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Between the lines, this May

Amazon's editors give us the lowdown on the most promising reads of the month

The Emperor of All Maladies author Siddhartha Mukherjee traces the way that the gene has been understood and discussed over the course of history in The Gene. Mukherjee makes his life a part of the narrative as well. "There's a lot that's personal in this book," says Sara Nelson, editorial director at Amazon.com. "[Mukherjee] is a wonderful writer."
Chris Cleave's Everyone Brave is Forgiven tells the story of Mary North, a teacher in London during WWII - and a man to whom she is increasingly drawn, even as they both endure the horrors of the war. The novel has "these very witty, smart characters," says Nelson.
Vinyl co-creator Rich Cohen tells of his time spent with the Stones, and explores the group's history in his new book, The Sun & The Moon & The Rolling Stones. Cohen is "just a writer like nobody else," Nelson says, which makes his book "really fun".
Mayflower author Nathaniel Philbrick's newest nonfiction book Valiant Ambition centres on the friendship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. "The details are so specific," comments Nelson of the compelling way that Philbrick depicts events.
Robin Wasserman centres her new novel Girls on Fire on two socially troubled teenage girls, Lacey and Dex, and the damaging relationship that develops between them. "I think it's going to be really shocking to a lot of people," Nelson predicts.
Award-winning Louise Erdrich's new novel LaRose follows the story of Landreaux Iron, a native American. When Iron accidentally shoots his neighbour's child, the families address the situation in an unusual way. Despite the inciting event, Nelson says the novel is "not all grim".
Don DeLillo's new novel Zero K tells the story of Ross Lockhart, a wealthy businessman, who has holed up in a facility in Kyrgyzstan, hoping to cheat death through cryonic suspension.  "It's really about fathers and sons and mothers and sons and technology," Nelson notes.
Jennifer Haigh's new novel Heat & Light returns to Bakerton, where natural gas has been discovered and whose residents must decide whether to accept fracking. "It's about people, their homes, their land and what they give up," Nelson reveals.
Joe Hill's newest novel The Fireman is about a nurse who is affected by a sickness that is spreading across the US and a man in a fireman's jacket whom she meets and who seems to know more about the illness. "The ending is pretty strong," Nelson states.
Christian Science Monitor