Tag: 4.5 stars

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Squadpod Squadpod Book Club Squadpod Recommends

SQUADPOD BOOK CLUB REVIEW: The Treasures by Harriet Evans

Publised July 2nd, 2026 by Viking
Historical Fiction, Saga, Domestic Fiction

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The unputdownable love story spanning continents, years and families, from the Sunday Times bestselling author – the perfect holiday read for fans of Eve Chase, Lucinda Riley, and Kate Morton.

***

One golden summer. One missing treasure. And a secret that binds two lives together.

Every year, Alice’s father gives her a treasure. Then on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, her final gift vanishes – along with the fragile certainty of her world. Alice runs, towards New York City and away from the memories of that last summer at the orchard where she grew up.

Across the Atlantic, Tom has always felt that something is missing from his life. When he finds a long-forgotten letter, it leads him away from Sevenstones – the house at the heart of his family for generations – and towards a truth no one has ever fully told.

From post-war London to 1960s New York, Alice and Tom’s stories become entwined. But will the secrets of their past bring them together, or break them apart?

BOOK REVIEW

********

MY REVIEW:

Poignant, immersive and compelling, The Treasures is a sweeping saga about family, love, loss, secrets, trauma and intertwining destinies. Spanning multiple countries and years, we go from post-war London to hippies living in 1960s New York, following Alice and Tom as they search for answers about their families that leads them back to one summer, a missing treasure and a long-buried secret that binds their lives and their families together. 

Beautifully written, deftly plotted and expertly interwoven, Harriet Evans has crafted an absolute masterpiece. She explores topics including grief, mental illness and the ripple/ricochet effects of trauma, writing in a way that manages to be both sensitive and real. In particular, her descriptions of grief are so evocative, raw and real that I was close to tears many times. My heart shattered for Alice and her mum. Harriet expertly puts us in the characters’ shoes and makes us feel everything they do at every step. 

The story is filled with characters who are messy and painfully human but also charismatic. They pull you into their world and make you care about their lives. Alice and Tom were great protagonists, but the character I found most fascinating was Teddy and I was so glad we got to learn more about her as the story went on. And her arc was certainly the one that surprised me most of all. Both families are steeped in dysfunction, which Harriet writes so skillfully, slowly peeling back the layers to reveal the darkest secrets they would rather keep hidden.

I enjoyed trying to predict what direction the story would take and how Alice and Tom’s lives would entwine. And would Alice find her final treasure? I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out but at times I had no idea how Harriet was going to tie it all together. But, as we approached the finale she pulled it off with finesse. I loved the ending and am so glad this is the first in a series as I need more from this family. I need the second instalment now! 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you to Viking for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hello lovely readers. Thank you for stopping by. Here’s a bit more about me and my books:

I’m the author of fourteen novels.

I’ve been a Richard and Judy book club selection twice and have shaken both Richard and Judy’s hands. I have sold over a million copies and been a Top Ten bestseller and still can’t believe I am lucky enough to be a writer.

I used to work in publishing editing some wonderful authors including Penny Vincenzi, Marian Keyes and Sue Townsend but my proudest moment was reissuing LACE as a very junior editor at Penguin.

In June 2025 my novel THE TREASURES will be published by Penguin. It is the first in a trilogy about a family, the Ravens, over a fifty years, from their beginnings to the present day. I am so excited about people reading it and can’t wait to hear what you think. I am really proud of it. I’m currently writing the second in the trilogy- more soon.

My favourite writers write the kind of books you find on holiday home shelves with faded covers and I want my books to have the same effect: Daphne du Maurier, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Rosamunde Pilcher, Penny Vincenzi, Dorothy L Sayers, Susan Howatch, Sally Beauman, Georgette Heyer, all of the Brontes, and of course Jane Austen.

I love musicals, karaoke, long hilly walks in the countryside, hedgerows (also Bramley Hedge), old Laura Ashley catalogues, Cheers and Frasier, peppermint creams and reading.

I have a very large fluffy cat whom we adopted last year when he decided to move into our house without consulting anyone else. It is like living with Ken from the Barbie movie.

I have two daughters. They are embarrassed by everything I do. Girls i’m only getting started, sorry.

I live in Bath, home of Jane Austen and Bath buns (but full disclosure have never had a Bath bun).

Last year I published my first murder mystery under the name Harriet F Townson, D is for Death, set in 1935 and featuring detective Dora Wildwood who finds a body in a library. There will be more Dora books, I don’t know when, but I adored writing it and her.

I am on the management committee of the Society of Authors, fighting for better deals for authors, talking about the dangers of AI, ghostwriters, bad contracts, ghosting, royalties and other issues facing authors. I volunteer with Inspiring the Future, aiming to widen aspiration for all children, and am an ambassador for the London Library.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

This post contains affiliate links

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: Pride, Prejudice and Peril by Jessica Bull

Publised September 17th, 2026 by Michael Joseph
Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Cozy Mystery

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Jane Austen is preparing for the summer season.

As guests of their wealthy relatives Mr and Mrs Leigh-Perrot, Jane and her sister Cassandra will be holidaying in Bath Spa – the world-famous health resort, and more importantly, the epicentre of the marriage mart.

For many, the summer will be spent hunting husbands. But for Jane, when a series of murders breaks out across the city, she must chase down a killer instead.

With her beloved sister by her side, Jane is determined to bring the murderer to justice. Can she stop this villain from taking any more victims, before the summer ends? Or will her only dance of the season be with death…

BUY HERE

********

MY REVIEW:

October 1799. Jane and her sister Cassandra are staying with their wealthy aunt and uncle in Bath Spa – a place famous for healing health and the epicentre of the marriage mart. But Jane isn’t interested in either of those things. She is here to try and forge links to the literary world. However, things soon take a very different turn when her aunt is accused of theft and a gentleman’s body is pulled from the River Avon. There is a mystery waiting to be solved and Jane and Cassandra are on the case. Soon, they find links between the two cases and a mysterious man named Mr. Rex who is trying to blackmail them. Who is Mr. Rex? And how did he discover their secrets? Can they find him and stop him before he claims another victim?

Charming, witty and uplifting, we’re back with another delightful whodunnit featuring amateur detective Jane Austen. Exquisitely written, cleverly crafted and richly imagined, Jessica Bull transports us back in time and immerses us in Jane’s world, where there always seems to be a new mystery that needs to be solved. In this installment there are a number of different investigations at first, but it soon becomes clear there are links between them. The cases are cryptic and complex, with many threads to unravel and a multitude of suspects, but our intrepid heroine doesn’t give up and eventually puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Jane is a fabulous protagonist. Intelligent and feisty, she knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. I love how she rallies against societal norms, pursuing a career in literature instead of settling down and finding a husband. One of my favourite things about this series is Jane’s bonds with her siblings, particularly the close bond between Jane and her elder sister, Cassandra, who often helps Jane in her investigations. In this book their bond seems closer than ever and I loved watching them work together. They are very different, but those differences compliment one another and help them as they try to solve a case. 

So if you’re looking for a cosy mystery that is also an absolute riot, this is the book for you.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thanks to Vic at Insta Book Tours for the invitation to take part in the blog tour and Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessica Bull lives in South East London with her husband and two daughters. A former librarian and communications consultant, she studied English literature at Bristol University and information science at City, University of London. Miss Austen Investigates, her debut novel, was published in 2024. Pride, Prejudice and Peril is her fourth book.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

This post contains affiliate links

Categories
Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: One of the Family by Mark Edwards

Published June 18th, 2026 by Michael Joseph
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In this family, some secrets are worth killing for…

‘Ingenious and chilling in equal measure‘ M.J. ARLIDGE
‘Backstabbingly brilliant with twist after twist’ JOHN MARRS
‘Relatable yet nerve-shredding… a master of the page-turning twist’ CHRIS CHIBNALL


The outstanding new psychological thriller from Mark Edwards, the 5 million copy-bestselling author of The Wasp Trap, Here to Stay and The Magpies

*****
Holly seems like the perfect girlfriend. Clever, funny, beautiful – Patrick feels like he’s hit the jackpot.

Until he meets her family.

Her dad has a mysterious new girlfriend. Her sister is unwelcoming. Her brother is clearly lying about something. And Patrick gets the sense all of them share a dark secret – even Holly.

When he finds out about the body that was found nearby on their last family holiday, Patrick sets out to find the truth.

But as skeletons tumble out of the family’s closet, Patrick realises he needs to be careful. Because in this family, loyalty is everything – and at least one of them is willing to kill to keep their secrets…

BOOK REVIEW

********

MY REVIEW:

Mark Edwards never fails to deliver a tense, twisty and totally gripping thriller where terrible things happen to ordinary people, this time taking the everyday ‘meeting the parents’ situation and turning it into a nightmare. Because if you think your family has problems, then just wait until you meet the Grant family…

Patrick and Holly are on their way to Scotland to spend Hogmanay with her family. It’s the first time he’s met her family but the tension between them is evident from the moment they arrive. Not only that, Holly’s father, Charles, has a new and much younger girlfriend who is a bizarre doppelganger of his late wife, her brother, Lewis, is lying about something, and Patrick is sure that the whole family are hiding a dark secret.  Then, Patrick learns about the body that was found nearby a year ago and sets out to discover what happened to him, truths are slowly revealed that seem to lead back to the Grant family. Patrick knows he must watch his back, because someone in this family is willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden…

I love a locked-room thriller, especially when people are trapped by a snow-storm. So this was right up my street. Add in that it’s written by one of my favourite thriller authors and you’ve got the perfect thriller. Expertly written, cleverly plotted and perfectly paced, there’s a dark, unnerving tension that permeates the pages and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. And it’s not easy to predict, keeping me guessing until Mark made my jaw drop as the shocking truths were revealed.

I’ve seen this book described as Succession meets The Traitors and that is a perfect description. This family is backstabbing, dysfunctional and the perfect example of the adage “money doesn’t buy happiness”. This is a family teeming with secrets, lies and distrust. Patriarch Charles expects fierce loyalty but for Patrick their secrets are too terrible for him to agree to keep them, which puts him in danger. Other than Holly I didn’t like anyone in this family. They are all awful people who are only out for themselves and don’t care who gets hurt so long as they are protected but Mark writes them brilliantly, making their malice leap from the pages.

A nerve-shredding, first-class thriller, this is a must-read.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest reivew.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers about scary things happening to ordinary people. He has sold more than five million copies of his books and topped the bestseller lists numerous times since his first solo novel was published in 2013.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

This post contains affiiliate links

Categories
Audio Books Beat the Backlist book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: How To Disappear by Gillian McAllister

Published July 9th, 2020 by Michael Joseph
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Legal Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Political Fiction

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The gripping Sunday Times bestseller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page

‘Bravo! Gripping and emotional – a cracking read’ Clare Mackintosh

‘A relentless drumroll of suspense . . . ranks among the best psychological-suspense thrillers of recent years’ A. J. Finn

You can run, you can hide, but can you disappear for good?

Lauren’s daughter Zara witnessed a terrible crime. But speaking up comes with a price, and when Zara’s identity is revealed online, it puts a target on her back.

The only choice is to disappear.

To keep Zara safe, Lauren will give up everything and everyone she loves, even her husband.

There will be no goodbyes. Their pasts will be rewritten. New names, new home, new lives.

The rules are strict for a reason. They are being hunted. One mistake – a text, an Instagram like – could bring their old lives crashing into the new.

They can never assume someone isn’t watching, waiting.

As Lauren will learn, disappearing is easy. Staying hidden is harder . . .

BUY HERE

********

MY REVIEW:

After witnessing a group of young men stabbing a homeless man to death, Zara speaks up and testifies in court. The young men, who were promising footballers, are outraged that they have lost their careers and had their life ruined. Her identity is revealed online and Zara’s life is now in danger. There is only one solution: Zara and her mother, Lauren, must disappear…

Heart-stoppingly tense, twisty and addictive, I binged this book in under a day. Nobody goes heart-pounding tension and twists that make your jaw drop like Gillian McAllister, and this book is the perfect example of why she’s one of my favourite thriller authors. Masterfully written and skillfully choreographed, this is a story that held me tight by the heartstrings whilst keeping me on the edge of my seat. And make sure you clear your schedule before you start reading, because once you pick this one up you won’t be able to put it down. It’s emotional, hard to predict and so twisty it gave me book whiplash. And that ending! A round of applause Ms. McAllister for one of the best thriller endings I’ve ever read. It’s been a few weeks and I’m still not over it.

Before Zara witnesses the crime, she, Lauren, Aiden and Poppy are an ordinary blended family. But after Zara’s identity is revealed they are dropped into a nightmare. Lauren and Aiden have difficult decisions to make that could tear their family apart. It is so emotional as well as tense, and really made me think about what I would have done in their situation. My heart broke for them, but especially for Zara. Being a teenager is hard at the best of times, but being a teenager when you’re having to hide your identity, run from people trying to kill you and worry about everything you say and do, is impossible.

Thriller lovers, you don’t want to miss this book! 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you Michael Joseph and Netgaelly for provoding me with a proof copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gillian McAllister  is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of nine stand-alone novels. Her books have been selected for the Radio 2 Book Club, Reese’s Book Club and the Richard & Judy Book Club. Her previous novel, Wrong Place Wrong Time, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and was shortlisted for The British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Book of the Year and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Gillian’s books are published in thirty-eight languages.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

This post contains affililate links

Categories
Audio Books Beat the Backlist book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: A Beautiful Way To Die by Eleni Kyriacou

Published May 8th, 2025 by Head of Zeus
Historical Fiction, Crime Fiction, Thriller, Historical Thriller, Mystery, Hollywood Noir

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Don’t miss the new novel from Eleni Kyriacou, author of BBC Between the Covers pick The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou.

‘Deeply atmospheric… From movie star glamour to the rotten core of fame, I couldn’t put this down.’ LOUISE HARE
‘Evocative, tense, seductive.’ TAMMY COHEN

PLAY THEIR GAME
Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.

DO WHAT THEY SAY
London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.

OR THEY’LL BURY YOU
Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.

A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon.

buy here

********

MY REVIEW:

A captivating exploration of the dark underbelly of Hollywood that lies beneath the glitz, glamour and fame, A Beautiful Way To Die is enthralling, taut and poignant. Written with style, pose, beauty and packing a strong emotional punch, it has a cinematic edge that makes it feel perfect for the big screen. Cleverly plotted and intricately interwoven, Eleni Kyriacou had me in her thrall from start to finish with her red herrings and surprising twists.  A superb story of feminism, friendships, secrets, misogyny and true crime, I inhaled this book in under a day.

Moving between L.A and London in the 1950s we follow the stories of four women: disgraced Hollywood starlet Stella, actress Ginny who is trying to make it big in Hollywood, make-up artist Maggie and an unnamed woman who has been locked in a sanatorium. The world they inhabit is very much a man’s world. A time when misogyny is rife, women have come to expect sexual assault and men’s misdeeds are covered up, especially in Hollywood. They are seen as disposable and easily replaced. This brings us to Stan Fisher is a Hollywood exec and ‘fixer’. He not only runs the studio and rules these women’s lives, he also covers up the men’s actions. But although there are dire consequences for stepping out of line, these women refuse to stay quiet and are fighting back.

I loved these fierce, strong and sassy women who pushed back and refused to behave. It’s because of brave women like them we have the rights we do today and I was cheering them on every step of the way. They and the other characters were charismatic, captivating and richly drawn. There are some truly vile, odious brutes who enraged me and the book is overflowing with unreliable narrators so we never feel sure about who we can trust. But it was the  mysterious, unnamed woman in the asylum I felt drawn to the most. Who was she? What is the truth behind the haunting flashes of memory she keeps having? I had a few theories but none of them were correct and my jaw hit the floor when her identity was finally revealed. 

And don’t miss the author’s note at the end with some fascinating facts and insight into the story.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

​Eleni Kyriacou was born and raised in London to Greek Cypriot parents. She’s an award-winning editor and journalist and she has appeared in publications such as the Guardian, the Observer, Marie Claire, Red and Stella. She’s written on a wide range of topics including adoption, relationships, travel, self-development, the arts and women’s health.

Her first novel She Came to Stay was published by Hodder in 2020, and her second, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou (Head of Zeus, 2023) was a BBC 2’s Between the Covers pick.

A Beautiful Way to Die (Head of Zeus) was published in 2025.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

This post contains affiliate links

Categories
Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2026

BOOK REVIEW: West of Wicked by Nikki St. Crowe

Published April 16th, 2026 by Tor Bramble
Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

💚 A dark, sexy, and twisted reimagining of The Wizard of Oz from USA Today bestselling author Nikki St. Crowe 💚

No one is safe on the yellow brick road.

Dorothy Gale doesn’t know where she came from. At the age of five, she was dropped on Em and Henry’s doorstep while a terrible storm rolled across the Kansas prairie. Now as an adult, Dorothy has made the most of her life on the farm. But when a cyclone tears through the night, ripping her, her dog, and the farmhouse away, Dorothy wakes to find herself far from home in the strange, cursed land of Oz.

Desperate to find her way back, Dorothy takes the advice of the Witch of the North and sets off on the yellow brick road to find a wizard . . . with a warning to avoid forest monsters, heartless mercenaries, and wicked witches. It isn’t long before Dorothy encounters the dark side of Oz, stumbling on a man beaten and bloody, tied to a pole in a cornfield. Not unlike the scarecrows on the Kansas farm.

With no memories, the mysterious stranger joins Dorothy. Rook is ridiculously handsome, endlessly charming, and somehow understands Dorothy in a way no one ever has. But when they cross paths with the infamous Tinman and his axe, Rook proves he may be hiding his own secrets.

Nothing and no one is what they seem in the cursed land of Oz . . . maybe even Dorothy herself.

Tropes:

Wizard of Oz Retelling 💚
Forbidden Love ❤️‍🔥
Rambunctious Dog 🐕
Journey of Self Discovery 👩
Hidden Identity 🫣
Witchy 🧙 ‍
Villain gets the girl 🖤
Cyclone Shenanigans 🌀
Murder 🔪
Morally Grey Characters 🩶
Hot and Equally Evil Brothers 👬

********

MY REVIEW:

I am a life-long Ozian. I have loved and been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz ever since I first saw the film when I was three years old. I love the book, too, and collect anything and everything I can to do with Oz. So, when I saw that a new reimagining of the book was being released, I immediately added it to my TBR. And then when I saw the US version with those beautiful, intricate Emerald City spredges, I knew it was worth the extra cost to have it in my collection. 

We all know the basic story: a girl trapped inside a house gets caught in a cyclone and wakes up in the land of Oz, and on top of the Witch of the East. She then follows the yellowbrick road all the way to the Emerald City where she sees the Wizard of Oz and asks to be sent home. But her return journey has a price: she must kill the Wicked Witch of the West. I’ll admit, being such a fan of the original, part of me was apprehensive about actually reading a version that was bound to be very different. But I couldn’t resist. 

This retelling has a similar premise to the original. Except Dorothy is a teenager not a little girl, she has a boyfriend who she has sex with and smokes pot. The story once she’s in Oz follows a similar trajectory to the original, with minor changes that bring it up to date, make it a little more edgy or make it a little different. It did take me a little bit of time to get used to the more grown up version of Dorothy and some of the changes, but I was quickly immersed in the story and loved being in this version of Oz. But it was over far too quickly and I’m now left waiting impatiently for the second installment in the series. 

A dark, gritty and sexy reimagining that Oz and fantasy fans will enjoy, I highly recommend this book.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you to Bookbreak for sending me a proof copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nikki St. Crowe is a USA Today Bestselling Author of several romantasy novels, including the #1 Amazon Bestselling Series, Vicious Lost Boys.

When not writing about villains getting the girl, and the girl getting the power, Nikki can be found with her husband and daughter on the shores of Lake Michigan hunting for the perfect sunset.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

This post conatains affiliate links

Categories
Audio Books Beat the Backlist book reviews

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Published 1967 by Vintage
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The classic, atmospheric Australian thriller about the mysterious disappearance of a group of young girls.

A cloudless summer day in the year nineteen hundred…

Everyone at Appleyard College for Young Ladies agreed it was just right for a picnic at Hanging Rock. After lunch, a group of three girls climbed into the blaze of the afternoon sun, pressing on through the scrub into the shadows of Hanging Rock. Further, higher, till at last they disappeared.

They never returned.

Is Picnic at Hanging Rock fact or fiction? Only you can truly decide.

BUY HERE

********

MY REVIEW:

Australia, 14th February 1900. On a sweltering summer’s day an idyllic picnic for the students at an exclusive ladies boarding school turns into a nightmare when three girls and their governess go missing at Hanging Rock. Eight days later, one of the girls is found, but she has no memories of what happened. The other two girls and their governess are never seen again. 

Atmospheric, mysterious, hypnotic and ambiguous, Picnic at Hanging Rock is a mesmerising story. This 1967 classic has been on my TBR for many years. I became fascinated with the story after seeing the movie as a teenager and for many years I believed it was based on a true story. When I learned that it was actually a work of fiction, I knew I needed to read it. This month I finally decided to pick it up and listened to it on audiobook, which was a great choice as not only did the Australian accent of the narrator make it feel authentic, but the pipe music between each chapter adds to the haunting and unsettling vibe. 

A sunny but sinister story, the book transports us back to 1900. A gorgeously gothic and melancholy Edwardian tale, Joan Lindsey’s evocative storytelling vividly sets the scene from the start. There is a hazy, dreamlike quality. A fever-dream where you are never quite sure what is real and what is fiction. I was enthralled and completely lost in the world Lindsay had created. It’s a story that captures the imagination. A puzzle steeped in the supernatural and unexplained that is waiting to be solved. But it ultimately remains without resolution. And that unending mystery is part of what makes this story so haunting and eerie.

Hanging Rock itself is an important part of this story, almost feeling like a character in its own right. An ancient place infused with mystery that is an indigenous sacred site, the book capitalises on that atmosphere to create a modern myth. It leaves us wondering if the rock really can devour people and make them vanish into thin air. And how did three people manage to disappear without a single trace? 

Beautiful, languorous, obscure and unnerving, this is a perfect summer read that will linger long after reading.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joan Lindsay was born Joan à Beckett Weigall in Melbourne, Australia, in 1896. She attended Clyde Girls Grammar School, the model for Appleyard College in Picnic at Hanging Rock, and the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, where she studied painting. On Valentine’s Day 1922 she married Daryl Lindsay in London. She chose Valentine’s Day 1900 as the setting for Picnic at Hanging Rock, her best-known work, which was first published in 1967 and is the basis for the 1975 film of the same name by Peter Weir. She died in Melbourne in 1984.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

*This post contains affiliate links

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BOOK REVIEW: The Night Stairs by Erin Kelly

Publised July 9th, 2026 by Harvill Secker
Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Every school has its scandals. This one could be fatal.

‘Had me hooked from page one’ JENNIE GODFREY
‘Deliciously dark’ JANE FALLON
‘Relentlessly gripping…Original, atmospheric’ LUCY CLARKE

Centuries of tradition are coming to an end at St Cordula’s Catholic boarding school. Deputy Head, Fiona Fox, is about to preside over a controversial move to save it from ruin.

Legend has it that the ghost of fifteenth-century nun, Sister Matilda, will keep St Cordula’s safe. But only as long as the words ‘GOD FORGIVE ME’, scrawled by Matilda on a chapel staircase wall before she fell to her death, are repainted every year. The words have only been allowed to fade once, in 2002. Then, fits of vertigo spread through the pupils, and a second girl fell to her death on the night stairs.

Only three people know the truth of what happened on the night of the tragedy. Now the vertigo is back, and unless Fiona can stem the outbreak, St. Cordula’s darkest secret could claim another girl’s life…

The new thriller, with a jaw-dropping twist, from bestselling storyteller Erin Kelly

buy here

********

MY REVIEW:

“St Cordula’s has always been the kind of place that invites myth and lore. It is steeped in stories. 
Many of them are true.”

An all-girls boarding school in the North Yorkshire Moors, a chilling legend, a mysterious illness, dark secrets and a possible murder. Put them all together and you have the perfect recipe for a mesmerising and eerie gothic thriller. 

Darkly atmospheric, evocative, layered and suspenseful, this is a labyrinthine story of legend, faith, hysteria, secrets, obsession and betrayal. Though I own most of her books, this was actually my first time reading a story by Erin Kelly and I’m mad at myself for waiting so long. Exquisitely written and skillfully plotted, this book is a masterclass in pace, mystery and tension that held me in a chokehold from start to finish. I went back and forth between the physical book and audio, which I highly recommend as Bessie Carter really brings this story to life, ramping up the chilling atmosphere and keeping me on the edge of my seat as I listened. Intrigue and foreboding were scattered throughout the story and as we approached the finale the two timelines were expertly braided together, the tension building into a heart-pounding crescendo as I was hit with twist after twist before the big, final reveal that still has me reeling.

Told in dual timelines by multiple narrators, the book is filled with a cast of compelling and memorable characters. Teacher Fiona was someone I found easy to like and root for even though we know she has a dark secret. I enjoyed trying to predict what it was but am not ashamed to say that I failed and was completely shocked by the truth when all was finally revealed. Teenage girls obviously play a big part in this story and I liked that Erin perfectly captured the angst of being a teenage girl and the cattiness that can exist in an all-girls school, instantly transporting me to my own years at an all-girls secondary school and making me thankful it wasn’t an elite boarding school.

A chilling and twisty Gothic thriller, add this to your TBR now.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thanks Harvil Secker for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Erin Kelly is one of the most well respected and critically acclaimed voices in the crime-writing community. She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind, He Said / She Said, Stone Mothers (published in paperback as We Know You Know), Watch Her Fall, The Skeleton Key and Broadchurch: The Novel, inspired by the mega-hit TV series. In 2013, The Poison Tree became a major ITV drama and was a Richard & Judy Summer Read in 2011. Its sequel, The House of Mirrors, was published to rapturous reception in 2024.

He Said / She Said spent six weeks in the top 10 in both hardback and paperback, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and selected for both the Simon Mayo Radio 2 and Richard & Judy Book Clubs. Watch Her Fall was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2022 and Erin was nominated for the CWA’s Dagger in the Library. The Skeleton Key was the Waterstones Thriller of the Month in September 2023 and won the Genre-Busting Book of the Year category at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards 2023. It was a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller and a Times number one bestseller in paperback.

Erin has worked as a freelance journalist since 1998 and written for the Guardian, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Statesman, Red, Elle and Cosmopolitan. She has also taught creative writing on the Curtis Brown Creative course. Born in London in 1976, she lives in north London with her husband and daughters. 

Her latest gothic thriller, The Night Stairs, is out now

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

*This post contains affiliate links

Categories
Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2026

BOOK REVIEW: It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell

Published July 2nd, 2026 by Century
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

PREPARE TO BE HOOKED by the brand new thriller from Lisa Jewell, author of the Sunday Times bestselling novels None of This Is True and Don’t Let Him In.

‘A deliciously twisted gem of a thriller and her best yet’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
‘A true masterpiece’ ANDREA MARA
‘Superbly written, entertaining and twisty’ LIZ NUGENT
‘Dark, intense, brilliant’ SHARI LAPENA
___________

It was the night she almost died.

Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn’t know to his house in the darkest corner of Hampstead Heath. She’s offered a drink, goes in, and then – a scream and the sound of something falling upstairs – Jane senses she’s in a bad place. She runs.

Twenty five years later, Jane finds herself outside the same house, this time to return a small white dog who’s been found near her home in the country; a dog whose owner has just been reported missing.

A fleeting glimpse of a haunted looking woman through the window sends Jane on a mission to uncover the house’s secrets – secrets more terrifying than she could have ever imagined, especially when she realises it could have been her. . .

BUY HERE

********

MY REVIEW:

If there is one thing I can rely on, it’s that Lisa Jewelll will always write a first-class thriller. And she’s done it again with her latest book. At its heart, this is the story of a missing woman. But it is also so much more: a story of a dysfunctional family, trauma, tragedy and dark, festering secrets. 

June, 2005. Newly divorced and feeling adrift, Jane Trevally agrees to go home with a man she meets on a night out. When she’s there he offers her a drink, but before she can take a sip she hears a scream. So Jane runs. Twenty-five years later, Jane has never forgotten the night she almost died. She never expected to be back at that house but after going to return a lost dog, she finds herself standing outside the same house that has haunted her nightmares. And, in an even stranger twist, the dog’s owner has just been reported missing. Jane can’t shake the feeling something sinister is going on inside that house. So she sets out  to find the missing woman and uncover the house’s secrets, unprepared for the dark depths that her investigation will take her. 

Deliciously dark, tense, unnerving and completely addictive, this book had me in a chokehold from start to finish. A shrewd and superb page-turning thriller, I stayed up until the early hours to finish this one as I had to know what dark secrets were being hidden. Lisa is a master of her craft and this story gives her the chance to flex her thriller-writer muscles perfectly. Masterfully written, expertly crafted and intricately interwoven, there’s a quietly chilling unease that bubbles under the surface and permeates every page. Meanwhile, she slowly unveils the layers of dark secrets and mystery with a tension that will keep you on the edge of your seat.. It is a masterpiece of malevolence and misdirection, the many twists subverting what I thought I knew. Labyrinthine, comprehensive and complex, there are many different strands, multiple characters and timelines, but it never gets confusing. Though I have no idea how she kept up with it all to write it. And that ending! I finished this book days ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. 

The story is told by multiple flawed, fractured and compelling characters. There are ones you’ll like, ones you’ll root for, ones you’ll feel sorry for, morally ambiguous ones you won’t know how to feel about and devilishly good villains you’ll hate or will make your skin crawl. There is one particular family that oozes darkness and dysfunction as their family ties are made monstrous and tangled. But all the characters are painfully human and show us the ripple effect of trauma and tragedy. I had a real soft spot for Jane and was rooting for her to solve the mystery. 

A heart-stopping thriller that will linger long after reading, this is a must-read for all thriller lovers.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you Century for sending me a proof copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Jewell was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

*This post contains affiliate links

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2026

SQUADPOD BOOK CLUB: Main Characters by Bobby Palmer

Published July 2nd, 2026 by Headline
Contemporary Romance, Literary Fiction

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told by friends, flatmates, exes and strangers – everybody but the main characters.

‘A fresh and original take on the telling of a love story – but somehow timeless’ CLAIRE DAVERLEY

‘Destined to be on everyone’s sun loungers this summer’ STYLIST

‘If you love a smart, poignant, funny, gripping book, you will love this’ JOANNA CANNON

—

Clara and Seb are about to fall in love.
They don’t know it yet.
But everybody else does.

When Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it’s the start of something. She wants to be a director. He’s an actor, unsure what he wants from life.

Their connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like this. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the happiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.

Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of friends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their first date to the moment they fell apart.

Everyone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story ends…

BUY HERE

********

MY REVIEW:

“There aren’t two sides to every story. There are sides, and there are sides, and there are sides.”

Like many people, I love people-watching. There’s just something fun about sitting back watching people go by and wondering about their life and who they are. Or when you overhear part of an interesting conversation and wonder about the story behind it or what will happen next. This makes Main Characters the perfect romcom for me. Because this is no ordinary love story. It’s a love story told from others’ perspectives, telling the story through the eyes of the family, friends, flatmates and strangers who interact with Clara and Seb throughout their relationship. 

Warning: this book will break you! Bobby Palmer is an author who can always be relied upon to write a gorgeous, original and clever story that makes you feel all the feelings. And this book might be a deviation from the magical realism of his first two books, but it has the same heart, warmth and emotion that you expect from a Bobby Palmer book. I laughed, cried, raged, cringed, my heart was broken and filled back up again with joy. Beautifully written, emotionally rich and deftly plotted, it has a cinematic feel and feels perfect for a movie adaptation. It’s fresh, funny, moving, and wise. And it might have the most unique and adorable meet-cute ever. A gorgeous story about love, grief and human connection, it is told in vignettes that capture various moments in Clara and Seb’s lives and relationship. It did take me a little bit of time to get used to the unusual perspective and to feel a connection to the main characters because of that, but I was soon completely enthralled and rooting for them at every step. 

Clara and Seb are messy, magnetic and painfully human. And I loved reading them. I always think it’s interesting to see a character from another person’s perspective so I loved that we only get that in this book. We get a well-rounded picture from a wide variety of people and I especially loved the parts narrated by strangers as they get such a brief and narrow glimpse into Seb and Clara’s lives that isn’t coloured by anything other than what is happening at that moment. I also liked that it felt so different to any other romance I’ve read. Most romcoms explore the build-up to a relationship and end at the honeymoon stage. But we all know real life isn’t that smooth and real relationships come with ups and downs, even for the happiest of couples. So I liked that Clara and Seb’s story followed them for many years and through an array of obstacles, highs and lows. It felt relatable, honest and deeply human, reminding us that even the best of relationships can be hard sometimes whilst always making you believe in the power of true love.

A sublime summer romance that you don’t want to miss, add this to your TBR now!

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thanks to Headline for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bobby Palmer is a freelance journalist and has written extensively for household titles such as Time Out, GQ, Esquire, Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan.

His debut novel, ISAAC AND THE EGG, was published by Headline in 2022 and was an instant Saturday Times Bestseller. German, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Lithuanian, Hebrew and Russian foreign language rights have also been sold. Bobby’s second novel, SMALL HOURS, was published in March 2024 and his third novel will be released in summer 2026.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx

*This post contains affiliate links