When we at Kirkus think of the best fiction, we consider every kind—experimental fiction in translation, absorbing family sagas, historical romances, cozy mysteries, blockbuster fantasies, graphic novels, and so much more. As other media outlets lose space for reviews,we cast our nets as widely as possible, covering a huge range of books. Here are some that made a particular impression on me.

In Audition (Riverhead, April 8), Katie Kitamura examines the nature of storytelling itself. The narrator is an actress having lunch with a man who believes he might be her son. Her husband walks into the restaurant and then walks out. Has he seen her? Once we think we know what’s going on here, Kitamura shakes things up, and the pieces land differently. “In this searing, chilly, and psychologically profound story lies insight into some harrowing human questions,” according to our review.

Maggie Stiefvater’s The Listeners (Viking, June 3) is a historical novel with a touch of the fantastical. During World War II, the U.S. government requisitions a sumptuous West Virginia hotel to hold Japanese, German, and Italian diplomats until they can be sent home. As she introduces the staff and new residents, Stiefvater will “remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place,” according to our review.

In R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis (Harper Voyager, August 26), we meet Alice Law, a graduate student in “analytic magick” at Cambridge. When her advisor dies—and it was probably her fault—she decides to travel down to Hell to bring him back. Not just because she feels bad; she really needs that letter of recommendation. “Kuang melds a fantasy adventure…with a rumination on academia’s problems to create a new take on the journey through the underworld,” according to our review.

It Had To Be Him (Forever, September 2), Adib Khorram’s latest delectable romance, follows 38-year-old Ramin Yazdani to Italy, where he’s licking his wounds after his ex broke up with him for being boring. He runs into Noah Bartlett, whom he hasn’t seen since high school. Sparks fly. Our review says, “this bighearted tale features scorching hot yet deeply realistic sexual moments and relatable, lovable characters.” Not to mention all the food and wine you could want from a trip to Italy.

There was some excellent short fiction this year, including Martha’s Daughter (McSweeney’s, September 9), David Haynes’ first collection after having published more than a dozen novels for adults and children since 1993. Our review calls it “a treasure trove of warmth, smarts, and wisdom.”

The title of The Dentist (Atlantic Crime, October 21), the opening book of Tim Sullivan’s British mystery series, refers to the murder victim, not the detective. The latter is DS George Cross, a white man on the autism spectrum; he has a high success rate in closing cases but he’s hard to work with, and he’s been given a new partner, DS Josie Ottey, a Black single mother. “Sullivan’s series kickoff is deeply character-driven,” according to our review, and is “anchored by a compelling pair of sleuths.” Atlantic Crime will be publishing six more books in the series between now and June.

Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.