that someone is always watching him. The adults in Tom’s life are trying to help, including his parents; the vicar next door, younger and more dashing than you’d expect a vicar to be; and a therapist, Evi Oliver, who believes him more than she wants to. But there are other clues that something isn’t quite right in Heptonclough..." - Amazon.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...a top-notch psychological mystery by a novelist who adroitly melds the natural and (possibly) supernatural into a spine-tingling gothic thriller."

Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay. NOVEL. Penguin. Print Length: 592 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Historical fantasist Kay delivers an exquisitely detailed vision of Kitan, a land much like Tang Dynasty China. Shen Tai's father died leading troops in battle, so he spends his mourning year burying the bones of soldiers on both sides, laying their ghosts to rest. He attracts the attention of Cheng-wan, a princess of his people sent to wed one of the enemy. As her gifts make Shen Tai wealthy, an assassin kills his best friend. Shen Tai hires a bodyguard, Wei Song, to keep him alive while he figures out what to do with his riches and who wants him dead...the complex intrigues of poets, prostitutes, ministers, and soldiers evolve into a fascinating, sometimes bloody, and entirely believable tale." - Publishers Weekly.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...historical fiction at its absolute best. It's gorgeously written and, though thoroughly researched, wears its scholarship lightly."

Last Night in Montreal, by Emily St. John Mandel. NOVEL. Unbridled Books. Print Length: 256 p. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"When Lilia Albert is seven, the father she has not seen in more than a year suddenly appears in the middle of the night and steals her away from her rural Canadian home. She is never again seen by her mother or brother. Instead, her independently wealthy dad moves her from one U.S. city to another, along the way educating her in matters both practical and not. Is he a spurned ex-husband who refuses to accept the court's custody decision? Or is he Lilia's savior, taking her away from something awful? When the novel opens, Lilia is a twentysomething Brooklyn dishwasher living with a disgruntled grad student named Eli Jacobs. When Lilia unceremoniously leaves him - a pattern she's perfected - Eli is bereft. As he obsessively searches for her, the story integrates the viewpoints of private investigator Christopher Graydon and Graydon's neglected daughter, Michaela, who has long resented Lilia's looming presence in her family's life." - Eleanor J. Bader for School Library Journal.

Nancy Pearl comments: "Each of the characters - major and minor - is wholly alive, three-dimensional in all their complexity, bad choices, general quirkiness and flawed decisions... And the writing simply blew me away."

The Lotus Eaters, by Tatjana Soli. NOVEL. St. Martin's Press. Print Length: 400 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"On a stifling day in 1975, the North Vietnamese army is poised to roll into Saigon. As the fall of the city begins, two lovers make their way through the streets to escape to a new life. Helen Adams, an American photojournalist, must take leave of a war she is addicted to and a devastated country she has come to love. Linh, the Vietnamese man who loves her, must grapple with his own conflicted loyalties of heart and homeland. As they race to leave, they play out a drama of devotion and betrayal that spins them back through twelve war-torn years, beginning in the splendor of Angkor Wat, with their mentor, larger-than-life war correspondent Sam Darrow, once Helen's infuriating love and fiercest competitor, and Linh's secret keeper, boss and truest friend." - Amazon.

Nancy Pearl comments: "...a devastatingly awesome novel. It's one of those books that I didn't want to put down - I resented everything else that I needed to do in my life, because I didn't want to stop reading it."