Tag: Boldwood Books

SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOKS: The Man She Married by Alison Stockham

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 21st Mar 2025
No Comments on SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOKS: The Man She Married by Alison Stockham

Published January 20th, 2025 by Boldwood Books
Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Noir Fiction, Hardboiled, Mashup Novel

Welcome to my reivew for this unsettling thriller, which is one of the SquadPod Featured Books this month. Thank you Boldwood Books for sending me an audio copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

How can you fight for a life you can’t remember?

One moment I was just living my life, finding my way in the world. The next I woke up in a hospital bed with years of my life missing.

The man by my side – Rob, my husband – looks familiar, but I can’t remember marrying him. I can’t remember our life together. Most haunting of all: I can’t remember anything about the last five years.

Rob keeps telling me that everything will be fine, that my memories will return, but something feels… wrong. Why does our flat feel so unfamiliar? Why does he flinch when I ask questions? Why are none of my friends and family in touch?

The more I try to piece my life back together, the more I question everything – even myself. Who is Rob, really? And can I trust him? More importantly, can I trust myself?

A compulsive and obsessive read that will have you saying ‘just one more chapter!’ Perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep and Alice Feeney

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MY REVIEW:

Beth wakes up in hospital with no memory of what happened or how she got there. She’s told she had a car accident and that they’ve called her husband. But Beth doesn’t have a husband. And how did she end up in England when she’s never left Australia? The Doctor tells her she has retrograde amnesia and Beth learns she’s lost five years of her life. Rob, the man they say is her husband, takes her home to recover and keeps telling her everything will be fine. But Beth can’t shake her feelings of unease. And it seems that the more she learns, the more questions she has. Can she really trust what Rob is saying? Moreover, can she trust her own mind?

Dark, emotive and unbearably tense, Alison Stockham had me in her thrall from start to finish with this unsettling thriller. I listened to this on audiobook and loved how evocatively the narrator told the story, immediately pulling me in. But it is Stockham’s writing that really stole the show. Expertly written, tightly plotted and fast-paced, it was hard to predict and I didn’t see those jaw-dropping twists coming. Filled with adrenaline and atmosphere, the suspense and fear pervades every page and you’ve no idea who to trust or what the truth is.

The story was filled with characters who are complex, flawed, relatable and real which made it easy to feel invested in their lives and care about what happened to them. Beth is likeable and Stockham does a great job of putting the reader in her shoes. From the moment Beth wakes up in hospital we feel her confusion, fear and disarray. Her flashbacks were so vivid and palpable that I would feel my own heart race alongside hers, and my heart broke as she tried to remember the pieces of her life she’d lost. But where I empathised most of all was with Beth’s feelings regarding her husband, Rob. Rob triggered my bad guy radar early on with what seemed like cold, mean and manipulative behaviour. And there was also the uneasy feeling he gave Beth. But what I liked was that you couldn’t be completely sure you were right about anything or anyone in this story as Stockman kept you questioning your own mind, just as Beth questioned hers.

Taut, twisty and unnerving, Alison Stockman has crafted a consuming sinister thriller not to be missed.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alison Stockham’s debut novel, The Cuckoo Sister, was a top 10 bestseller and was also longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize. Her novels The Silent Friend and The New Girl have since been published.

From a background in film and television production, working in film dramas and then TV documentary production for the BBC and Channel 4, she then worked as the events coordinator for Cambridge Literary Festival. Now a full time writer, she lives in the city with her husband, their children and their cat, who keeps her company while she works on the next book.

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BUY THE BOOK:

Amazon*
*This is an affiliate links

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx

Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – February 2025

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 5th Feb 2025
No Comments on Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – February 2025

Welcome to my most anticipated February releases. There’s some exciting new authors releasing their debut novels and some favourite authors releasing their latest stories.

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

Published February 4th by Tinder Press
Literary Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Where there is wonder, there is love – an unforgettable story of the beauty and savagery of the Alaskan wilderness, from the author of the million-copy international bestseller, The Snow Child.

‘I read with my heart in my mouth, filled with wonder’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘An enthralling novel about the endurance of love, the power of forgiveness and the savage, irresistible allure of wild places’ Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
Birdie’s keeping it together, of course she is. So she’s a little hungover on her shifts, and has to bring her daughter to the lodge while she waits never tables, but it’s a tough town to be a single mother, and Birdie just needs to get by.
And then Birdie meets Arthur, who is quieter than most men, but makes her want to listen; who is gentle with Emaleen, and understands Birdie’s fascination with the mountains in whose shadow they live. When Arthur asks Birdie and Emaleen to leave the lodge and make a home, just the three of them, in his off-grid cabin, Birdie’s answer, in a heartbeat, is yes.
Out in the wilderness Birdie’s days are harsher and richer than she ever imagined possible. Here she will feel truly at one with nature. Here she, and Emaleen, will learn the whole, fearful truth about Arthur.

Buy here*

The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson

Published February 4th by Boldwood Books
Contemporary Romance, Magical Realism, Coming-of-Age Story

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Suddenly Maddy is right there… in her very own future. And it’s all wrong, yet again.

It happens to her every time. When the kisses lead to the bedroom, just when she thinks she might have found the one… Just for a split second, Maddy disappears, and she finds that she’s living her own life. But ten years into the future.

She’s only there for a little while. But each time, it’s long enough to know that she doesn’t want to be any of those future versions of Maddy. Because every man she falls for seems to lead her to a future that is just… wrong.

Until she meets Oliver. And the vision of their future is happy. Beautiful even. A little girl runs around, her braids flying behind her, giggling about how she wants sausages for dinner. She has eyes just like Oliver’s.

There’s just one catch. If Maddy wants the family she’s seeing in her future with Oliver, she realizes she has to break his heart now…

Would you destroy your present if there’s a chance that it could give you the perfect future?

Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Matt Haig, and The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. The most unmissable ‘what if?’ love story of the year!

Buy here*

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

Published February 4th by Sphere
Romance Novel, New Adult Ficiton, Contemporary Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Stanford and a student athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships – at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…

Buy here*

Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll

Published February 6th by Harvill Secker
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Mythology

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘Brilliant and meticulously researched… I loved it.’ Santa Montefiore

Sister. Rival. Protector.

Quiet and reserved, Clemmie is happy in the background. Although her parents may overlook her talents, her ability to read hieroglyphs makes her invaluable at the Egyptian relic parties which have made her father the toast of Victorian society.

But at one such party, the words Clemmie interprets from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. The beautiful and dangerous glyphs she holds in her hands will change her life forever.

Five years later, Clemmie arrives in Egypt on a mission to save what remains of her family. The childhood game she used to play about the immortal sisters, Isis and Nephthys, has taken on a devastating resonance and it is only by following Nephthys’ story that she can undo the mistakes of the past.

On her journey up the Nile she will meet unexpected allies and enemies and, along with long-buried secrets and betrayals, Clemmie will be forced to step into the light.

Pre-order here*

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

Published February 6th by Manilla Press
Gothic Fiction, Horror Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Thriller, Vampire Literature, Lesbian Literature

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
THE FIERCEST, MOST POWERFUL RETELLING OF 2025: A STORY OF AMBITION, FEMALE OPPRESSION AND UNSTOPPABLE HUNGER . . .

FOR WHAT DO YOU HUNGER . . . ?

Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but ten years into their marriage the relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry’s ambitions take them from London to the Peak District, to the remote, imposing Nethershaw estate, where he plans to host a hunting party. Lenore must work to restore the crumbling house and ready it for Henry’s guests – their future depends on it.

But as the couple travel through the bleak countryside, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore’s life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . .

As the day of the hunt draws closer, Lenore begins to unravel, questioning the role she has been playing all these years. Torn between regaining her husband’s affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, soon Lenore will uncover a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk . . .

Set against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the Industrial Revolution, HUNGERSTONE is a compulsive sapphic reworking of CARMILLA, the book that inspired DRACULA: a captivating story of appetite and desire.

Pre-order here*

The Morrigan by Kim Curran

Published February 6th by Michael Joseph
Historical Fiction, Fantasy Ficiton, Fairy Tale, Mythology

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Perfect for fans of Elodie Harper’s The Wolf Den, Rosie Hewlett’s Medea and Costanza Casati’s Clytemnestra

—

RULER. MOTHER. GODDESS. WARRIOR.

They called me The Morrigan. I was magnificent. I was multitudes.
They twisted my story, stripped me away. But I will tell it now in my own voice.
It begins, as all the best stories do, in darkness.

From an ancient, storm-tossed sea, a tribe of gods reach the rocky shores of Ireland.

Among them, a strange, hungry, red-haired girl. A girl who can change shape, from bird to beast to goddess. A girl who dreams of battle, of blood, of death and power.

She does not know yet that a woman who seeks to rule will always be in danger – or that there are far more treacherous figures in this land than the gods who raised her.

She does not know that one day love will burn so deep in her heart that its scars will never heal. That she will know pain so raw and pure it will almost tear her apart.

She does not know that her journey will take a thousand years. That her name will be remembered for a thousand more.

She is The Morrigan, and she is waiting: a girl with rage coiled in her chest. Beautiful, powerful, ravenous rage. A rage that will live forever.

An electric debut retelling of Ireland’s mythic goddess of war, from a bold and powerful new voice.

Pre-order here*

We Do Not Part by Han Kang

Published February 6th by Hamish Hamilton
Literary Fiction, Translated Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Like a long winter’s dream, this haunting and visionary new novel from 2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang takes us on a journey from contemporary South Korea into its painful history

‘One of the most profound and skilled writers working on the contemporary world stage’ Deborah Levy

Beginning one morning in December, We Do Not Part traces the path of Kyungha as she travels from the city of Seoul into the forests of Jeju Island, to the home of her old friend Inseon. Hospitalized following an accident, Inseon has begged Kyungha to hasten there to feed her beloved pet bird, who will otherwise die.

Kyungha takes the first plane to Jeju, but a snowstorm hits the island the moment she arrives, plunging her into a world of white. Beset by icy wind and snow squalls, she wonders if she will arrive in time to save the bird – or even survive the terrible cold which envelops her with every step. As night falls, she struggles her way to Inseon’s house, unaware as yet of the descent into darkness which awaits her.

There, the long-buried story of Inseon’s family surges into light, in dreams and memories passed from mother to daughter, and in a painstakingly assembled archive documenting a terrible massacre on the island seventy years before.

We Do Not Part is a hymn to friendship, a eulogy to the imagination and above all an indictment against forgetting.

Pre-order here*

This Immaculate Body by Emma van Straaten

Published February 6th by Fleet
Literary Fiction, Suspense

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘From the very first page, Emma Van Straaten had me by the Hail Marys. Obsessive, delusional, disastrous – but so intricately woven with heart, warmth and empathy. An impeccable debut from a rising talent‘ ALICE SLATER

‘An addictive deep-dive into the dark, throbbing heart of obsessive desire. Baby Reindeer meets Convenience Store Woman‘ KIRSTY LOGAN, author of Now She Is Witch

Alice has been cleaning Tom’s flat every Wednesday for a year. With every smudge wiped from his coffee cup, every crease smoothed out in his bed, every multivitamin counted from the jar, Alice spirals deeper into infatuation. But as Alice prepares for the moment when they will finally meet face-to-face, she discovers that love might not be the cure she thought it was. . .

This Immaculate Body is a story of obsession, of the way women view the world and the ways that the world views them. As Alice frantically tries to cling to an imagined future with Tom, the line between fantasy and reality become ever more blurred, putting everything she has dreamed of at risk.

Pre-order here*

Hope Street by Mike Gayle

Published February 6th by Hodder & Stoughton
Romance Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Urban Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The greatest adventure is coming back home.

Lila Metcalfe is a trainee journalist in Derby and she’s very used to being given the stories that no one else wants. So, when her editor tells her that the city’s Cossington Park development is being held up by a solitary resident on Hope Street who is refusing to leave, she knows she is going to be the one sent to find out more. And that’s how she meets Connor.

Twenty-something Connor is the sole resident of Hope Street and he is not at all what Lila is expecting. And he has a very clear reason not to move: he is waiting for his mum to come home.

The uplifting and heartfelt new novel from the author of A Song of Me and You.

Pre-order here*

Baby Teeth by Celia Silvani

Published February 6th by Orion
Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
They said a mother knows best and I believed them. Was I wrong?

It is supposed to be a dream. James and I have been trying for years. But now it is starting to feel like a nightmare.

Doctors don’t ask questions, or care about how you’re feeling. They just tell you what to do. They never listen.

Mam and James don’t understand either. James thinks I’m being anxious and Mam says it’ll pass. It always does. That’s what she did when Dad died.

I’ve never felt more alone. Or scared.

Then I joined an online group for mothers. A sisterhood, really. They might be on a screen, but sometimes it feels like they know me better than James. They listen, they care. It’s all I could have asked for.

Until the worst happens and I see them for who they are. But if I leave, what if they come for me next?

Pre-order here*

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

Published February 6th by Tor
Contemporary Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Gay Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
An action-packed supernatural road trip featuring an extraordinary young girl and her two unlikely protectors. The Bones Beneath My Skin is a gripping, heartfelt story that explores what it means to be human – by bestselling author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune.

He lost everything. Then he found himself . . .

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright is at a loose end: his parents are dead, his older brother has disowned him, and he’s been fired from his job. Looking for a sense of direction, he returns to his family’s summer cabin in Oregon.

The cabin should be empty – but it’s not. Inside is a man named Alex, and an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. There’s far more to Art than meets the eye. But as Alex and Nate bond over just how special she truly is, they discover that powerful forces are closing in – forces that want nothing more than to control her.

As danger draws near, Nate decide whether to drown in the memories of his past, or fight for Art and a future he never thought possible.

With his uplifting tales of hope and redemption, there is a TJ Klune book for every reader.

Pre-order here*

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

Published February 6th by Atom
Domestic Fiction, Religious Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom’s Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too-but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.

In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are in the first weeks of COVID lockdown and hating Zoom school, when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago.

Pre-order here*

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Published February 6th by Michael Joseph
Historical Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A family full of secrets. A chance to set them all free.

When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiancé Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow.

Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their home and tragedy changed their lives forever.

Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart.

Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day – the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations.

A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.

Pre-order here*

Old Soul by Susan Baker

Published February 6th by Fig Tree
Thriller, Horror Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The most mesmerising, unsettling novel of 2025, perfect for fans of David Mitchell, Julia Armfield, and Margaret Atwood.

The woman never goes by the same name.
She never stays in the same place too long.
She never ages. She never dies.
But those around her do.

When two grieving strangers meet by chance in Osaka airport they uncover a disturbing connection. Jake’s best friend and Mariko’s twin brother each died, 6,000 miles apart, in brutal and unfathomable circumstances.

Each encountered a mesmerising, dark-haired woman in the days before their deaths. A woman who came looking for Mariko – and then disappeared.

Jake, who has carried his loss and guilt for a decade, finds himself compelled to follow the trail set by Mariko’s revelations. It’s a trail that weaves across continents and centuries, leading back to the many who have died – in strange and terrifying and eerily similar ways – and those they left behind: bewildered, disbelieved, yet resolutely sure of what they saw.

And, at the centre of it all, there is the same beguiling woman. Her name may have changed, but her purpose has never wavered, and as Jake races to discover who, or what she is, she has already made her next choice.

But will knowing her secret be enough to stop her?

Pre-order here*

Snake Oil by Kelsey Rae Dimberg

Published February 6th by Macmillan
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
BEAUTY IS PAIN . . . Exploring themes of ambition, authenticity and empowerment, this taut, politically charged feminist thriller delivers a scathing take-down of the wellness industry, perfect for fans of The Drop Out and Yellowface.

It’s a woman’s world, isn’t it?

Rhoda West has the world at her feet.

As the luminously charismatic CEO of Radical, a fast-growing start-up, Rhoda has built a wellness company whose core mission is the betterment of women’s lives. Showcasing her cult products and her perfect life through her social media, Rhoda is the ultimate ‘Radigal’, encouraging her followers to be #bebetter, whilst driving her business to attain the billion-dollar unicorn status that she craves.

But just as Radical announces the latest fundraising round that will take it over the top, an anonymous twitter account begins revealing the company’s secrets and starts questioning its beliefs and approach, and Rhoda herself.

Is Rhoda really the nurturing leader that she presents to the world, or a fraud on a mission to exploit the women she claims to want to help? As tensions rise and enemies present themselves, the only questions are how far will Rhoda go to fulfil her legacy and how far will her enemies go to destroy it. . .

Pre-order here*

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Published February 11th by Michael Joseph
Romance Novel, Domestic Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family

‘The best book she has ever written’ Marian Keyes

***

Welcome to the Kennedy household:

Lila wrote a bestseller about keeping your marriage alive, before discovering her ex was playing happy families with another woman. A woman she sees everyday at school pick-up.

Bill, her stepdad, moved in after Lila’s mum died. He’s kind, old-fashioned and driving her absolutely nuts.

Celie, Lila’s eldest, hates school. Hates it so much she’s stopped going. Her mother’s fine with that – because she doesn’t know yet.

Violet is nine and sings age-inappropriate rap songs, laughs at fart jokes and Lila dearly hopes she’ll never, ever change.

And Truant the dog, who has just bitten the American actor who’s suddenly landed on the Kennedys’ doorstep.

This is Gene – Lila’s estranged father, and no one’s idea of a role model. He walked out on Lila and her mum years ago – and wherever he goes domestic discord follows.

Because Gene’s presence changes things in unexpected ways. Soon the girls discover a kindred spirit in a man always chasing life’s joy. Bill even loosens up. And Lila finds herself, astonishingly, dating.

Something is happening to the Kennedy household – but what is it?
And will it break, or save, their family?

Pre-order here*

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

Published February 13th by The Borough Press
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Nautical Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Sisters separated by centuries.

Voices that can’t be drowned out.

Lucy is running from what she’s done – and what someone did to her.

There’s only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone.

Lucy is now alone, in a strange town steeped in rumour. Stories of men disappearing without a trace. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave. And women’s voices murmuring on the waves…

As Lucy searches for her sister, those voices get ever louder. They tell of two sisters, two centuries ago, bound and transported across the world. A world where men always get their way. A world that is at once distant, and achingly familiar.

Are these voices luring Lucy closer to her sister? Or will the secrets of the past pull them both under?

Pre-order here*

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

Published February 13th by Fourth Estate
Gothic Ficiton, Horror Fiction, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Satire

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
NOW BEING ADAPTED FOR A MAJOR FILM STARRING MARGARET QUALLEY

‘Simmering with rage, propulsive and laugh-out-loud funny’ CATRIONA WARD

‘Weird and wonderful’ LUCY MANGAN, GUARDIAN

Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess. She’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan.

Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past until her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho.

Pre-order here*

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

Published February 13th by Bantam Press
Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Six thriller authors. One writing retreat.
You’d die to be on the guest list . . .

The Host
Legendary mystery author J. R. Alastor’s books are sold all over the world, but no one knows his real name. After years hiding in the shadows, he has sent out six invitations to an exclusive murder mystery retreat on his private island.

The Assistant
Mila del Angél has been hired to ensure the week runs smoothly. She has yearned for revenge on a ghost from her past for years – and this could be her chance to get it.

The Players
The six bestselling thriller writers accept their invitations without question – it’s an opportunity any author would kill for.

The Game
What should have been a week of trope-filled games takes a sinister turn when one guest is found dead, and the others find themselves in the midst of a nightmare drawn from Alastor’s dark imagination. They may have written thrillers – but now they and Mila must survive one…

Pre-order here*

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Publshed February 13th by Quercus
Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Fantasy Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
SOME MURDERS CAN’T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.

‘A five-star start to a dazzling new series . . . Smart, original and utterly masterful’ Janice Hallett

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen – or so their inside joke goes. Most people don’t know that they travel back in time to complete their research.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London in order to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of MP Isaac Templeton. Rumour has it that Cain was part of a sinister group called The Collectors; to become a member, you had to kill a woman…

Fearing for her safety in the middle of a freezing Victorian winter, Ali finds herself stuck in time, unable to make her way back to her life, her beloved colleagues, and her son, Finn, who suddenly finds himself in legal trouble in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected?

Set your clocks to February 2025 and get ready for an original, transportive and characterful new crime novel from no. 1 bestselling author Elly Griffiths. Perfect for those missing the Dr Ruth Galloway series and for any crime and historical fiction fans.

Pre-order here*

Dirty Money by Charlotte Philby

Published February 13th by Baskerville
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Hardboiled

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
RAMONA CHANG

An investigative journalist turned private detective, Ramona’s final scoop left her with a target on her back. Now in hiding, she is living in a run-down flat in east London. But when her latest case looking into an upmarket escort agency takes a dark turn, she needs information only accessible to those in power . . .

DETECTIVE SERGEANT MADELEINE FARROW

A high-flying operative at a government agency, it’s the day of her fiftieth birthday when Madeleine finds out that she has been given the lead on an investigation into corruption on a global scale. But when she finds her case mysteriously blocked from the inside, she needs someone on the outside, capable of moving undetected . . .

As Ramona’s and Madeleine’s cases collide, can the unlikely allies find justice for multiple victims within the capital’s hotbed of lies and deception?

A gripping thrill-ride set against the gloss and grit of contemporary London, DIRTY MONEY introduces an unforgettable new detective duo created by critically acclaimed writer Charlotte Philby.

Pre-order here*

Give Him To Me by Dorothy Koomson

Published February 13th by Headline
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Robyn ‘Avril’ Managa was twelve when she witnessed her controlling and abusive father murder her mother. Put into care while her well-connected was father given a new identity in Witness Protection, Robyn has lived with the trauma of that day ever since.

Now in her twenties, Robyn has decided she wants a family reunion – so is killing people connected to her father’s case, leaving on their bodies the note: GIVE HIM TO ME.

Dr Kez Lanyon is called onto the case. But can Kez get into Robyn’s mind before she kills again? Or is she about to become Avril’s latest victim?

Profiler and therapist Kez Lanyon returns in a gripping new stand-alone novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Dorothy Koomson.

Pre-order here*

Life Hacks For A Little Alien by Alice Franklin

Published February 13th by Riverrun
Literary Ficiton, Psychological Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Remarkably Bright Creatures, this is a charming, witty and moving novel about what it feels like to grow up neurodivergent.

‘Climb up here, Little Alien. Sit next to me. I will tell you about life on this planet. I will tell you how it goes’

From her first words to her first day at school, Little Alien can’t help but get things wrong. She doesn’t understand the world the way others seem to, and the world doesn’t seem to understand her either. Her anxious mum and meticulous dad, while well-intentioned, are of little help.

But when Little Alien sees a documentary about the Voynich Manuscript – a mediaeval codex written in an unknown language and script – she begins to suspect that there are other people who feel just like her. Convinced that translating this manuscript will offer the answers she needs, she sets out on a journey that will show her a delicious taste of freedom.

So begins this charming, witty, and profoundly moving novel about the power of language, the wonder of libraries – and how to find a path that fits, when you yourself do not.

Pre-order here*

The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner

Published February 13th by Aria
Historical Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A heart-wrenching and unforgettable story of courage, friendship and resistance, inspired by the incredible true story of a Jewish ballroom dancer in Paris during WWII, perfect for fans of The Paris Library.

Paris, 1938. Annie Mayer arrives in France with dreams of becoming a ballerina. But when the war reaches Paris, she’s forced to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. Then a fellow dancer offers her a lifeline: a ballroom partnership that gives her a new identity. Together, Annie and her partner captivate audiences across occupied Europe, using her newfound fame and alias to aid the Resistance.

New York, 2012. Miriam, haunted by her past, travels from London to New York to settle her great-aunt Esther’s estate. Among Esther’s belongings, she discovers notebooks detailing a secret family history and the story of a brave dancer who risked everything to help Jewish families during the war.

As Miriam uncovers Esther’s life in Europe, she realises the story has been left for her to finish. Grappling with loss and the possibility of new love, Miriam must find the strength to reconcile her past and embrace her future.

Pre-order here*

The Re-Write by Lizzie Damilola-Blackburn

Published February 13th by Viking
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
ONE STORY. TWO EXES. CAN THEY CHANGE THEIR ENDING?

‘Such a fun, romantic read’ Beth O’Leary
‘This book melted my stone cold heart’ Jendella Benson

Temi and Wale meet in London. They flirt, date, meet each other’s friends.
Then they break up. And Wale goes on a reality dating show.

Instead of giving in to heartbreak, Temi throws herself into her dream: writing. She’s within touching distance of a book deal that would solve all her problems. But publishers keep passing on her novel and bills still have to be paid. So, when the opportunity to ghost-write a celebrity autobiography arises, Temi accepts.

And, of course, the celebrity turns out to be Wale…

Will Temi and Wale repeat the patterns of their past? Or can they write a whole new story?

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From London with Love by Katie Fforde

Published February 13th by Century
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Urban Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A beautiful Chelsea town house. A chance to fulfil her dreams. A life adventure awaits…
__________

It’s 1968 and it’s cold when Felicity arrives in London to stay with her mother, improve her English, do a secretarial course – and meet a suitable man.

She is already missing her home in Provence and her father and his new wife and their extended family. But it’s only for a year she tells herself – and then she can go back to France and do what she really wants and become a painter.

And then she bumps into Oliver who is quite the most interesting young man she has ever met. He lives on a barge for one thing and has a collection of jobs, but his passion is looking for hidden treasures along the shores of the river Thames.

In a word, he’s a mudlarker – and before long Felicity is mudlarking too. She is also pursuing her dreams and painting scenery for Oliver’s actor friends.

But is Oliver a Suitable Man of whom her mother will approve? Felicity knows she will not …

Love, tangled relationships, and a real life adventure lie at the heart of Katie Fforde’s heart-warming new novel.

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Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Published February 13th by Chatto & Windus
Domestic Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The happily ever after is only part of the story… A funny, touching, hopeful gem about love, marriage and second chances

It’s the day before her daughter’s wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job – or quits, depending who you ask. Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn’t even have a suit. Instead, he’s brought memories, a shared sense of humour – and a cat looking for a new home.

Just as Gail is wondering what’s next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret…

As the big day dawns, the exes just can’t agree on what’s best for Debbie. Gail is seriously worried, while Max seems more concerned with whether to opt for the salmon or prime rib at the reception, if they make it that far.

The day after the wedding, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again. But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because ‘happy’ takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.

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The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea by C. L. Miller

Published February 13th by Pan Macmillan
Mystery, Crime Fiction, Cozy Mystery

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Join Freya and Aunt Carole for more sleuthing in the highly anticipated second instalment in your new favourite crime series, The Antique Hunters. The Antique Hunter’s: Death on the Red Sea is a cosy crime read for fans of the Antiques Roadshow.

When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum – and a dead body is found nearby – the newly established Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole, are called to investigate.

Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ship’s art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities. Each and every one of them is also listed in Freya’s late mentor’s journals detailing unsolved cases. In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found something more sinister than they could’ve imagined . . .

Their hunt soon turns deadly when they learn that the enigmatic and dangerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts – plus some unexpected familiar faces – will Freya and Carole be able to discover The Collector’s identity and stop his murderous plans before the ship docks?

Or will the killer strike again?

Pre-order here*

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

Published February 13th by Century
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Most family reunions end in tears. This one will end in murder.
______________

On a private island off the west coast of Scotland, the Agarwals gather for a much-awaited family reunion…

Raj, the patriarch and business tycoon, who has six weeks to decide how to split his petrochemicals empire between his three children.

Shalini, the fragile mother, who longs to see her family healed.

Myra, the eldest daughter and golden child, who, unbeknownst to the family, is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Aseem, the son and supposed heir, who must choose between his wife and his family.

Aisha, the fun-loving youngest daughter, who is tired of being treated like a child.

And Zoe, the outsider whose #Instaperfect life is built on a foundation of lies.

They’ve all got secrets that they would die to protect.

But only one of them is capable of murder.

Pre-order here*

The Voices by Natalie Chandler

Published February 13th by Harper North
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
I heard you. I know what you did.

“Gripping and emotional, with creeping suspense that keeps building until the final shocking twist” KARIN SLAUGHTER

“A standout thriller” ABIGAIL DEAN

“Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient” RHIANNON BARNSLEY

For three years, criminal psychiatrist Tamsin Shaw has been lying unresponsive in hospital.

But while she may not be able to open her eyes, she is awake, and listening to her visitors:

The husband
The best friend
The ex-boyfriend
The former patient
The nurse

All of them have secrets.

One of them will kill to keep theirs hidden.

Can Tamsin wake up before it’s too late?

Pre-order here*

Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict

Published February 13th by Simon & Schuster UK
Mystery, Cosy Mystery

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU’VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE . . .

DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders.

But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again.

Faced with the fact that everything she knows is fiction, Lyla will have to take a little creative license of her own if she’s going to turn the final page on the killings . . .

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The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

Published February 13th by Electric Monkey
Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Hisotrical Romance, Young Adult Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Cruel Prince meets Bridgerton in this captivating fantasy brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

…………..

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen. High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart, and at the centre of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Lauren Roberts, Stephanie Garber, and Sarah J Maas.

Pre-order here*

Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi

Published February 13th by Harper Voyager
Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, High Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Adventure Ficiton, Supernatural Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
RETURN TO THE INTOXICATING WORLD OF THE FAE…

Betrayed by destiny.

Cursed by love.

Bound by hope.

Yeeran and Lettle are no longer prisoners to the fae court, but now they’re bound by the shackles of their hearts …

Yeeran was born for war but is unprepared for love. She has left her new lover, the Queen of the fae, to return to her homeland, only to find that her former lover now threatens war against the fae.

Left behind, her sister Lettle is determined to break the curse that binds the fae to their realm. When a stranger appears in the city, Lettle is convinced he’s the key. But the Fates that once spoke to her have fallen silent.

Can Lettle and Yeeran discover the secret behind the curse – and unite these two worlds before they destroy each other?

Return to the intoxicating world of the fae in the seductive sequel to the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling Faebound.

Pre-order here*

The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones

Published February 20th by Sphere
Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Paris, 1789. The Oberst Factory, which crafts exquisite wallpaper for the most fashionable French homes, is a place shrouded in mystery. Most enigmatic is the woman pictured in each of its prints, rumoured to be the late Mrs Oberst, who died in peculiar circumstances.

When sisters Lara and Sofi arrive there for work, they quickly form a friendship with Josef Oberst, the motherless heir to the factory. Whilst Sofi’s political fervour intensifies, Lara is disturbed by the uncanny way her life appears mirrored in the wallpaper. Meanwhile Hortense, Josef’s spoilt aristocratic wife, is similarly unnerved by the scenes that line the walls of her new home. With the mobs growing ever more violent, is she in danger of meeting the same untimely end as the last Mrs Oberst?

As revolution blazes across France, the lives of Sofi, Lara and Hortense are set to collide in unimaginable and irrevocable ways. Can they change what lies ahead, or are some patterns destined to be repeated?

Pre-order here*

The Manual for Good Wives by Lola Jaye

Published February 20th by Pan Macmillan
Romance Novel, Historical Ficiton, Historical Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘An unforgettable voice within a breathtaking story about love, lineage, and the intergenerational effect of bravery in the face of misfortune’ – Jessica George, author of Diverse Book Awards winning My Name is Maame

Everything about Adeline Copplefield is a lie . . .

To the world Mrs Copplefield is the epitome of Victorian propriety: an exemplary society lady who writes a weekly column advising young ladies on how to be better wives.

Only Adeline has never been a good wife or mother; she has no claim to the Copplefield name, nor is she an English lady . . .

Now a black woman, born in Africa, who dared to pretend to be something she was not, is on trial in the English courts with all of London society baying for her blood. And she is ready to tell her story . . .

From the author of The Attic Child, Lola Jaye, comes a powerful dual narrative historical novel. The Manual for Good Wives is about love, generational trauma, second chances and hope.

Pre-order here*

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown

Published February 20th by Chatto & Windus
Literary Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, LGBT Literature

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A gut-punch novel of girlhood in early noughties Yorkshire from a blazing new voice

Ask anyone non-Northern, they’ll only know Donny as punch line of a joke or place they changed trains once ont way to London.

But Doncaster’s also the home of Rach, Shaz and Kel, bezzies since childhood and Donny lasses through and through. They share everything, from blagging their way into nightclubs to trips to the Family Planning clinic when they are late. Never mind that Rach is skeptical of Shaz’s bolder plots; or that Shaz, who comes from a rougher end of town, feels left behind when the others begin charting a course to uni; or that Kel sometimes feels split in two trying to keep the peace ― their friendship is as indestructible as they are. But as they grow up and away from one another, a long-festering secret threatens to rip the trio apart.

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh takes you by the hand and leads you through Doncaster’s schoolyards, alleyways and nightclubs, laying bare the intimate treacheries of adolescence and the ways we betray ourselves when we don’t trust our friends. Like The Glorious Heresies and Shuggie Bain, it tracks hard-edged lives and makes them sing, turning one overlooked place into the very centre of the world.

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The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

Published February 27th by Simon & Schuster UK
Historical Fiction, Saga

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In the chaos of that terrible night, her secret went down with the Titanic. But secrets have a way of floating to the surface…

Trapped in an unhappy aristocratic marriage, Elinor Coombes sees only lonely days ahead of her. So a present from her father – tickets for the maiden voyage of a huge, luxurious new ship called the Titanic – offers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husband’s ancestral home, and some precious time with her little son, Teddy.

When the ship goes down, Elinor realises the disaster has given her a chance to take Teddy and start a new life – but only if they can disappear completely, listed as among the dead. Penniless and using another woman’s name, she has to learn to survive in a world that couldn’t be more different from her own, and keep their secret safe.

An uplifting story about grabbing your chances with both hands, and being brave enough to find out who you really are.

Pre-order here*

Sycorax by Nydia Hetherington

Published February 27th by Quercus
Historical Fiction, Mythology, Fairy Tale

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Born of the sun and moon, shaped by fire and malady, comes a young woman whose story has never been told . . .

They call her Sycorax. Seer. Sage. Sorceress.

Outcast by society and all alone in the world, Sycorax must find a way to understand her true nature. But as her powers begin to grow, so too do the suspicions of the local townspeople. For knowledge can be dangerous, and a woman’s knowledge is the most dangerous of all . . .

With a great storm brewing on the horizon, Sycorax finds herself in increasing peril – but will her powers save her, or will they spell the end for them all?

A beautifully written and deeply moving imagining of what came before Shakespeare’s The Tempest from the author of A Girl Made of Air.

Pre-order here*

Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

Publsihed February 27th by Orenda Books
Gothic Fiction, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Horror Fiction, Noir Ficiton, Supernatural Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Suspected of murdering their parents, sisters Lily and Della flee to a strange, unnamed island in Scotland, and their arrival puts in motion a horrifying series of events… Literary suspense meets folk horror in 2025’s most original, mesmerising modern gothic masterpiece…

____________________________________

Evil runs through this cursed island
And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn…

When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.

Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.

Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?

Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…

Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.

Pre-order here

That’ll Teach Her by Maz Evans

Publsiehd February 27th by Headline
Thriller, Suspense, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Mystery

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A headmistress is dead. The circumstances are suspicious.
And as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder…

As educators go, Claudia Stitchwell makes Miss Hannigan look like Miss Honey.
But when the reviled headteacher drops dead in the school hall, a group of sceptical parents suspect the nut allergy explanation doesn’t add up – they believe someone wanted to teach Miss Stitchwell a lesson.

Only four people could have killed Stitchwell: Hattie, the adored school cook; Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant; Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. All of them are liars… but only one is the murderer.

Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents’ group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case.

Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week’s spellings?

Pre-order here*

Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh

Published February 27th by Sphere
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Ficiton, Psychological Thriller, Police Procedural

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The stunning new thriller from the author who brought you the jaw-dropping twist of I Let You Go, the gasp-out-loud ending of Let Me Lie, and the loveable, unpredictable Ffion Morgan in The Last Party and A Game of Lies.

Even on the most desirable street, there’s a dark side . . .

The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.

Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why?

As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . .

Pre-order here*

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

Published February 27th by Bantam
Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Historical Mystery

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker-longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

It was the greatest mystery never told . . .

1926. On the towering cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. But when small and hungry Celie Sheppard finds an ‘impossible’ red egg, it will forever alter the course of her life – and the lives of others.

100 years later in a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort discovers his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skulduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.

Pre-order here*

The Surf House by Lucy Clarke

Published February 27th by Harper Fiction
Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Holiday Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Welcome to The Surf House

Where everyone’s escaping something…

High on the cliffs of Morocco, far from the city lights and the souks, stands The Surf House: a sanctuary for travellers chasing sunshine and waves.

But the idyll hides a dark mystery.

And when Bea washes in, seeking refuge after a dangerous encounter in Marrakesh, she soon gets caught in the current.

A woman her age – who stayed in the same area, walked the same beaches, met the same guests – disappeared one year earlier, vanishing without trace.

Somewhere inside The Surf House lies the truth – but there’ll be a price for uncovering it…

Pre-order here*

Carrion Crow by Heather Parry

Published February 27th by Doubleday
Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Horror Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A powerful and spine-tingling gothic tale exploring mother-daughter relationships, sexuality, and class.

‘Bold, blazing, absolutely unforgettable’ Elizabeth Macneal, bestselling author of The Doll Factory

There are some facts about the world that only your mother can teach you.
Marguerite had been confined for the sake of her wellbeing.
That’s what her mother had said.

Marguerite Périgord is locked in the attic of her family home, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames.

For company she has a sewing machine, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body, memorising Mrs Beeton’s advice and longing for her life outside.

Cécile Périgord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good.

Cécile is concerned that Marguerite’s engagement to a much older, near-penniless solicitor, will drag the family name – her husband’s name, that is – into disrepute. And for Cécile, who has worked hard at her own betterment, this simply won’t do.

Cécile’s life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.

Of course, both have their secrets, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerite’s patience turns into rage, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray.

And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.

Pre-order here*

The Portrait Artist by Dani Heywood-Lonsdale

Published February 27th by Bloomsbury Publishing
Historical Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
All that is hidden will soon be revealed . . .

One morning in 1890, a painting wrapped in brown paper appears on the steps of the National Gallery and causes a sensation. It’s clearly by Timothy Ponden-Hall, whose paintings were celebrated and debated not just for their beauty, but for the rumours behind them: they were believed to immortalise the souls of their subjects. But Ponden-Hall has been thought dead for the last 50 years. . .

In a bid to quiet the gossip and rumours that swirl around the streets of London, the gallery brings in renowned and reluctant art historian Solomon Oak to investigate. Oak is assisted by an unlikely aide: his daughter Alice. A passionate but sheltered student, Alice has worldly desires which eclipse the life she’s expected to lead. Together they discover that exposing Ponden-Hall’s legacy will prove more controversial than they could ever have imagined for their family, and for Victorian society.

Set between London and Oxford, The Portrait Artist is a twisting debut exploring race, fame and long-kept secrets.

Pre-order here*

Same Time Next Week by Milly Johnson

Published February 27th by Simon & Schuster UK
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Welcome to Spring Hill, home to a square of independent shops and cafes, a thriving local community and nearby the newest venture, Ray’s Diner. Here a group of women meet once a week over a cup of something warming.

Amanda is primary carer to her elderly mother and one of the only women in a male-dominated company. Used to being second-best all her life, is this her time to finally break ranks and shine?

Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts. But her heart beats for the one man who is strictly off-limits.

Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years. Then when he goes to his old school reunion, life as she knows it will never be the same again.

Erin is trying to get over a traumatic loss where her guilt weighs more than her grief. Can she find the first step to healing lies in sharing an hour with strangers once a week?

Astrid is feeling in need of a change and a challenge. But when a fantastic opportunity presents itself, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk?

Can these women find the answers to their worries, acceptance, courage, support here? Join them at the same time next week to find out…

Pre-order here*

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amelie We Zhao

Published Febuary 27th by Harper Voyager
Fantasy Ficiton, Romantic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Romance Novel, Dark Fantasy

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore the mortal realm apart. Now it is an increasingly dangerous place, falling into eternal night where ravenous demons roam and every day is a fight for survival…

The Immortality Trials offer a second chance in this brutal world and are open to any mortal willing to risk the journey to the immortal realm. The prize for completing them is eternal life…

However, first they must survive.

Àn’yīng knows the prize can heal her dying mother and that she’ll need all the help she can get if she’s to complete them.

But when a rival contestant, both powerful and handsome, promises protection and a chance of survival for both Àn’yīng and her mother, she will need to find out quickly whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all … for herself and for all the realms.

Pre-order here*

Tags A. K. Benedict, Ali Hazelwood, Alice Franklin, Amelie Wen Zhao, Ande Pliego, Anne Tyler, Aria, Atom, Baby Teeth, Bantam, Bantam Press, Baskerville, Belinda Bauer, Black Woods Blue Sky, Bloomsbury Publishing, Boldwood Books, C. L.. Miller, Carrion Crow, Celia Sivani, Century, Charlotte Philby, Charmaine Wilkerson, Chatto & Windus, Clare Macintosh, Colwill Brown, Corvus, Cursebound, Dani Heywood-Lonsdale, Deep End, Dirty Money, Dorothy Koomson, Doubleday UK, Electric Monkey, Elly Griffiths, Emilia Hart, Emma van Straaten, Emma's Antciipated Treasures, Eowyn Ivey, February 2025, February books, Fig Tree, Fleet, Fourth Estate, Frances Quinn, From London with Love, Give Him To Me, Good Dirt, Hamish Hamilton, Han Kang, Harper Fiction, Harper North, Harper Voyager, Harvill Secker, Headline, Heather Parry, Hodder & Stoughton, Hope Street, Hungerstone, Jojo Moyes, Kat Dunn, Katie Fforde, Kelsey Rae Dimburg, Kim Curran, Laura Pearson, Libba Bray, Life Hacks for a Little Alien, Little Red Death, Lizzie Daminlola Blackburn, Lola Jaye, Lora Jones, Lucy Clarke, Manilla Press, Maz Evans, Michael Joseph, Mike Gayle, Milly Johnson, Natalie Chandler, Nephthys, Nydia Hetherington, Old Soul, Orenda, Orion, Other People's Houses, Pan Macmillan, Quercus, Rachel Louise Driscoll, Riverrun, Ronnie Turner, Saara El-Arifi, Same Time Next Week, Simon & Schuster UK, Small Fires, Snake Oil, Sphere, Sycorax, That'll Teach Her, The Antique Hunter's Death on the Red Sea, The Bones Beneath My Skin, The Borough Press, The Frozen People, The Impossible Thing, The Inheritance, The Lost Paseenger, The Manual For Good Wives, The Many Futures of Maddy Hart, The Morrigan, The Paris #Dancer, The Portrait Artist, The Re-Write, The Rose Bargain, The Scorpion and the Night Blossom, The Sirens, The Surf House, The Voices, The Woman in the Wallpaper, This Immaculate Body, Three Days in June, Tinder Press, TJ Klune, Tor, Trisha Sakhlecha, Under the Same Stars, Victorian Psycho, Viking, Virginia Feito, We All Live Here, We Do Not Part, We Pretty Pieces of Flesh, You Are Fatally Invited

Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2023

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2023

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 19th Sep 2023
No Comments on Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2023

Welcome to the October edition of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures. There’s lots of exciting books in store this month, including intriguing debuts, and new releases from Antti Tuomainen, C.J. Cooke, Stephanie Garber, Sophie Kinsella, and Janice Hallett. There are also re-releases or special editions of some of my favourite books that I can’t wait for.

So, here’s what I’m most excited about being released in October:

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

Published October 3rd by Hodderscape
Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Hisotrical Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
She didn’t want Prince Charming. She wanted the demon.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco, Throne of the Fallen is a seductive new standalone novel set within the Kingdom of the Wicked world.

A wicked prince. A fallen painter. Let the games begin . . .

The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives at his demon court, signalling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way.

Camilla is an artist with troubles of her own: a desperate mistake has landed her in debt to a notorious rake. Threatened with ruinous scandal, she is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy. A bargain that reveals secrets and ignites passions that neither of them expects.

Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the underworld – from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond – while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.

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The Takedown by Carlie Walker

Published October 3rd by Orion
Romance, Mystery, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
MISS CONGENIALITY meets Emily Henry with the spice of MR AND MRS SMITH in this fun, sexy and absolutely irresistible romcom.

—

He wants to take her out. She wants to take him down…

Sydney’s mission is simple:

1. Stop her little sister from marrying a notorious criminal
2. Seduce his bodyguard to gather intel for the FBI
3. Definitely do not fall in love…

Agent Sydney Swift is going home for the holidays. She’s just discovered that her younger sister, Calla, is engaged to Johnny Jones – the heir to the nation’s most notorious crime dynasty – and she’s determined to stop their perfect winter wedding at any cost.

But gathering incriminating evidence on Johnny isn’t as easy as she’d hoped, especially as her biggest obstacle is Nick, his infuriatingly handsome and charming bodyguard!

As Sydney spends more time with Nick, lines begin to blur, and while seducing him to gather intel was bad enough, falling for him is even worse.

Soon Sydney is faced with a difficult decision – one that certainly wasn’t covered in her training . . .

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While Idaho Slept: The Hunt For Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appleman

Published October 3rd by Harper Paperbacks
True Crime

SYNOPSIS:
The author of the acclaimed true-crime memoir, The Kill Jar, tells the inside story of the “University of Idaho Murders,” offering a memorable, thoughtful dive into our societal fascination with true crime, the media’s seeming blood-frenzy, and the future of homicide investigations, while cultivating an intimate look into the minds and hearts of the victims and their suspected killer alike.

Just after 4:00 am on November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were viciously stabbed to death in an off-campus house. The killings would shake the small blue-collar college town of Moscow, Idaho, dominate mainstream news coverage, and become a social media obsession, drawing millions of clicks and views. While a reticent Moscow Police Department, the FBI, and the Idaho State Police searched for the killer, unending conjecture and countless theories blazed online, in chatrooms and platforms from Reddit and YouTube to Facebook and TikTok. For more than a month, the clash of armchair investigators and law enforcement professionals raged, until a suspect—a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate studying criminology—was arrested at his family home 2,500 miles away in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on the day before New Year’s Eve.

While Idaho Slept is a thought-provoking, literary chronicle of a small-town murder investigation blistering beneath the unceasing light of international interest, as traditional investigators, citizen sleuths, and the true-crime media acted—sometimes together, often in conflict—to uncover the truth. As J. Reuben Appelman brings this terrible crime into focus, he humanizes the four victims, examining the richness of their lives, dissects the mind and motivations of their presumed killer, and explores the world of northern Idaho, a rugged, deeply conservative stronghold steeped in Christian values and American patriotism.

Going deep inside the case, Appelman addresses a crucial question: With so many millions of citizens armed by access and hungry to take part in a true crime hunt of their own, has the nature of homicide investigations permanently changed? Rising above the sensational, While Idaho Slept illuminates the intrinsic connection between today’s media, citizen sleuths, our societal mania for murder tales, and an impatient public’s insatiable appetite for spectacle as never before. Running beneath, the pulse of the story is a heartbreaking narrative of the people we love, the dreams we all share, and the uncertain time left for sharing them.

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Published October 5th by Mantle
Mystery, Literary Fiction, Psycholgical Fiction, Urban Fiction, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Kamogawa Food Detectives, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason to stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to unlocking forgotten memories and future happiness.

From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love’s beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.

A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal.

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The Babysitter by Emma Curtis

Published October 5th by Corvus
Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
Three women. Three secrets.

Claudia‘s life imploded ten years ago when she was convicted of the murder of her child. Now she has done the unthinkable and confessed to manslaughter in order to be granted parole – her only hope of finding out what really happened to Tilly.

Sara is married to Joe, Claudia’s ex-husband, and they have a young child together. She finally has everything she ever wanted, but Claudia’s release threatens the perfect life she has created.

Anna was the babysitter who let Claudia and Joe down on day their daughter disappeared. Married with a child of her own, Claudia’s reappearance in her quiet cul-de-sac is an unwelcome surprise.

These three women are tied together in more ways than they realize. But only one of them is capable of killing.

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She’s A Killer by Kirsten McDougall

Published October 5th by Gallic Books
Thriller, Dark Comedy, Satire

SYNOPSIS:
‘Smart, assured, and extremely funny’ Eleanor Catton

‘A fabulously dark pleasure, delivered in prose of singing tautness’ Luke Jennings

Eleanor Oliphant meets Killing Eve in this darkly funny and gloriously unhinged New Zealand sensation, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2023.

ALICE: 30-something, IQ of 159 (almost a genius), only communicates with her mother in Morse code. Her imaginary friend is back.

ERIKA: 15, daughter of hot ‘wealthugee’ who loves Russian literature, genuine genius, killer eyeliner and killer instincts.

The climate is in crisis and wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. But Alice has far more important things to worry about: hating her best friend’s husband, getting free wine and quiet-quitting her dull day job. Until she meets Erika.

Now, Alice is about to find herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?

Bold and brilliantly bizarre, She’s a Killer is the satirical dystopian cli-fi thriller you never knew you needed. Until now.

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The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

Published October 26th by Hodder & Stoughton
Contemporary Romance, Romance Novel, Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Just Haven’t Met You Yet, This Time Next Year, and Before I Do

‘Sophie’s books are always filled with warmth, but she’s outdone herself here. It’s the definition of a feel-good read! Funny, poignant, and heartfelt, I fell head-over-heels for this one’ LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

Lucy Young is only twenty-six, but she’s exhausted. She’s tired of bad dates, being on the bottom rung at work, and living off Rice Krispies.

She’s ready to skip to the good part.

The part where she’s happily married, running the office, and never even thinking about her overdraft.

But you should be careful what you wish for . . .

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Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Collector’s Edition)

Published October 5th by Corsair
Mystery, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, Bildungsroman

SYNOPSIS:
‘Painfully beautiful’ The New York Times Book Review

‘Heart-wrenching… a compelling love story’ Entertainment Weekly

‘Astonishing’ People

For years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

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Lilith by Nikki Marmery

Published October 9th by Legend Press
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Alternative History, Religious Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
LILITH IS THE HEROINE WOMEN HAVE WAITED SIX THOUSAND YEARS FOR.
ONE OF STYLIST’S BEST NEW FEMINIST RETELLINGS TO READ IN 2023
‘FEISTY, FURIOUS, AND STARTLINGLY FUNNY… EVERY PAGE SEETHES WITH LILITH’S RAGE AND HEARTACHE’ NAOMI KELSEY

In the Garden of Eden, at the beginning of time, an outrageous lie is born: that women are inferior.

Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. But when Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him, she refuses – and is banished forever from Paradise. Demonised and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah – God’s wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven – is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world and regain her rightful place in Paradise

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Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

Published October 10th by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Coming of Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
Two outcasts find themselves at the centre of world-altering change in Sword Catcher, the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

‘Everything I look for in fantasy’ – George R. R. Martin

One was raised to rule. One was trained to die. Welcome to the Chronicles of Castellane.

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, a young orphan named Kel is stolen from his old life to enter a new one of luxury and peril. He’s to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double, shielding the Prince from all dangers. As his ‘Sword Catcher,’ he and Conor become close as brothers – yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor.

Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But events pull her and Kel together and into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld.

Together, they’ll discover an extraordinary conspiracy. But can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war and the world into chaos?

Lose yourself in a vibrant world of power, intrigue and magic in this spellbinding epic from an internationally bestselling sensation.

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Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Published October 10th by Delacorte Press
Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Set more than one hundred years after the Borden murders, this propulsive, supernatural thriller imagines what might happen if history were to repeat itself today. Perfect for fans of Kara Thomas and Courtney Summers!

When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question.

But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.

Tessa’s search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, notoriously cursed forest, where she and Mariella must face a darkness that has lurked within their town since before the days of Lizzie Borden–the original axe murderess of Fall River.

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I Wanted You To Know by Laura Pearson

Published Octoebr 10th by Boldwood Books
Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Dear Edie, I wanted you to know so many things. I wanted to tell you them in person, as you grew up by my side. But it wasn’t to be…

When Jess gives birth to Edie, it’s the happiest day of her life. She knows, from the moment her little girl’s hand grasps her finger, that her daughter owns her heart, completely and utterly. And even though Edie’s father has left them, and single motherhood isn’t easy, her beautiful, innocent child brings her untold joy.

But then Jess receives a diagnosis that changes everything. Edie’s life – that is just beginning – is interrupted by worried looks, heavy conversations. And Jess must face the possibility of leaving her daughter to grow up without her.

Propelled by a ticking clock, Jess knows what she has to do. She begins to put pen to paper, to tell her daughter everything she might need to know.

How to love, how to lose, how to forgive, and, most importantly, how to live when you never know how long you have…

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The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley

Published October 12th by Michael Joseph
Gothic Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction, Supernatural Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . .

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her.

She is mistaken.

Edward’s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers – claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited.

At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.

What exactly happened to Edward’s first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed?

And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead – or is she the one being watched?

SET ON THE YORKSHIRE MOORS IN THE 1800S, THE BLACK FEATHERS IS A GHOSTLY TALE OF MAGIC AND WICKEDNESS.

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A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

Published October 12th by Harper Collins UK
Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Supernatural Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for over a century.

Something that craves revenge…

1901. On board the Ormen, a whaling ship battling through the unforgiving North Sea, Nicky Duthie awakes. Attacked and dragged there against her will, it’s just her and the crew – and they’re all owed something only she can give them.

1973. Decades later, when the ship is found still drifting across the ocean, it’s deserted. Just one body is left on board, his face and feet mutilated, his cabin locked from the inside. Everyone else has vanished.

Now, as urban explorer Dominique travels into the near-permanent darkness of the northernmost tip of Iceland, to the final resting place of the Ormen’s wreck, she’s determined to uncover the ship’s secrets.

But she’s not alone. Something is here with her. And it’s seeking revenge…

‘Rich, chilling and gorgeously gothic. A Haunting in the Arctic is the kind of enchanting, terrifying mystery I just adore’ Chris Whitaker

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The Hurrican eWars by Thea Guanzon

Published October 12th by HarperVoyagerUK
Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, Hight Fantasy, War Story

SYNOPSIS:
THE EPIC ENEMIES-TO LOVERS FANTASY THAT WILL TAKE THE WORLD BY STORM

All Talasyn has ever known are the Hurricane Wars. An orphan of the struggle, she uses the power of light to fight for her people against the Night Empire.

All Alaric has ever known is darkness. The son of the Night Emperor and their deadliest weapon, he wields terrifying shadow magic to crush the rebellion.

Then he sees Talasyn, his sworn enemy burning bright across the battlefield. The moment they clash their lives are changed forever.

Now a greater threat is rising and only they can stop it.

The coming storm threatens to destroy everything. If they don’t destroy each other first . . .

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The Beaver Theory (Rabbit Factor Trilogy 3) by Antti Tuomainen

Published October 12th by Orenda Books
Mystery, Thriller, Dark Comedy, Noir Fiction, Horror Fiction, Book Series, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Can everyone’s favourite insurance mathematician, Henri, combine the increasingly dangerous world of adventure parks with the unpredictability of blended-family life? He’s about to find out in the final instalment of the hilarious, nail-biting Rabbit Factor Trilogy.

Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter…

As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process…

Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.

In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher…

Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results…

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White As Snow (An Arora Investigation Valume 3) by Lilja Sigurdadottir

Published October 12th by Orenda
Mystery, Thriller, Hardboiled, Police FictionBook Series, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Daníel and Áróra hunt a brutal killer when a shipping container with the bodies of five women is found outside Reykjavik, as Áróra continues the search for her missing sister. Book three in the addictive, chilling An Áróra Investigation series.

On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive.

As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel’s former wife, and the connections don’t stop there…

Daníel and Áróra’s cases pit them both against ruthless criminals with horrifying agendas, while Áróra persists with her search for her missing sister, Ísafold, whose devastating disappearance continues to haunt her.

As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous … for everyone.

Atmospheric, twisty and breathtakingly tense, White as Snow is the third instalment in the riveting, award-winning An Áróra Investigation series, as crimes committed far beyond Iceland’s shores come home…

Shortlisted for The Blood Drop – Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, 2022

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Geneva by Richard Armitage

Published October 12th by Faber & Faber
Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘An outstanding debut – ingenious, fast-paced and unpredictable.’ HARLAN COBEN
‘An atmospheric, icily tense thriller.’ Telegraph
‘Geneva is one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few.’ A. J. FINN

A SPECTACULAR DESTINATION THRILLER WITH HEART

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has started to show the same tell-tale signs of Alzheimer’s disease as her father: memory loss, even blackouts. So she is reluctant to accept the invitation to be the guest of honour at a prestigious biotech conference – until her husband Daniel, a neuroscientist, persuades her that the publicity storm will be worth it. The technology being unveiled at this conference could revolutionise medicine forever. More than that, it could save Sarah’s life.

In Geneva, the couple are feted as stars – at least, Sarah is. But behind the five-star luxury, investors are circling, controversial blogger Terri Landau is all over the story, and Sarah’s symptoms are getting worse. As events begin to spiral out of control, Sarah can’t be sure who to trust – including herself.

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Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Published October 12th by Atlantic Books
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Gay Romance

SYNOPSIS:
Growing up , TJ was Cam’s boy next door. When Cam needed a home, TJ’s parents – Mae and Jin – took him in. Their family bakery became Cam’s safe place. Until he left, and it wasn’t anymore.

Years later, Cam’s world is falling apart. The love of his life, Kai, is gone: but his ghost keeps haunting Cam, and won’t let go. And Cam’s not sure he wants to let go, not sure he’s ready. When he has a chance to return to his home town, to work in a gay bar clinging on in a changing city landscape, he takes it. Back in the same place as TJ, they circle each other warily, their banter electric with an undercurrent of betrayal, drawn together despite past and current drama. Family is family. But TJ is no longer the same person Cam left behind; he’s had his own struggles. The quiet, low-key, queer kid, the one who stayed home, TJ’s not sure how to navigate Cam – utterly cool, completely devastated and self-destructing – crashing back into his world.

When things said – or left unsaid – become so insurmountable that they devour us from within, hope and sustenance and friendship can come from the most unlikely source. Nourishment has many forms: eating croissants, sitting together at a table with bowls of curry, sharing history, confronting demons, growing flowers, showing up. This is a story about how the people who know us the longest can hurt us the most, but how they also set the standard for love, and by their necessary presence, create a family.

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The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

Published October 12th by Bantam
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance Novel, Humorous Fciton

SYNOPSIS:
‘I’ll drop anything for a new Sophie Kinsella. The Burnout is hilarious, sparky and joyful – just the book you need if you’re desperate for a break’ BETH O’LEARY

‘I devoured The Burnout in one greedy gulp. Funny, sad, relatable, and so brilliantly done. Sophie Kinsella is the queen of romantic comedy’ JOJO MOYES

‘The Burnout is a glorious off-season holiday love story that will sweep you off your feet. Funny, feelgood, touching and full of the bittersweet, incisive wit that puts every Sophie Kinsella novel in a league of its own. I could not have loved it more.’ LISA JEWELL

The irresistible new romantic comedy from the number one bestselling author. Discover the joy that awaits when you set yourself free…

Sasha is well and truly over it all: work (all-consuming), friendships (on the back burner), sex-life (non-existent). Sasha has hit a brick wall.

Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga and find solitude, she heads to the Devon resort she loved as a child. But it’s off-season, the hotel is falling apart and now she has to share the beach with someone else: a grumpy, stressed-out guy called Finn. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on a rock, watching her? Especially when they don’t agree on burnout cures. (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming, secret Mars bars; Finn: drinking whisky.)

But when curious messages start appearing on the beach, Sasha and Finn are forced to begin talking – about everything. What’s the mystery? Why are they both burned out? What exactly is ‘manifesting’, anyway?

They might discover that they have more in common than they think…

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A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

Published October 12th by Viking
Contemporary Fiction, Romance Novel

SYNOPSIS:
‘Joyous, uplifting and heart-racingly romantic. I devoured it. You’ll find me in Little Italy licking gelato off a hot Italian stallion’s chest’ Cathy Bramley

—–

Where better to start again than New York?

Iris arrives in the city of dreams, intent on restarting her culinary career, and leaving her recent heartache behind.

Wandering the streets at a famous food festival, Iris feels like she’s living in a movie. Then she stumbles upon a gelateria that looks strangely familiar. Inside, she meets Gio: a perfect leading man with an irresistible smile – and a crisis of his own.

As fate would have it, Iris is the one person with the answer to his problem. She just can’t tell him that . . .

So, can Iris finally let go of the past – and let herself fall in love?

A sumptuously cosy seasonal love story set in sparkling New York, from the queen of the ‘what if?’ romance Josie Silver.

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My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers

Published October 12th by Head of Zeus
Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Paranormal Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
Howarth, 1846. The edge of the Yorkshire moors.

Here, in solitude, live a widowed parish priest and his family: three daughters and their single brother.

Though the future will celebrate the three daughters, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years, they will all be dead.

And it will be middle daughter Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

My Brother’s Keeper introduces an ancient secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church.

An atmospheric, claustrophobic gothic novel from a revered fantasy author… featuring… have you not guessed yet?

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Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

Published October 12th by Head of Zeus
Thriller, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
From TikTok sensation Ashley Winstead comes her newest thriller. For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all…

In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar?and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town’s secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we’ve come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

‘Where The Crawdads Sing meets Twilight meets Thelma and Louise in this brilliantly realized, totally original thriller. Absolutely sensational! I couldn’t put it down.’ Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author

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Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam

Published October 12th by Baskerville
Historical Fition, Gothic Fiction,Thriller, Historical Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
‘An exquisitely written work of Caledonian gothic’ Francine Toon, author of Pine

‘A darkly sparkling jewel of a book’ Kirsty Logan, author of Now She is Witch

Edinburgh, 1923.

Evelyn Hazard is a young woman living a comfortable and unremarkable middle-class life. One day, her quiet existence is shattered when her steady, reliable husband Robert makes a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead.

As the couple are pulled into the spiritualist movement that emerged following the mass deaths caused by the First World War and the Spanish Flu, Evelyn’s life becomes increasingly unsettled as dark secrets from her past threaten to surface.

Faced with the prospect of losing all that is dear to her, Evelyn finds herself asking: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman or – most frighteningly – is he telling the truth?

A gothic literary mystery, written in sparkling prose, Hazardous Spirits evokes the spirit of 1920s Edinburgh, in all its bohemian vibrancy.

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A Midwinter’s Tail by Lili Hayward

Published October 12th by Sphere
Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fairy Tales, Myths & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
A town in need.
An extraordinary cat.
A season for miracles…

It’s nearly Christmas and committed Londoner, Mina Kestle, is close to signing a deal that will make her career and give her everything she’s ever wanted. And then she receives a mysterious letter in the post along with an ancient key, sent by her long-estranged godfather . . .

Davy Penhallow is an artist who lives on the tiny Cornish island of Morgelyn with only his pet cat, Murr, for company. Mina hasn’t seen or heard from him in decades, but now it seems he wants her to look after his cottage – and his cat – while he recovers from a stroke in hospital. Mina doesn’t know why Davy has written after all these years, but she intends to do what’s right: sort out the cottage and the cat and then get back to London in time for her career-saving meeting, before everything she’s built comes crashing down around her.

But the more time Mina spends in the cottage, looking after Murr and remembering the magic of Cornish folklore, the harder it becomes for her to tear herself away. And when she discovers that a set of ruthless property developers are coming for Morgelyn, she realises she might be the only one who can stand in their way to save the island, Davy’s cottage and Murr’s home.

As Christmas draws ever closer and echoes of the past – her own and the island’s – wash up in her memory, Mina begins to unravel a generation of secrets… and discover what it is she has truly always wanted . . .

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Mrs Sidhu’s Dead and Scone by Suk Pannu

Published October 12th by Harper Collins UK
Cozy Mystery, Thriller, Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
The debut cosy culinary crime thriller from Suk Pannu, creator of BBC Radio 4’s Mrs Sidhu Investigates and writer for Goodness, Gracious, Me and five series of the Emmy Award winning Kumars at No. 42

Mrs. Sidhu – unofficial Aunty to everyone, caterer, and amateur sleuth from Slough – spices up the lives of Berkshire’s elite with both her mouth-watering dishes and her sharp detective skills. But when she stirs up trouble among the rich and ruthless, she finds herself an outsider in her own community.

Banished to the kitchen by her boss and sentenced to an endless loop of aubergine bhajis, Mrs. Sidhu seizes the opportunity to whip up a new recipe for success – getting a job as a private chef at an exclusive celebrity rehab retreat. But when a therapist is found dead in the quiet village, Mrs Sidhu’s appetite for mystery is rekindled.

As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that the killer is picking victims through a twisted raffle at the village fete. Is a vengeful spirit returning to exact a horrifying revenge, or is there an impostor among the residents hiding a deadly secret?

Pre-order here*

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

Published October 12th by Transworld
Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Short Stories, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The uplifting new Japanese cat novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles

THE PERFECT READ FOR CAT LOVERS

‘Quirky and life-enhancing’ THE TIMES Biggest Books of the Autumn 2023
_____________________
Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners’ lives.

– A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby
– An elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever
– A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature’s way
– A family is perplexed by their cat’s devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father
– A woman curses how her cat constantly visits her at night

Bursting with empathy and love, THE GOODBYE CAT explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.

A huge bestseller in Japan, every page is a joyous celebration of cats and how we cannot resist sharing our lives with them.

‘A book for every cat lover. An enchanting insight into the mysterious world of cats and their humans’ CELIA HADDON, author of Being Your Cat

Pre-order here*

The Exchange by John Grisham

Published Octber 17th by Hodder & Stoughton
Thriller, Legal Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
***THE BIGGEST GRISHAM IN OVER A DECADE***

The Exchange is John Grisham’s epic follow-up to his phenomenal global bestseller The Firm, the novel that launched his career as the world’s favourite storyteller – it will take you on a rollercoaster journey across the globe, from New York to London, and Rome to Marrakech.

TEN DAYS TO SAVE A LIFE. ONE SECOND TO END IT.

Mitch McDeere has cheated death and come out the other side. Fifteen years ago, he stole $10 million from the mob and disappeared. Now, with his enemies jailed or dead, he has fought his way to the top of the biggest law firm in the world.

When a new case takes Mitch to Libya, danger awaits: he’s soon in the biggest hostage negotiation in recent history with terrorists who have murdered and will murder again. Their demand is staggering: a ransom of $100 million must be paid within 10 days.

But this isn’t a random kidnapping – it’s personal. And no one, not even Mitch’s wife in New York, is safe.

With the clock ticking, can Mitch stay one step ahead of his enemies?
This time, there’s nowhere to hide.

Pre-order here*

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Published October 17th by Quercus
Contemporary Fantasy, Suspense, Magical Realism, Fairy Tales, Myths & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant story with romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible: a story you will never forget.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm – and the mysterious curse that has haunted them for generations.

The madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance left her daughter, June, to be raised by her grandmother. Everyone in Jasper is certain it’s only a matter of time before she finds the same end, but June has kept secret that her unravelling has already begun.

After her grandmother’s death, June follows a series of clues that link her mother’s disappearance to the town’s dark history, leading finally to a mysterious door.

Behind it may lay the answer to the mysteries that have always lingered like a dark shadow. Upon crossing the threshold, June embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but entangle her fate and her heart in a star-crossed love.

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The Winter Spirits : Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Various

Published October 19th by Sphere
Historical Fiction, Short Stories

SYNOPSIS:
FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES.

‘Terrific – every bit as good as an MR James collection’ ROSIE ANDREWS, author of THE LEVIATHAN

Featuring new and original stories from:

Bridget Collins, author of The Binding
Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The Loney
Jess Kidd, author of Things in Jars
Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory
Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions
Susan Stokes Chapman, author of Pandora
Laura Shepherd-Robinson, author of The Square of Sevens
Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street

The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories – authored by some of today’s most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction – are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience.

Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret,, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past . . .

Pre-order here*

The Hidden Language of Cats by Dr. Sarah Brown

Published October 19th by Michael Joseph
Animal Behaviour, Biology

SYNOPSIS:
THIS BOOK TRANSLATES ALL THE MEOWS – IN CASE YOU MISSED ANYTHING

Descended from shy, solitary North African wild cats, domestic cats set up homes with devoted owners all over the world. But how did those wildcats of old creep into our homes and our hearts, convincing us to keep them warm, fed, and pampered? Quite simply, they learned to talk to us.

Renowned cat behaviour scientist Dr. Sarah Brown has been at the forefront of research in the field, discovering how cats use tail signals to interact with each other and their owners. Now she reveals the previously unexplored secrets of cat communication in a book that is both scientifically grounded and utterly delightful.

Each chapter dives into a different form of communication, including vocalisation, tail signals, scents, rubbing, and ear movements. The iconic meow, for example, is rarely used between adult cats – cleverly mimicking the cries of a human infant, the meow is in fact a feline invention for conversing with people.

Through observing the behavior of two cat colonies in rural England, readers will also have the opportunity to glimpse into the lives of some of the cats behind Dr. Brown’s science.

Can we understand what cats’ meows and other signals mean? How do cats actually perceive us? And how can we use this information to inform how we communicate with our feline friends? Referencing historical records, exploring modern scientific studies of cat-human communication, and including simple, elegant line drawings, The Hidden Language of Cats is perfect for any cat lover who wants to learn more about their companion.

Pre-order here*

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Published October 24th by Bloomsburty Publishing
Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The astonishing new novel from two-time National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward

‘Leaves you in awe of the human capacity to not only endure, but to ascend back to the light … Spectacular’
ANTHONY DOERR, author of All the Light We Cannot See

‘A stunning achievement. Will grip you from the first word to the last’
NATHAN HARRIS, author of The Sweetness of Water

Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching. Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Ward leads readers through the descent, this, her fourth novel, is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this miracle of a novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land – the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet, a masterwork for the ages.

Pre-order here*

A Curse For True Love (Once Upon A Broken Heart 3) by Stephanie Garber

Published October 24th by Hodder & Stoughton
Fantasy Fiction, Epic Fantsy, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

Pre-order here*

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

Published October 24th by Raven Books
Mystery, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Hardboiled

SYNOPSIS:
‘Engrossing, surprising, clever, genre-bending’ Val McDermid
‘A remarkable novel by a major talent…entirely unique’ Stuart Turton

‘Any respectable practitioner must follow the rules in making the truth – however skilfully camouflaged by lies – accessible to all’

It’s the Fourth of July weekend at the prestigious West Heart country club. Gathered for cocktails on the first evening are just some of the guests: the club president, the treasurer and his pregnant wife, the snooping school boy, the bereaved father, the taciturn caretaker, the prospective member, the private detective…

And there will also be a body.

And a fiendish mystery to solve.

But everything else is to play for.

And you are about to find out that youhave a role to play in this mystery too..

West Heart Kill is an outrageously original and imaginative murder mystery that is both a love letter to the greats of classic crime fiction and a brilliant puzzle the likes of which you will never have read before.

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The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover

Published October 24th by Lake Union Publishing
Suspense, Psychologival Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From award-winning author Rebecca Hanover comes an emotional thrill ride about two women whose lives take a dangerous turn in the high-stakes arena of private school admissions.

Audrey Singer revels in her position as the admissions director of an exclusive Manhattan private school. Parents cater to her whims and desires, desperate to give their children an edge. Audrey’s power is undeniable; privilege comes with the territory. Her perfect marriage completes the glossy picture of her life.

Until the arrival of the neurotic, vulnerable Sarah Price. Determined to get her son into the city’s most coveted kindergarten class, Sarah inserts herself into Audrey’s world, testing boundaries at every turn. For Sarah, everything Audrey has is a potential target: her job, her friends…even her marriage.

But what seems to be another ploy by an overachieving mother takes a dark and ominous turn. Sarah seems to be hiding secrets of her own. Are her designs on Audrey’s life purely about getting what she wants for her son?

Or is there something more sinister at play in this cutthroat game?

Pre-order here*

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Published October 26th by Viper Books
Mystery, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
* THE CAST OF SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING THE APPEAL RETURN FOR A FESTIVE MURDER MYSTERY *
* FROM THE WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CRIME AND THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR *

One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?

Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.

Of course there’s also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?

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The Twelve Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani

Published October 26th by Zaffre
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Cozy Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
Find the truth. Solve the murder. Never reveal your secret.

Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Murder Masquerade Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, but they were always fictional – until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again.

Twelve years later, the remaining members of the group receive an invitation to a reunion masquerade, to be held in a beautiful and remote country house in Scotland. When they arrive they are each assigned a new identity themed around the Twelve Days of Christmas – they become Lady Partridge or Mr Gold; Lord Leapworth or Doctor Swan. The game begins, and it feels just like old times.

Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree.

It quickly becomes clear that in this game, the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. If they hope to win the game and survive the festive season then they will need to face the truth about their history together, who they have become – and what really happened on that fateful night twelve years before.

Pre-order here*

The Wayward Sisters by Kate Hodges

Published October 26th by Hodder & Stoughton
Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, HIstorical Fantasy, Supernatural Fiction, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Inverness, 1769.

On a freezing winter’s night, astronomer Nancy Lockaby arrives at Blackthistle House, home to renowned, enigmatic Shakespeare scholar Caleb Malles.

When, a month before, Nancy received an invitation from Caleb to leave her position at the Royal Observatory and join him as a research fellow, she saw the opportunity to leave behind a past riddled with tragedy – and to find adventure and freedom in Scotland.

In her new home, Nancy initially finds herself captivated by Caleb’s eccentric mind and deep passion for Macbeth. So, when she crosses paths with three old crones who reveal that Caleb is keeping secrets from her, she is dismissive – after all, the women also claim to have lived many centuries and possess powers that defy any logical reasoning.

Yet as Caleb’s behaviour becomes more erratic, she begins to suspect that the mysterious scholar might have had hidden motives to lure her into his home. But can Nancy trust these three strange women when they warn her that if she doesn’t uncover Caleb’s true intentions, great danger awaits them all?

Offering a fresh, feminist perspective on literature’s most infamous trio, The Wayward Sisters is an enthralling, intricately woven story of friendship, intrigue and magic.

Pre-order here*

Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman

Published October 26th by Verve Books
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fcition, Thriller, Horror Fiction, Paranormal Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Doors open at 7. The sacrifice is at 9. The dress code is, as usual, black tie.

It’s the winter solstice in a Philadelphia that has been eroded by extreme weather, economic collapse, and disease-carrying mosquitoes. The Saturnalia carnival is about to begin – an evening on which nearly everyone, rich or poor, forgets their troubles for a moment.

For Nina, Saturnalia is simply a cruel reminder of the night that changed everything for her. It’s now three years since she walked away from the elite Saturn Club, with its genteel debauchery, arcane pecking order, and winking interest in alchemy and the occult. Since then, she’s led an isolated life, eking out a living telling fortunes with her Saturn Club tarot deck.

But when she gets a chance call from Max, her last remaining friend from the Saturn Club, Nina will put on a dress of blackest black and attend the Club’s wild solstice masquerade, the biggest party of the year, on a mysterious errand she can’t say no to.

Before the night is over, she will become the custodian of a horrifying secret – and the target of a mysterious hunter.

As Nina runs across an alternate Philadelphia balanced on a knife’s edge between celebration and catastrophe – through parades, worship houses, museums, hidden mansions, and the place she once called home – she’s forced to confront her past so she can finally take charge of her own, and perhaps everyone else’s, future.

A wholly original blend of feminism, cli-fi, suspense and magical realism, Saturnalia is a story about environmental collapse and class warfare, trauma and rebirth, and magic – the extraordinary, ancient magic of alchemy and the ordinary, timeless magic of bravery and forgiveness.

Pre-order here*

Too Far (Blacklist 2) by Sylvia Day

Published October 26th by Michael Joseph
Romance Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Book Series

SYNOPSIS:
From the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Crossfire saga comes the conclusion of a twisty tale of three women fighting to outrun their pasts-one for love, one for power and one for revenge.

Lily Black was presumed dead for years.

Now, she’s back in the unquestioning arms of her loving husband, Kane.

Where she’s been remains a mystery, but her past sins haunt her and bring deadly danger into the lives of the family.

Meanwhile Aliyah, Kane’s mother, has worked hard for her position of power. She has never believed Lily is who she says she is, and will stop at nothing to expose her.

Amy, Kane’s sister-in-law, has always been a pawn in the dangerous games this family plays. But she knows she deserves more, and will do anything to claim the biggest prize.

Three women fight to outrun their pasts.

But could they have more in common than they think?

Pre-order here*

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

Published October 26th by Bloomsbury Publishing
Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
There was only one thing on her mind.

‘I must start a bookshop.’

Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.

In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju – they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.

A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life – and the healing power of books.

Pre-order here*

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Published by October 26th by Sphere
Romance Novel, Romantic Comedy, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Wrap up warm and watch the snowflakes fall, the Christmas bookshop welcomes you home…
_______________

The brand new feel-good Christmas novel from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Jenny Colgan.

Carmen is at a loose end. Her gorgeous bookshop is the filming site of a cheesy Christmas movie, she’s been ousted from her sister’s house, and the love of her life has just flown thousands of miles away. It’s threatening to be a very unjolly Christmas indeed!

But when the elderly owner of the shop comes to Carmen with a Christmas wish that threatens to never come true, Carmen knows she must buckle down to get the funds to save not only his trip, but the shop itself. While fending off a shady tatt-selling businessman, Carmen discovers wonders to the shop she could have never imagined, and opens a labyrinth of bookish backrooms for the customers to get lost in.

With her deadline looming, it might take more than a fresh coat of paint to solve Carmen’s problems. But with the help of their neighbours, her nieces and nephew, and a very distractingly cute male nanny, Carmen might just pull her greatest magic trick yet…

Pre-order here*

The Snow Girl by Sophie Anderson

Published October 26th by Usborne Publishing
Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From award-winning and critically acclaimed Sophie Anderson, comes a fairy-tale story of friendship, belonging and bravery, in an adventure through a winter wonderland. The perfect read for the whole family this Christmas.

I wish the snow girl would come to life. Then I would have a friend, a real friend I could trust, and I wouldn’t feel so alone.

When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true… Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes?

Pre-order here*

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory

Published October 26th by William Collins
Historical Biographies

SYNOPSIS:
FROM THE MULTI-MILLION BESTSELLING HISTORICAL NOVELIST COMES THE CULMINATION OF HER LIFE’S WORK.

Normal Women is a radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen – but of social and cultural change, powered by the determination, persistence and effectiveness of women– from 1066 to modern times.

Did women really do nothing to shape England’s culture and traditions in nine centuries of turmoil, plague, famine, religious reform and the rise of empire and industry? Philippa Gregory answers this question with accounts of female soldiers, guild widows, highwaywomen, pirates, miners and ship owners, international traders, theatre impresarios, runaway enslaved women, ‘female husbands’, social campaigners and rebels. These individuals, and the prejudice they faced, built our society to be as diverse and varied as the women themselves. This is not another book about three or four well-known heroines; it is a book about millions of women: those who left records and those who were ‘hidden from history.’

The ‘normal women’ you will meet in these pages rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency, and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their everyday lives. They went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They committed crimes, or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things and rioted. A lot.

A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, this is a history, not a call to action. It looks back at the past lives of half the population – without the judgemental gaze of the present; telling of women who did not want the vote, as well as those that did, those that wanted to be idle at home as well as those who fought for freedom. It is not – it cannot be – a celebration of women’s ‘rise’; because women are still not yet equal. But by spotlighting women’s presence, in the shadows of men’s history, it puts women where they belong – centre stage.

Pre-order here*

Sweetpea by C. J. Skuse (Sweetpea Series Book 1)

Re-issued October 26th by HQ
Thriller, Mystery, Dark Comedy, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘If you like your thrillers darkly comic and outrageous this ticks all the boxes’ The Sun

The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…

’I haven’t killed anyone for three years and I thought that when it happened again I’d feel bad. Like an alcoholic taking a sip of whisky. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once.’

Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.

Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.

A kill list.

From the man on the Lidl checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.

Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…

Pre-order here*

Hunger Games: The Deluxe Collection by Suzanne Collins

Published October 26th by Scholastic
Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure Fiction, Alternative History, Dystopian Fiction, Children’s Literature

SYNOPSIS:
This beautiful deluxe hardcover box set includes all three books in Suzanne Collins’s internationally bestselling Hunger Games trilogy together with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

With brand new artwork by Freya Betts: this is a must-have collection for all fans of this groundbreaking, phenomenally bestselling series.

There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV…

And the odds are against all who play.

With all four of Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games novels in one box set, you can step into the world of Panem with the 10th annual Hunger Games, and continue all the way to the electrifying conclusion.
All four books have been made into feature films, the first three starring Jennifer Lawence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland.
The fourth movie of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is released November 2023 and has an all-star cast including Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage.

BOOKS INCLUDED IN THE BOXSET

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

ABOUT THE NEW COVERS

To celebrate the release of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes feature film, Freya Betts has taken the four iconic logos and added a modern twist.

Freya is a UK based freelance illustrator who focuses on hyper-realistic portraiture, mainly in the medium of digital painting. She has worked predominantly in the film industry – her journey beginning with an apprenticeship at age 18, art-working film campaigns for Universal and Paramount in London.
Now she finds herself illustrating film posters for Disney and Marvel, her work has appeared everywhere from giant murals in New York to t-shirts in H&M. Clients include: Disney, Netflix, Marvel, Apple TV, Uber, Royal Mail, The LA Times

Pre-order here*

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Published October 31st by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Gothic Fairytale, Dark Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Myth & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
‘Alix E. Harrow is an exceptional, undeniable talent’ – Olivie Blake

Step into Starling House – if you dare . . . Alix E. Harrow reimagines Beauty and the Beast in this gorgeously modern gothic fantasy, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and Naomi Novik.

Nobody in Eden remembers when Starling House was built. But the town agrees it’s best to let this ill-omened mansion – and its last lonely heir – go to hell. Stories of the house’s bad luck, like good china, have been passed down the generations.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses, or brooding men. But when an opportunity to work there arises, the money might get her brother out of Eden. Starling House is uncanny and full of secrets – just like Arthur, its heir. It also feels strangely, dangerously, like something she’s never had: a home. Yet Opal isn’t the only one interested in the horrors and the wonders that lie buried beneath it.

Sinister forces converge on Eden – and Opal realizes that if she wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it. Even if it involves digging up her family’s ugly past to achieve a better future. She’ll have to go down, deep down beneath Starling House, to claw her way back to the light . . .

This is a romantic and spellbinding Gothic fairytale from Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award-shortlisted Alix E. Harrow.

Pre-order here*

Edith Holler by Edward Carey

Pubished October 31st by Riverhead Books
Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse–and the mysterious figure who threatens the its very survival

The year is 1901. England’s beloved queen has died, and her aging son has finally taken the throne. In the eastern city of Norwich, bright and inquisitive young Edith Holler spends her days among the boisterous denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave its confines. Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, she decides to write a play of her own: a stage adaptation of the legend of Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy known as Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar, imposing woman named Margaret Unthank, heir to the actual Beetle Spread fortune, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play–the one thing that’s truly hers–from the newcomer’s sinister designs.

Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by the author’s trademark fantastical illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control–and to reveal inconvenient truths about the way children are used.

Pre-order here

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Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – August 2023

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 27th Jul 2023
2 Comments on Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – August 2023

Welcome to my August edition of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures. Once again there’s a multitude of exciting books being released and I’m sure there’s something for everyone in this list.

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The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

Published August 1st by Headline
Fairy Tale, Romantic Fantasy, Magical Realism

SYNOPSIS:
Epic. Legendary. Irrevocable. Romeo and Juliet as you have never seen them before.

‘For anyone who’s ever swooned over Romeo and Juliet: this novel cleverly imagines the epilogue the lovers didn’t get to have, and how curses can be blessings in disguise’ JODI PICOULT, #1 New York Times bestselling author

‘A rare and charming retelling that asks the question: what if Romeo and Juliet had another chance? What if they had a hundred? The Hundred Loves of Juliet is a celebration of life as it comes, and love as we find it’ ASHLEY POSTON, New York Times bestselling author

‘Beautifully spun and achingly romantic, a gorgeous reimagining that is every bit as hopeful as it is haunting. I have never loved Romeo and Juliet more’ M. A. KUZNIAR, Sunday Times bestselling author

The Hundred Loves of Juliet is a timeless romantasy: a story of love, loss and eternal hope.
………………………………………………

I may go by Sebastien now, but my name was originally Romeo. And hers was Juliet.

It’s a frosty fairytale of an evening when Helene and Sebastien meet for the first time. Except it isn’t the first time. You already know that story, though it didn’t happen quite as Shakespeare told it.

To Helene, Sebastien is the flesh-and-blood hero of the love stories she’s spent her life writing. But Sebastien knows better – Helene is his Juliet, and their story has always been the same. He is doomed to find brief happiness with her over and over, before she dies, and he is left to mourn.

Albrecht and Brigitta. Matteo and Amélie. Jack and Rachel. Marius and Cosmina. By any name, no matter where and when in time, the two of them are drawn together, and it always ends in tragedy.

This time, Helene is determined that things will be different. But can these star-cross’d lovers forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time?

Pre-order here*

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

Published August 3rd by Manilla Press
Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Historical Romance, Thriller, Drama, Tudor Romance

SYNOPSIS:
THE GREATEST EVER LOVE STORY WAS A LIE . . .

The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love.

Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.

Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo’s gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet’s reputation at stake, but her life.

With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story.

Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa in this fierce, feminist, intensely gripping novel; captivating and chillingly relevant, FAIR ROSALINE takes everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet and turns it on its head . . .

‘Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic‘
Jennifer Saint

‘I have not been able to stop thinking about this book . . . Fair Rosaline is a gripping, spellbinding and wonderfully immersive book – and one that truly makes you think. I would be very surprised if everyone is not talking about it this summer’
Elodie Harper

Pre-order here*

From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman

Published August 3rd by Hodder & Stoughton
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Literary Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Medical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘A delightful dream of a book’ LISA JEWELL
‘A book you will carry with you long after the last page’ MILLY JOHNSON
‘Up there alongside The Time Traveler’s Wife‘ CAROLE MATTHEWS

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Memory Book, an unforgettable, beautiful novel about what it means to live to the fullest and to love forever, for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Me Before You and Outlander.

He’s running out of time.

Ben Church has never done anything extraordinary in his life – until now.
Now, he needs to fulfil as many of his dreams as possible while he still can.

Time is all she has.

Vita Ambrose’s life of parties and fabulous clothes looks wildly glamorous but in reality it has no meaning.
She’s seen too much, lived too much and lost too much.

Together, can they make time stand still?

Ben and Vita’s connection is immediate, spontaneous and passionate. But the clock is ticking.
Can they find a way to make their love live forever? Because every moment matters when it might be your last . . .

Pre-order here*

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

Published August 3rd by Michael Joseph
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
‘There was a point during JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON where I sat up and shouted in shock. Gillian McAllister stunned me . . . and she will stun you too. I dare you to not ingest this in one sitting’ JODI PICOULT

‘Gillian McAllister knocks it out of the park yet again with this exquisitely plotted, seamlessly constructed police drama filled with clever twist after clever twist, gasp out loud reveals and beautifully realised characters. Just tremendous’ LISA JEWELL

PRE-ORDER THE HEART-STOPPING NEW NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

‘Another masterpiece from the queen of the emotional thriller. This book has one of the best twists I’ve ever come across’ Beth O’Leary
________

OLIVIA.
22 years old.
Last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley.
And not coming back out again.
Missing for one day and counting . . .

Julia is the detective heading up the case. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But Julia has no idea how close to home it’s going to get.

Because there’s a man out there. And his weapon isn’t a gun, or a knife: it’s a secret. Her worst one.

He tells her that her family’s safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia – and must frame somebody else for her murder . . .

What would you do?
________

‘The new queen of the what-would-you-do crime thriller is back with a tightly-plotted and twist-packed tale which will send your head spinning’ ELLORY LLOYD

Pre-order here*

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Published August 3rd by PanMacmillan
Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Gothic Romance

SYNOPSIS:
Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from her push-chair, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning up mess and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.

Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door . . . and their intentions aren’t good.

With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.

The Queen of Twists, bestselling author of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors Alice Feeney, returns with another gripping mystery filled with drama and her trademark surprises in Good Bad Girl.

Pre-order here*

The Good Daughter by Laure van Rensburg

Published August 3rd by Michael Joseph
Psychological Thriller, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
‘A stark, stunning and deeply affecting thriller. The Good Daughter takes a tender, chilling look at family and fear, the illusion of safety and the power of inner-resolve. I loved it’
CHRIS WHITAKER

‘A powerful Southern Gothic thriller about the dangers of blind faith, the strength of women, and the deceptive nature of memory’ ANNA BAILEY

‘Laure Van Rensurg has established herself as a master of the literary thriller. An eerie, chilling, gorgeously written novel that is unafraid to challenge and question its subject matter’ LAURIE ELIZABETH FLYNN

*****
Abigail is a proud member of the New America Baptist Church. Living miles away from the nearest town in South Carolina, she is safe from the depraved modern world.

She is a good daughter. A valued member of the community.

So when she is the sole survivor of a fire that burns her family’s home to the ground, it seems like a tragic accident.

Until a surprising discovery is made: before the fire, Abigail let a stranger in.

Who was the stranger? What started the fire? And was the outside world always the threat – or did danger lurk within the community’s walls?

Pre-order here*

Over My Dead by Maz Evans

Published August 3rd by Headline
Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Laugh-out-loud hilarious, moving and life affirming. How can one book be so many things? I couldn’t put this fabulous, first class, five star read down.’ JANICE HALLETT

‘Warm, wacky and witty. I loved it!’ SALLY PAGE

******
Hello? Can you hear me? Probably not. I’m Dr Miriam Price . . . and I’m dead.
The local police, who couldn’t investigate their own nostrils, think I drank myself into an early grave. The nerve! I was murdered. I was just too plastered to know whodunnit, that’s all.

Unless I prove to my inquest this week that my death was no ‘misadventure’, I’m condemned to 50 years in Limbo. I have to find my killer – but I can’t communicate with any living human. Well, there’s one, but she barely qualifies . . . Winnie – my neighbour and nemesis. It seems the dying can interact with the dead, which is helpful news for me, if not stellar for Winnie. Oh well. She’ll live. Maybe.

Suspects? How long have you got? My saintly husband, who’d reached his limit? My best friend, who was anything but? My secret lover, or his wife? My disgruntled colleague? The mother who wrongly holds me responsible for her child’s death? Professor Plum? Your guess is as good as mine.

So Winnie – slap on your deerstalker and strap on your granny pants. Let’s catch a killer! Assuming we don’t kill each other first . . .

‘Hilarious…a fab whodunnit with brilliant characters. A gleeful read!’ TINA BAKER

Pre-order here*

The Women who Wouldn’t Leave by Victoria Scott

Published August 3rd by Aria Books
Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘These two feisty and funny women stole my heart… Perfect for bookclubs.’ Faith Hogan

Two women. A community under threat. Can they save their home?

In the peaceful Worcestershire village of Stonecastle, Matilda Reynolds lives a quiet, contented life with her animals for company. Then a fall lands her in hospital, and she must rely on her strange young neighbour, Connie, for help looking after her home.

Connie is coming to terms with her own trauma, and she doesn’t trust easily. But just as the two women embark on an unlikely friendship, the community that brought them together comes under threat.

As they fight to save their beloved estate from a greedy developer, Connie and Matilda discover they have more in common than they thought…

‘An uplifting novel about the power of community and the human spirit.’ Clare Swatman

Pre-order here*

The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson

Published August 3rd by Apollo
Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Romance Novel

SYNOPSIS:
Bringing 1950s Morocco vividly to life, Jane Johnson’s masterful new novel, The Black Crescent, is a gripping story of murder, magic and divided loyalties…

Hamou Badi is born in a mountain village with the magical signs of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding all manner of treasure: lost objects, hidden water.

But instead, Hamou finds a body.

This unsolved murder instils in Hamou a deep desire for order and justice: he trains as an officer of the law, working for the French in Casablanca. But the city is trapped in the turmoil of the nationalist uprising, and soon he will be forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves…

Pre-order here*

Anatomy of a Killer by Romy Hausmann

Published August 3rd by Quercus
Thriller, Suuspense, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
They say he’s a murderer. But how could he be?

Berlin, 2017: several young girls have been disappearing for the past fourteen years. Red ribbons show the police the way to their bodies, but there’s no trace of the killer.

One evening, internationally renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on the suspicion of the murders in the presence of his daughter, Ann.

‘Professor Death’ becomes the headline of the tabloid press and Lesniak himself refuses to cooperate with the police. Ann is certain this is all some kind of mistake. And she will prove it. Yet, with the arrest of her father, she begins a journey into the unknown . . .

Pre-order here*

I Did It For You by Amy Engel

Published August 3rd by HQ
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
From the bestselling author of The Roanoke Girls comes a riveting mystery and poignant exploration of guilt, loss and devastation.

A murdered girl. A convicted killer. Justice served…

Or is it?

It’s been fourteen years since Greer’s older sister Eliza was murdered. Her family has never been the same. Nor has the small town of Ludlow.

The killer was convicted and executed but another body has been found.

A copycat, according to the authorities, but Greer is convinced there is more to the story.

And she is returning to Ludlow in search of the truth.

Pre-order here*

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

Published August 3rd by Penguin UK
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
THE PLANNING TOOK MONTHS. THE MURDER JUST MOMENTS . . .

‘Seductive and twisted. Highly recommended!’ SHARI LAPENA’
A dazzling and dark ‘locked room’ murder mystery. A searing and compulsive mystery with deliciously dark twists’ 5***** READER REVIEW
‘Wow. Once started I could not put this book down. It had me gripped from the first to last page. Secrets, lies, twists. A great summer read’ 5***** READER REVIEW
__________

Nadine Walsh’s party started with excitement. But it ended in murder . . .

In the day, she frets over the final details. She’s determined to make this the event of the year. A chance for everyone to forget the past.

In the evening, she’s distracted. Her husband and two grown children are consumed with their own concerns. The neighbours are getting on her nerves. But it’s Nadine’s own secrets that threaten the party.

By the end of the night, she will be standing over a dead body . . .

But which of her guests will she have murdered? And why?

Pre-order here*

The Bone Hacker (Temperance Brennan Series) by Kathy Reichs

Published August 3rd by Simon & Schuster UK
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Medical Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
EVEN ON AN ISLAND PARADISE, DANGER STILL LURKS.

Called in to examine what is left of a body struck by lightning, Tempe traces an unusual tattoo to its source and is soon embroiled in a much larger case. Young men – tourists – have been disappearing on the islands of Turks and Caicos for years. Seven years ago, the first victim was found with both hands cut off; the other visitors vanished without a trace. But recently, tantalizing leads have emerged and only Tempe can unravel them.

Maddeningly, the victims seem to have nothing in common – other than the unusual locations where their bodies are eventually found, and the fact that the young men all seem to be the least likely to be involved in foul play. Do these attacks have something to do with the islands’ seething culture of gang violence? Tempe isn’t so sure. And then she turns up disturbing clues that what’s at stake may actually have global significance.

It isn’t long before the sound of a ticking clock grows menacingly loud, and then Tempe herself becomes a target.

Pre-order here*

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Published August 3rd by Orion
Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
“Filled with buried secrets and jaw-dropping deception, Sarah Pekkanen’s GONE TONIGHT is a page-turning thriller about a mother-daughter you won’t soon forget.” Harlan Coben

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it’s been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother’s past or background. But when Ruth’s desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth’s carefully-constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.

No one can know Ruth’s history. There is a reason why Ruth kept them moving every few years, and why she was ready–in a moment’s notice–to be gone in the night.

But danger is closing in. Is it coming from the outside, from Ruth’s past? Is Ruth reaching a breaking point? Or is the danger coming from the darkness that may live in Catherine, herself?

Pre-order here*

The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan

Published August 3rd by Bedford Square Publishers
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
With gorgeous prose, European glamour, and an expansive wanderlust, Christine Mangan’s The Continental Affair is a fast-paced, Agatha Christie-esque caper packed full of romance and suspense.

Meet Henri and Louise.

Two strangers, travelling alone, on the train from Belgrade to Istanbul.

Except this isn’t the first time they have met.

It’s the 1960s, and Louise is running.

From her past in England, from the owners of the money she has stolen―and from Henri, the person who has been sent to collect it.

Across the Continent―from Granada to Paris, from Belgrade to Istanbul―Henri follows.

He’s desperate to leave behind his own troubles and the memories of his past life as a gendarme in Algeria.

But Henri soon realises that Louise is no ordinary traveller.

As the train hurtles toward its final destination, Henri and Louise must decide what the future will hold―and whether it involves one another.

Stylish and atmospheric, The Continental Affair takes you on an unforgettable journey through the twisty, glamorous world of 1960s Europe.

Pre-order here*

Farewell to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez

Published August 3rd by Sphere
Contemporary Fiction, War Story Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL, THE BESTSELLER THAT CAPTURED THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS WORLDWIDE

Kabul, August 2021

Sunny Tedder is back in her beloved coffee shop. After eight years away, she’s thrilled to reunite with her Kabul ‘family’:

Yazmina now runs a pair of women’s shelters from the old cafe, and dreams of a bright future for her two young daughters.

Her sister Layla has become an outspoken women’s rights activist and, thanks to social media, is quite the celebrity.

Kat, Sunny’s friend from America, is wrapping up her year-long stay in the land of her birth, but is facing some unfinished business.

And finally there’s elderly den mother Halajan, whose secret new hobby is itself an act of rebellion.

Then the US troops begin to withdraw – and the women watch in horror as the Taliban advance on the capital at ferocious speed…

Set against the terrifying fall of Kabul in 2021, Deborah Rodriguez concludes her bestselling Little Coffee Shop trilogy with a heart-stopping story of resilience, courage and, most importantly, hope.

Pre-order here*

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

Published August 4th by Boldwood Books
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romnace, Domestic Fiction, LGBT Literarture, Mashup Novel

SYNOPSIS:
The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first…

Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’.

But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’.

Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago.

It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot.

What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again…

A completely heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting story, guaranteed to make you smile but also make you cry. Perfect for fans of My Name is Ove, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and The Keeper of Stories.

Pre-order here*

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

Published August 10th by Doubleday UK
Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
THE JAPANESE BESTSELLING NOVEL
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS’ AWARD

‘I definitely want to visit this library. I feel kinder after this book‘ 5***** Reader review
‘It made me laugh and cry. It made me feel comforted and warm inside’ 5***** Reader review
‘Wonderful. It made me look for connection in my life’ 5***** Reader review

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this soul-stirring Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can help us fulfil our dreams.

_________________
What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian to the visitors in her library. For Sayuri Komachi is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors at a different crossroads: the restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills, the mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave, the conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store, the gifted young manga artist in search of motivation, and a recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose.

After reading Komachi’s unique book recommendation, they will soon discover what they need to achieve their dreams.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library is about the magic of community libraries and the discovery of connection. Already loved by thousands of readers all over the world, this heart-bursting, inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfil our long-held dreams.

Which book will you recommend?

Pre-order here*

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevado

Published August 10th by Canongate
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
The Marte women are preparing for a gathering that will change their lives forever

Flor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she decides to host her own living wake – bringing together her family and community to celebrate her long life – her sisters Matilde, Pastora and Camila are concerned. What has she foreseen?

But Flor isn’t the only one with a secret. Matilde has tried to hide the extent of her husband’s infidelity for years, and now must confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora – always on a mission to solve her sisters’ problems – needs to come to terms with her past. And Camila, the youngest sibling, has decided she no longer wants to be taken for granted. Alongside their struggles, the next generation of Marte women face their own tumult of family obligations, infertility, and heartache.

Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the intertwining stories of these sisters and cousins, mothers and daughters, aunts and nieces, to ask the ultimate question: what does it take to live a good life, for yourself and those you love?

Pre-order here*

Prom Mom by Laura Lippman

Published August 10th by Faber & Faber
Mystery, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
‘One of the best crime novelists writing today.’ PAULA HAWKINS
‘Lippmann is fast creating a new genre-busting category full of remarkable writing and dazzling plot lines.’ Daily Mail

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

‘When I was seventeen, I gave birth to a baby in a hotel bathroom while attending the prom.’

Two decades ago, Amber Glass’s life changed forever. No-one had even known she was pregnant – including Joe, her date.

Afterwards, she left town for good – and hasn’t seen Joe since. But she knows he hasn’t left, that he’s working for his father’s real estate company, married to a cosmetic surgeon. Child free.

Now Amber is back, and as the two of them tentatively start to renew their once unlikely relationship, will their secrets and motivations finally destroy everyone around them?

Inspired by a true story, this guessing game of a novel explodes with feeling and menace.

Pre-order here*

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

Published August 17th by Michael Joseph
Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
The bestselling author of My Lovely Wife returns with an addictive new psychological thriller, now available for pre-order!

NOTHING IS DEADLIER THAN TRUE LOVE…

Wes and Ivy are madly in love. It’s the kind of romance people write stories about. But what kind of story?

Because when it’s good, it’s very very good. But when it’s bad, it’s bad.

But their breakneck cycle of catastrophic vengeful break-ups and head-over-heels reconnections needs to end fast. Because suddenly, Wes and Ivy have a common enemy – and she’s a detective.

One wrong move will be fatal – so if Wes and Ivy can’t stick together, this break-up might just be their last.

Pre-order here*

The Good Liars by Anita Frank

Published August 17th by HQ
Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, War Story

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of stunning historical fiction books comes a new story of crime, deceit, and murder, set in the early 1920s…

In the summer of 1914 a boy vanishes, never to be seen again.

Now, in 1920, the once esteemed Stilwell family of Darkacre Hall find themselves struggling with the legacy of the First World War. Leonard bears the physical scars, while his brother Maurice has endured more than his mind can take. Maurice’s wife Ida yearns for the lost days of privilege and pleasure and family friend Victor seems unwilling to move on.

But their lives are thrown into further disarray when the missing boy’s case is reopened – and this time they themselves are under police scrutiny.

As the dead return to haunt the living, old resentments resurface and loyalties are tested, while secrets risk being unearthed that could destroy them all.

Pre-order here*

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine

Published August 17th by Viper Books
Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘The feminist update to Rosemary’s Baby we all needed’ – ANDREA BARTZ
‘A timely, terrifying, heartfelt thriller’ – CHRIS WHITAKER

I wanted this baby so badly.
But she may be the death of me…

Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life as an indie actress with a gruelling IVF regime, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure that never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments are moved without her knowledge. She’s sure she’s being followed. And when she finally does get pregnant, someone breaks into her house and steals the ultrasound photograph of her baby. But despite everything she’s gone through, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone is playing twisted games with her.

Then her doctors tell her she’s lost the baby. Despite her grief, Anna ignores the grave-faced men lecturing her – because she can still feel the baby moving, can see the toll it’s taking on her weakened body. Isolated in a remote snowbound town, Anna is sure that whoever has been following her is closing in on her and her unborn child. And as her symptoms become more terrifying, she can’t help but wonder what exactly is growing inside her… and why no-one will listen when she says that something is horribly wrong.

Exploring visceral themes of loss, medical misogyny and female power, The Push meets Behind Her Eyes in this spellbindingly dark thriller.

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Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Published August 17th by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
From the internationally bestselling author of The Atlas Six, Masters of Death by Olivie Blake is a gripping, page-turning fantasy.

‘Olivie Blake is a mind-blowing talent’ – Chloe Gong, author of These Violent Delights

This book is about an estate agent. Only she’s a vampire, the house on sale is haunted, and its ghost was murdered.

When Viola Marek hires Fox D’Mora to deal with her ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Viola, Fox is a fraud – despite being the godson of Death.

As the mystery unfolds, Viola and Fox are drawn into a quest that neither wants nor expects. And they’ll need the help of a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel and a love-stricken reaper. And it transpires that the difference between a mysterious lost love and a dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as you’d hope.

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Someone Like Her by Awais Khan

Published August 17th by Orenda Books
Saga, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, Religious Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A young Pakistani woman is the victim of an unthinkable act of vengeance, when she defies tradition … facing seemingly insurmountable challenges and danger when she attempts to rebuild her life.

Multan, Pakistan. A conservative city where an unmarried woman over the age of twenty-five is considered a curse by her family.

Ayesha is twenty-seven. Independent and happily single, she has evaded an arranged marriage because of her family’s reduced circumstances. When she catches the eye of powerful, wealthy Raza, it seems like the answer to her parents’ prayers. But Ayesha is in love with someone else, and when she refuses to give up on him, Raza resorts to unthinkable revenge…

Ayesha travels to London to rebuild her life and there she meets Kamil, an emotionally damaged man who has demons of his own. They embark on a friendship that could mean salvation for both of them, but danger stalks Ayesha in London, too. With her life thrown into turmoil, she is forced to make a decision that could change her and everyone she loves forever.

Exquisitely written, populated by unforgettable characters and rich with poignant, powerful themes, Someone Like Her is a story of love and family, of corruption and calamity, of courage and hope … and one woman’s determination to thwart convention and find peace, at whatever cost…

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Just Between Us by Adele Parks

Published August 17th by HQ
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
An unmissable thriller of 2023 from the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author of One Last Secret and Both Of You…

Lost. Missing. Murdered?
And both her husbands are suspects…

Kylie Gillingham’s disappearance has gripped the nation: the woman with a shocking secret – married to two men at the same time – is missing, presumed dead. And both her husbands are suspects.

DC Clements knows the dark side of human nature and that love can make people do treacherous things; you can’t presume anything when it comes to crimes of the heart. While Kylie’s two husbands remain prime suspects, her sons won’t accept that she is dead. Until a body is found, this scandalous and sad case remains wide open.

Stacie Jones lives a quiet life in a small village, nursed by her father as she recovers from illness, shielded from any disquieting news of the outside world. But their reclusive life is about to be shattered.

How are these families linked, and can any of them ever rebuild their lives in the wake of tragedy?

This explosive thriller from Number One bestseller Adele Parks examines what it is to be a family and the dangerous lengths that people will go to for those they love.

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Reykjavik by Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir

Published August 17th by Michael Joseph
Mystery, Thriller, Historical Thriller, Nordic Noir

SYNOPSIS:
‘Nordic noir at its most authoritative’ FINANCIAL TIMES
_________

What happened to Lara Marteinsdóttir?

Iceland, 1956. Fifteen-year-old Lára spends the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavík.

In early August, the girl disappears without a trace.

The mystery becomes Iceland’s greatest unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

Thirty years later in August, 1986, as the city of Reykjavík celebrates its 200th anniversary, journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lara’s case. But as he draws closer to discovering the secret, and with the eyes of Reykjavík upon him, it soon becomes clear that Lara’s disappearance is a mystery that someone will stop at nothing to keep unsolved . . .

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The Hotel by Lousie Mumford

Published August 17th by HQ
Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Gothic Ficiton

SYNOPSIS:
Four of them went to the hotel

Four students travel to Ravencliffe, an eerie abandoned hotel perched on steep cliffs on the Welsh coast. After a series of unexplained accidents, only three of them leave. The fourth, Leo, disappears, and is never seen again.

Only three of them came back

A decade on, the friends have lost contact. Oscar is fame-hungry, making public appearances and selling his story. Richard sank into alcoholism and is only just recovering. Bex just wants to forget – until one last opportunity to go back offers the chance to find out what really happened to Leo.

Ten years later, they return one last time

But as soon as they get to the hotel things start going wrong again. Objects mysteriously disappear and reappear. Accidents happen. And Bex realises that her former friends know far more than they are letting on about the true events at Ravencliffe that night…

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The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri

Published August 17th by Manilla Press
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
This morning, I met the man who started the fire. He did something terrible, but then, so have I. I left him. I left him and now he may be dead.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful village that held a million stories of love and loss and peace and war, and it was swallowed up by a fire that blazed up to the sky. The fire ran all the way down to the sea where it met with its reflection.

A family from two nations, England and Greece, live a simple life in a tiny Greek village: Irini, Tasso and their daughter, lovely, sweet Chara, whose name means joy. Their life goes up in flames in a single day when one man starts a fire out of greed and indifference. Many are killed, homes are destroyed, and the region’s natural beauty wiped out.

In the wake of the fire, Chara bears deep scars across her back and arms. Tasso is frozen in trauma, devastated that he wasn’t there when his family most needed him. And Irini is crippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire.

But this family has survived, and slowly green shoots of hope and renewal will grow from the smouldering ruins of devastation.

Once again, Christy Lefteri has crafted a novel which is intimate and epic, sweeping and delicate. The Book of Fire explores not only the damage wrought by human folly, and the costs of survival in our changing world, but also – and ultimately – our powers of redemption and renewal.

Pre-order here*

The Apology by Jimin Han

Published August 17th by Little Brown Book Group
Contemporary Horror, Ghost Story, Horror Fantasy, Magical Realism

SYNOPSIS:
In South Korea, a 105-year-old woman receives a letter. Ten days later, she has been thrust into the afterlife, fighting to head off a curse that will otherwise devastate generations to come.

Hak Jeonga has always shouldered the burden of upholding the family name. When she sent her daughter-in-law to America to cover up an illegitimate birth, she was simply doing what was needed to preserve the reputations of her loved ones. How could she have known that decades later, this decision would return to haunt her-threatening to tear apart her bond with her beloved son, her relationship with her infuriatingly insolent sisters, and the future of the family she has worked so hard to protect?

Part ghost story and part family epic, The Apology is an incisive tale of sisterhood and diaspora, reaching back to the days of Japanese colonialism and the Korean War, and told through the singular voice of a defiant, funny, and unforgettable centenarian.

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Country Secrets by Fiona Walker

Published August 17th by Aria
Romance Novel, Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Can you ever have a second chance at first love?

When Ronnie Percy’s gorgeous on-off lover Blair is forced to deep-freeze their affair for the sake of his sick wife, she’s delighted to be distracted by charismatic neighbour, Kit Donne, and – more surprisingly – finds herself drawn into a fight for the future of the village. But then the return of someone from her distant past threatens to expose long-buried secrets.

Meanwhile daughter Pax – already besieged by her controlling estranged husband – has started to suspect that new beau ‘the horsemaker’ Luca still loves somebody else. The last shoulder on earth she should cry on is Bay Austen’s, but his marriage is crumbling and he’s lost none of his dangerous charm. Moreover, Bay knows the way to her heart is through her horses…

Old friendships, new loves, jealousies, gossip and beautiful horses – these are the classic ingredients for Fiona Walker’s latest gripping, sexy novel, set in the Cotswold village of Compton Magna and laced with her trademark humour.

Pre-order here*

Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson

Published August 24th by Doubleday UK
Literary Fiction, Myths, Fairy Tales, Short Stories

SYNOPSIS:
The first story collection from Kate Atkinson in twenty years, Normal Rules Don’t Apply is a dazzling array of eleven interconnected tales from the bestselling author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life

In this first full collection since Not the End of the World, we meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a man whose luck changes when a horse speaks to him.

With clockwork intricacy, inventiveness and sharp social observation, Kate Atkinson conjures a feast for the imagination, a constantly changing multiverse in which nothing is quite as it seems.

Pre-order here*

Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue

Published August 24th by Picador
Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Lesbian Literature

SYNOPSIS:
Adding to the already moving, richly told and gripping collection of historical fiction from Emma Donoghue, Learned By Heart is the breathtaking story of two young girls on the margins of life, forging a connection that will last forever.

Eliza and Lister have never been this wide-awake in their lives, and the Slope, with its curtains drawn wide, is bright with starlight. They talk in whispers, not to disturb the maids who lie sleeping on the other side of the box room. The question Eliza’s been needing to ask swells like a great berry in her mouth, and all at once she’s not scared to let it out, not scared at all, not scared of anything . . .

In 1805 fourteen-year-old Eliza Raine is a school girl at the Manor School for Young Ladies in York. The daughter of an Indian mother and a British father, Eliza was banished to this unfamiliar country as a little girl. When she first stepped off the King George in Kent, Eliza was accompanied by her older sister, Jane, but now she boards alone at the Manor, with no one left to claim her. She spends her days avoiding the attention of her fellow pupils until, one day, a fearless and charismatic new student arrives at the school. The two girls are immediately thrown together and soon Eliza’s life is turned inside out by this strange and curious young woman.

Learned by Heart, Emma Donoghue’s mesmerising new novel, tells the heartbreaking story of the tangled lives of two women whose intense, and unlikely, relationship will change them for ever.

One of BBC’s Books of 2023.

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House of Odysseus (The Songs of Penelope 2) by Claire North

Published August 24th by Orbit
Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Greek Mythology, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘CLAIRE NORTH BRINGS A POWERFUL, FRESH AND UNFLINCHING VOICE TO ANCIENT MYTH’ Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne

From the author of the critically acclaimed Ithaca – A Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Year – comes an exquisite and gripping new tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before.

On the isle of Ithaca, Queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband, Odysseus, sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace – but this is shattered by the arrival of Orestes, king of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Orestes’s hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, racked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the Furies circle him. His uncle, Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’s throne – and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.

Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep war from Ithaca’s shores. Her only allies are Elektra and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’s enigmatic wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.

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He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker Chan

Published August 24th by Mantle
Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fairy Tale, Alternate Hitory, Myths & Legends

SYNOPSIS:
He Who Drowned the World is the sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller She Who Became the Sun.

What would you give to win the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory – one that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.

However, Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial aspirations. Courtesan Madam Zhang plots to steal the throne for her husband. But scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang is even closer to the throne. He’s maneuverered his way to the capital, where his courtly games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history. In the process, he’d make a mockery of the warrior values his Mongol family loved more than him.

To stay in the game, Zhu must gamble everything on one bold move. A risky alliance with an old enemy: Ouyang, the brilliant but unstable eunuch general. All contenders will do whatever it takes to win. But when desire has no end, and ambition no limits, could the price be too high for even the most ruthless heart to bear?

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The Returned by Amanda Cassidy

Published August 24th by Canelo
Thriller, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When she re-lives this night, over and over, Nancy will wonder if she’d just gone upstairs a few minutes earlier, what might have been…

A devastating fire.

A grieving mother.

A picture-perfect village full of dark secrets.

And now, a son who has seemingly come back from the dead.

A detective called back to her hometown, back to the memories she thought she’d left behind…

An electrifying novel from a compelling new voice in Irish crime fiction, for fans of Liz Nugent and Claire Mackintosh.

Pre-order here*

The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 7) by Karin Smirnoff

Published August 29th by MacLehose Press
Mystery, Suspense, Book Series

SYNOPSIS:
A chilling new DRAGON TATTOO thriller

“Lisbeth Salander is back – and maybe better than ever . . . Remarkable” LEE CHILD

“Fresh, fearless, faithful and original . . . I loved it” CHRIS WHITAKER

“An absolute incident-packed thrill-ride from start to finish” JO SPAIN

“Smirnoff’s writing is wonderfully vivid” ANNA BAILEY

The untapped natural resources of Sweden’s far north are sparking a gold rush, with the criminal underworld leading the charge. But it’s not the prospect of riches that brings Lisbeth Salander to the small town of Gasskas. Her niece’s mother is the latest woman in the region to have vanished without trace. Two things soon become clear: Svala is a remarkably gifted teenager — and she’s being watched.

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is also heading north. He has seen better days. Millennium magazine is in its final print issue, and relations with his daughter are strained. Worse still, there are troubling rumours surrounding the man she’s about to marry. When the truth behind the whispers explodes into violence, Salander emerges as Blomkvist’s last hope.

The new thriller from Swedish bestselling author Karin Smirnoff will submerge you in a world of conspiracy and betrayal, old enemies and new friends, snow-bound wilderness and corporate greed. Lisbeth Salander is BACK.

Pre-order here*

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Published August 29th by Hodderscape
Fantasu Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes comes a tale of two sisters – one as beautiful as the other is monstrous – who must fight to save each other when a betrothal contest gone wrong unleashes an evil that could sever their bond forever.

One must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna-the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath – launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

Weaving together elements of The Selection and Ember in the Ashes with classic tales like Beauty and the Beast, Helen of Troy, and Asian folklore, Elizabeth Lim is at the absolute top of her game in this thrilling yet heart-wrenching fantasy that explores the dark side of beauty and the deepest bonds of sisterhood.

Pre-order here*

A Lady’s Guide To Scandal by Sophie Irwin

Published August 31st by Harper Collins UK
Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Romantic Comedy,Humorous Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
The captivating new historical novel from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting

Pre-order the most delightful, escapist historical of the year from the Sunday Times bestselling author!

Recently widowed from her marriage of convenience, Eliza, now Countess of Somerset, is bequeathed a fortune, hers to keep as long as she can steer clear of scandal.

It should be simple – Eliza has spent a lifetime following the rules – but now that she is rich, titled and independent, misbehaviour is much more tempting…

Pre-order here*

Herc by Phoenica Rogerson

Published August 31st by HQ
Fairy Tale, Greek Mythology, Hunorous Fiction, LGBT Literature

SYNOPSIS:
This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures…everyone’s favourite hero, right?

Well, it’s not.

This is the story of everyone else:

Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere)

Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)

Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)

Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job)

His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims.

It’s time to hear their stories.

Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.

Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Joanne M. Harris

Pre-order here*

The Confession Room by lIa Middleton

Published August 31st by Michael Joseph
Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
‘Thrilling, chilling, heart-stopping . . . impossible to put down’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Terrifying, dark and original with a brilliantly shocking ending – loved this book’ CATHERINE COOPER

WELCOME TO THE CONFESSION ROOM.
An online forum for admitting your sins.

Some people confess to affairs, others to stealing. Some admit deep, dark wishes. And former police officer Emilia Haines, reading strangers’ secrets is the perfect distraction from the past.

But one day, Emilia stumbles on the darkest confession yet:

MURDER.

At first, it seems like a hoax. But when a body is found, then another victim is named, Emilia can’t look away.

How are the victims linked? Who is confessing to murder to publicly?

And how do you catch a serial killer who is hiding in plain sight?

Pre-order here*

All the LIttle Liars by Victoria Selman

Published August 31st by Quercus
Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Fantastically addictive’ JOHN MARRS
‘Tantalising’ ROBERT SCRAGG
A rich masterpiece’ JAMES DELARGY

What REALLY happened at Turtle Lake? You think you know. Think again.

California, 2003
A thirteen-year-old girl disappears from a party at Carlsbad’s Turtle Lake. Discovered on the trunk of a nearby cottonwood tree is the word ‘LIAR’ graffitied in blood.

What you know . . .
Three teenagers went to the lake that night but only two came back. Later, they confess to murdering their friend.

. . . is only part of the story
But did they really kill her? And if not, why say they did?

Told across two timelines and tapping into a horrific crime, All the Little Liars is a novel about sisterly love and toxic friendship that asks: how much would you sacrifice to belong?

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Cleaner by Brandi Wells

Published August 31st by Wildfire
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Razor-sharp . . . Biting and compulsive’ GRAZIA

I clean the offices and bathrooms and lobby five nights a week, but my actual job is to take care of everyone. They need so much help.

At night, in a corporate office block in an unnamed metropolitan city, a cleaner begins her shift.

As she cleans Sad Intern’s desk, she throws away some of her more alarming health supplements, and leaves her healthy snacks instead. Mr Buff’s desk is immaculate, but he seems to have a secret smoking habit – not conducive to his fitness journey – which she’s going to help him kick. She confiscates the knitted coaster that attractive, sensitive Yarn Guy has given to Cola Woman – someone who clips her nails in the office doesn’t deserve his gifts.

But tonight, while scrolling through your emails, she’ll discover the secret you’ve been hiding – the one that will threaten her job, and the jobs of everyone she takes care of. And you’re about to find out that, sometimes, your most powerful enemy is the one you don’t even see.

Pre-order here*

The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright

Published August 31st by Jonathan Cape
Saga, Coming-of-Age Story, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Carmel had been alone all her life. The baby knew this. They looked at each other, and all of time was there. The baby knew how vast her mother’s loneliness had been.

A contemporary novel of daughterhood and motherhood, from the Booker Prize-winning Irish author

‘Might just be her best yet’
LOUISE KENNEDY, author of TRESPASSES
‘One of our greatest living novelists’
THE TIMES

Nell – funny, brave and so much loved – is a young woman with adventure on her mind. As she sets out into the world, she finds her family history hard to escape. For her mother, Carmel, Nell’s leaving home opens a space in her heart, where the turmoil of a lifetime begins to churn. And across the generations falls the long shadow of Carmel’s famous father, an Irish poet of beautiful words and brutal actions.

This is a meditation on love: spiritual, romantic, darkly sexual or genetic. A multigenerational novel that traces the inheritance not just of trauma but also of wonder, it is a testament to the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Above all, it is an exploration of the love between mother and daughter – sometimes fierce, often painful, but always transcendent.

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The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin

Published August 31st by Simon & Schuster UK
Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime Fiction, Urban Fiction, Adventure Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Stuart Turton meets The Magpie Murders in this immersive and unique story for fans of clever crime fiction.

Imagine you’re holding a book in your hands. It’s not just any book though. It’s a tête-bêche novel, beloved of nineteenth-century bookmakers. It’s a book that is two books: two intertwined stories printed back-to-back.
Open the book and the first novella begins. It ends at the middle of the book. Then flip the book over, head to tail, and read the second story in the opposite direction.
Both covers are front covers; and it can be read in either direction, or in both directions at once, alternating chapters, to fully immerse the reader in it.

1880s England. On the bleak island of Ray, off the Essex coast, an idealistic young doctor, Simeon Lee, is called from London to treat his cousin, Parson Oliver Hawes, who is dying. Parson Hawes, who lives in the only house on the island – Turnglass House – believes he is being poisoned. And he points the finger at his sister-in-law, Florence. Florence was declared insane after killing Oliver’s brother in a jealous rage and is now kept in a glass-walled apartment in Oliver’s library. And the secret to how she came to be there is found in Oliver’s tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.

1930s California. Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the son of the state governor, is found dead in his writing hut off the coast of the family residence, Turnglass House. His friend Ken Kourian doesn’t believe that Oliver would take his own life. His investigations lead him to the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children, and the subsequent secret incarceration of his mother, Florence, in an asylum. But to discover the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel – which is about a young doctor called Simeon Lee . . .

Pre-order here*

Three Card Murder by J. L. Blackhurst

Published August 31st by HQ
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

SYNOPSIS:
One sister is a cop.

The other is a con artist.

Both are suspects.

’I especially loved the strident, salty, can’t-live-with-can’t-live-without relationship between the two sisters’ J.M. Hall

’I was gripped’ Louise Jensen

’An ending I never saw coming’ Faith Martin

DI Tess Fox’s first murder scene has two big problems. One, the victim was thrown from the balcony of a flat locked from the inside. Two, Tess knows him.

But the biggest problem of all is Tess’s half-sister, Sarah. She has links to the deceased and has the skills and criminal background to mastermind a locked-room murder. But she’s a con-artist, not a killer.

When two more bodies turn up, Tess now has three locked room mysteries to solve and even more reason to be suspicious of Sarah. Can she trust someone who breaks the law for a living, even if she is family?

Pre-order here*

A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii by Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Ben Kane, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, Vicky Alvear

Published August 31st by WM Morrow
Hisrorical Fiction, Romance Novel, Fiction Anthology

SYNOPSIS:
From six bestselling authors, including New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, comes a vividly imagined novel following the lives of those in ancient Pompeii on the fateful day Mount Vesuvius erupts.

Pompeii was a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire. When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens died in the chaos, some escaped the mountain’s wrath . . . and these are their stories:

A boy loses his innocence in Pompeii’s flourishing streets.

An heiress dreads her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire.

An ex-legionary stakes his entire future on a gladiator bout destined never to be finished.

A crippled senator welcomes death, until a tomboy on horseback comes to his rescue.

A young mother faces an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls.

A priestess and a prostitute seek redemption and resurrection as the town is buried.

Six authors bring to life overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross each other’s paths during Pompeii’s fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for eternity?

Pre-order here*

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Are any of these on your TBR? Let me now in the comments.

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Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2021

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 24th Sep 2021
No Comments on Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2021

Can you believe that we are almost in October? The nights are drawing in, the air is cooler and spooky season is upon us in the book world. And I’m thrilled! I’m also looking forward that the Christmassy books are starting to be released too. It comes together to make this month’s anticipated releases an eclectic and exciting mix.

The Spirit Engineer by A. J. West

Published: October 7th, 2021
Publisher: Duckworth
Genre: Ghost Story

SYNOPISIS:
A CHILLING DEBUT TEEMING WITH SPIRITS, SÉANCES AND SCANDAL.

Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism, attending séances in the hope they might reach their departed loved ones.

William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen’s parlour tricks gone too far?

Based on the true story of Professor William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunted, twisted tale of power, paranoia, and one ultimate, inescapable truth…

Buy the book here*

Fall by West Camel

Published: October 9th, 2021
Publisher: Orenda
Genre: Psychological Fiction, Urban Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
Estranged brothers are reunited over plans to develop the tower block where they grew up, but the desolate estate becomes a stage for reliving the events of one life-changing summer.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.

But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that shattered their lives, and changed everything forever…

Grim, evocative and exquisitely rendered, Fall is a story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave – a triumph of a novel that will affect you long after the final page has been turned.

Buy the book here

The Room in the Attic by Louise Douglas

Published: October 12th, 2021
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Ghost Horror, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A child who does not know her name…

In 1903 fishermen find a wrecked boat containing a woman, who has been badly beaten, and a young girl. An ambulance is sent for, and the two survivors are taken to All Hallows, the imposing asylum, hidden deep on Dartmoor. The woman remains in a coma, but the little girl, Harriet, awakens and is taken to an attic room, far away from the noise of the asylum, and is put in the care of Nurse Emma Everdeen.

Two motherless boys banished to boarding school…

In 1993, All Hallows is now a boarding school. Following his mother’s death and his father’s hasty remarriage, Lewis Tyler is banished to Dartmoor, stripped of his fashionable clothes, shorn of his long hair, and left feeling more alone than ever. There he meets Isak, another lost soul, and whilst refurbishment of the dormitories is taking place, the boys are marooned up in the attic, in an old wing of the school.

Cries and calls from the past that can no longer be ignored…

All Hallows is a building full of memories, whispers, cries from the past. As Lewis and Isak learn more about the fate of Harriet, and Nurse Emma’s desperate fight to keep the little girl safe, it soon becomes clear there are ghosts who are still restless.

Are they ghosts the boys hear at night in the room above, are they the unquiet souls from the asylum still caught between the walls? And can Lewis and Isak bring peace to All Hallows before the past breaks them first…

Buy the book here

The Midnight Man by Caroline Mitchell

Published: October 13th, 2021
Publisher: Embla Books
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
From number one bestselling author Caroline Mitchell, comes the first chilling Slayton thriller for fans of C. J. Tudor and Stephen King.

If you open your door to the Midnight Man, hide with a candle wherever you can. Try not to scream as he draws near, because one of you won’t be leaving here…

On Halloween night in Slayton, five girls go to Blackhall Manor to play the Midnight Game. They write their names on a piece of paper and prick their fingers to soak it in blood. At exactly midnight they knock on the door twenty-two times – they have invited the Midnight Man in.

It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home.

Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. It’s a case that will take Sarah back to everything she’s been running from, and shake her to the core.

Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?

Buy the book here

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Genre: Ghost Story, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Alone in the world, Elspeth Swansome has taken the position of nanny to a family on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea.

Her charge, Mary, is a troubled child. Distracted and secretive, she hasn’t uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William – just days after their former nanny disappeared.

With Mary defiantly silent, Elspeth turns to the islanders. But no one will speak of what happened to William. Just as no one can explain the hypnotic lullabies sung in empty corridors. Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms.

Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night . . .

As winter draws in and passage to the mainland becomes impossible, Elspeth finds herself trapped.

But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?

OR THE SECRETS OF THE LIVING..?

Chilling, twisty and emotionally gripping, The Whistling is an atmospheric page-turner with shades of the classics, yet a unique character of its own. Perfect for fans of Susan Hill and Laura Purcell.

Buy the book here*

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Thriller, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
THE MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL YOU’LL READ THIS YEAR

Not every story is black and white.

Riley and Jen have been best friends since they were children, and they thought their bond was unbreakable. It never mattered to them that Riley is black and Jen is white. And then Jen’s husband, a Philadelphia police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager and everything changes in an instant.

This one act could destroy more than just Riley and Jen’s friendship. As their community takes sides, so must Jen and Riley, and for the first time in their lives the lifelong friends find themselves on opposing sides.

But can anyone win a fight like this?

We Are Not Like Them is about friendship and love. It’s about prejudice and betrayal. It’s about standing up for what you believe in, no matter the cost.

Buy the book here*

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Apollo
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
In the summer of 2002, nineteen-year-old Kim Hae-on was murdered in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold.

Seventeen years pass without justice, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she’s lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened.

Told at different points in time from the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on’s classmates, Lemon is a piercing psychological portrait that takes the shape of a crime novel and is a must-read novel of 2021.

Buy the book here*

The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Bantam Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Talbots are having one last party at their family home.
But Effie hasn’t been invited . . .

Effie’s still not over her parents splitting up a year ago. Her dad and his new girlfriend are posting their PDAs all over Instagram – and no one should have to deal with photos of their dad with the hashtags #viagraworks and #sexinyoursixties. Now they’re selling the beloved family home and holding a ‘house-cooling’ party. When Effie receives only a last-minute ‘anti-invitation’, she decides to give it a miss.

Until she remembers her precious Russian dolls, safely tucked away up a chimney. She’ll have to go back for them – but not as a guest. She’ll just creep in, grab the dolls and make a swift exit. No one will know she was ever there.

Of course, nothing goes to plan. Not only does Effie bump into her ex-boyfriend (who she’s very much not over), she can’t find the dolls. And as she secretly clambers around dusty attics, hides under tables and mournfully eyes up the dessert table, she discovers unexpected truths about her family – and even about herself.

With time (and hiding places) running out, Effie starts to wonder if she’d be better off simply crashing the party. Perhaps that’s the only way to find out what’s really going on with her family…

Expect shocking secrets, hilarious mix-ups and an unforgettable romance. Welcome to the party of the year!

Buy the book here*

Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Viper
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
This is the confession of Laurence Jago. Clerk. Gentleman. Reluctant spy.

July 1794, and the streets of London are filled with rumours of revolution. Political radical Thomas Hardy is to go on trial for treason, the war against the French is not going in Britain’s favour, and negotiations with the independent American colonies are on a knife edge.

Laurence Jago – clerk to the Foreign Office – is ever more reliant on the Black Drop to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter has been leaked to the press, which may lead to the destruction of the British Army, and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk, supposedly a suicide.

Blame for the leak is shifted to the dead man, but even as the body is taken to the anatomists, Laurence is certain both of his friend’s innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, and at a time when even the slightest hint of treason can lead to the gallows, how can Laurence find the true culprit without incriminating himself?

A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

Buy the book here*

The Watchers by A.M. Shine

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Genre: Fairy Tale, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A spine-chilling Irish horror adventure set in the remote unknown forests of Galway, from debut Irish author A.M. Shine.

You can’t see them. But they can see you.

This forest isn’t charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina’s is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.

Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn’t reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers and why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?

Perfect for fans of Francine Toon, Paul Tremblay and Andrew Michael Hurley.

Buy the book here*

The Hiding Place by Amanda Mason

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Zaffre
Genre: Thriller, Gothic Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Some secrets can never be concealed . . .

Nell Galilee, her husband and twelve year old step-daughter Maude rent a holiday cottage by the sea, needing time and space away from home. Nell grew up in this small, wind-blown town and has mixed feelings about returning, and it isn’t long before she is recognised by a neighbour, seemingly desperate to befriend her. The cottage has been empty for some time, and from the start Nell feels uncomfortable there. Something isn’t quite right about this place . . .

Maude, furious about being brought here against her will, soon finds herself beguiled by the house’s strange atmosphere. There are peculiar marks in the roof beams above her bedroom, and in another room, a hiding place, concealing a strange, unnerving object.

As the house gradually reveals its secrets, Nell becomes increasingly uneasy – and Maude spellbound. But these women – and the women that surround them – are harbouring their own secrets too, and soon events will come to a terrible head . . .

A brilliant, unsettling and chilling novel of mothers and daughters, truth and deception and the lengths people will go to, to obtain power over their own lives, The Hiding Place is the second chilling novel from the acclaimed author of The Wayward Girls.

Buy the book here*

The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting by Evanna Lynch

Published: October 14th, 2021
Publisher: Headline
Genre: Memoir

SYNOPSIS:
‘Gradually, I began to feel this dawning awareness that womanhood was coming for me, that it was looming inevitably, and it didn’t feel safe…’

Evanna Lynch has long been viewed as a role model for people recovering from anorexia and the story of her casting as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films has reached almost mythic proportions. Here, in her fascinating new memoir, Evanna confronts all the complexities and contradictions within herself and reveals how she overcame a life-threatening eating disorder, began to conquer her self-hate and confronted her fear of leaving the neatness and safety of girlhood for the unpredictable journey of being a woman, all in the glare of the spotlight of international fame.

Delving into the very heart of a woman’s relationship with her own body, Evanna explores the pivotal moments and choices in her life that led her down the path of creativity and dreaming and away from the empty pursuit of perfection, and reaches towards acceptance of the wild, sensual and unpredictable reality of womanhood. This is a story of the tragedy and the glory of growing up, of mourning girlhood and stepping into the unknown, and how that act of courage is the most magical and creatively liberating thing a woman can do.

Buy the book here*

I Know You by Claire McGowan

Published: October 19th, 2021
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
In this tense thriller from the bestselling author of What You Did and The Other Wife, a woman finds a dead body. Will she make the same mistake as last time?

When Rachel stumbles upon a body in the woods, she knows what she has to do: run. Get away. Do not be found at the scene. Last time, she didn’t know, and she ended up accused of murder. But when this victim is identified as her boyfriend’s estranged wife, Rachel realises she’s already the prime suspect.

With mounting evidence against her, Rachel’s only hope is to keep the truth about herself well hidden. Because twenty years ago she was someone else―Casey, a young nanny trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles. When the family she worked for were brutally murdered, all the evidence pointed to her and she went to prison. Back then, she narrowly escaped the death penalty and managed to free herself on appeal. Now she’s fighting to save the life she’s spent years piecing back together.

But with her behaviour raising suspicion and the police closing in, Rachel can’t help wondering: Was her discovery in the woods really just an awful coincidence, or is someone framing her for murder? Someone who knows who she is, and wants revenge…

Buy the book here*

The Haunting Season

Published: October 21st, 2021
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Horror Fiction, Ghost Story

SYNOPSIS:
Eight bestselling, award-winning authors return to the time-honoured tradition of the seasonal ghost story in this dazzling new collection. This is your indispensable companion to the long, dark nights this October

Long before Charles Dickens and Henry James popularized the tradition, the shadowy nights of winter have been a time for people to gather together by the flicker of candlelight and experience the intoxicating thrill of a ghost story.

Now eight bestselling, award-winning authors-all of them master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre-bring the tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding new collection of original spine-tingling tales.

Taking you from the frosty Fens to the wild Yorkshire moors, to the snow-covered grounds of a haunted estate, to a bustling London Christmas market, these mesmerizing stories will capture your imagination and serve as your indispensable companion to cold, dark nights.

So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past. . .

Buy the book here*

Murder Isn’t Easy by Carla Valentine

Published: October 21st, 2021
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Biography, True Crime

SYNOPSIS:
While other children were devouring the works of Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter, Carla Valentine was poring through the pages of Agatha Christie novels. It was this early fascination that led to her job as a pathology technician, trained in forensics and working in mortuaries.

Nearly every Agatha Christie story involves one – or, more commonly, several – dead bodies, and for a young Carla, a curious child already fascinated with biology, these stories and these bodies were perfect puzzles.

Of course, Agatha herself didn’t talk of ‘forensics’ in the way we use it now, but in each tale she writes of twists and turns with her expert weave of human observation, ingenuity and genuine science of the era. Through the medium of the ‘whodunnit’, Agatha Christie was a pioneer of forensic science, and in Murder Isn’t Easy Carla illuminates all of the knowledge of one of our most beloved authors.

Buy the book here*

Care For Me by Farah Cook

Published: October 21st, 2021
Publisher: Hodder Studio
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When Amira takes her mother Afrah to Ravenswood Lodge Care Home, she thinks they will both be safe. But the past is just around the corner . . .

Amira is struggling to look after her mother, Afrah. So when they arrive at Ravenswood Lodge Care Home, beautiful and imposing against the background of the Scottish Highlands, she hopes it is the right decision for them both.

But soon Afrah insists her belongings are being stolen, her photographs, her jewellery, her pill boxes, Amira and the staff are convinced it’s just Afrah’s imagination, it’s just her memory.

But Afrah knows Ravenswood Lodge isn’t a safe place. Could it have something to do with the past? She remembers newspaper clippings, hazy images of a fire years ago, a memory she’s spent years forgetting and now she just wants to remember.

Someone wants her gone. But first, she needs to convince Amira of the truth.

The compelling, heartbreaking debut novel by Farah Cook, about mothers and daughters, and secrets that are never really forgotten . . .

Buy the book here*

The Judge’s List by John Grisham

Published: October 26th, 2021
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Legal Thriller, Political Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author, a new legal thriller about a man who might be the most criminal sitting judge in American history.

In The Whistler, Lacy Stoltz investigated a corrupt judge who was taking millions in bribes from a crime syndicate. She put the criminals away, but only after being attacked and nearly killed. Three years later, and approaching forty, she is tired of her work for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct and ready for a change.

Then she meets a mysterious woman who is so frightened she uses a number of aliases. Jeri Crosby’s father was murdered twenty years earlier in a case that remains unsolved and that has grown stone cold. But Jeri has a suspect whom she has become obsessed with and has stalked for two decades. Along the way, she has discovered other victims.

Suspicions are easy enough, but proof seems impossible. The man is brilliant, patient, and always one step ahead of law enforcement. He is the most cunning of all serial killers. He knows forensics, police procedure, and most important: he knows the law.

He is a judge, in Florida – under Lacy’s jurisdiction.

He has a list, with the names of his victims and targets, all unsuspecting people unlucky enough to have crossed his path and wronged him in some way. How can Lacy pursue him, without becoming the next name on his list?

The Judge’s List is by any measure John Grisham’s most surprising, chilling novel yet.

Buy the book here*

Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil

Published: October 26th, 2021
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From debut author Carolyn Tara O’Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution.

Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war–the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible–not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna’s offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.

Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now–regardless of her loyalties–Evgenia is too.

Daughters of a Dead Empire is a harrowing historical thriller about dangerous ideals, loyalty, and the price we pay for change. An imaginative retelling of the Anastasia story.

Buy the book here

Medusa by Jessie Burton

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Genre: Folklore and Mythology, Greek Mythology, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A dazzling, feminist retelling of Greek myth from the internationally bestselling author of The Miniaturist, stunningly illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill.

Exiled to a far-flung island by the whims of the gods, Medusa has little company except the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. But when a charmed, beautiful boy called Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is disrupted with the force of a supernova, unleashing desire, love and betrayal.

Filled with glorious full-colour illustrations by award-winning Olivia Lomenech Gill, this astonishing retelling of Greek myth is perfect for readers of Circe and The Silence of the Girls. Illuminating the girl behind the legend, it brings alive Medusa for a new generation.

Buy the book here*

Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuzniar

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Fairytale, Magical Realism, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
In the darkness of night, magic awaits…

The Nutcracker for adults, perfect for fans of Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Stephanie Garber’s Caraval

’It was a rainy day that the magic came, and once magic has entered your life, you stay in its glittering clutch forever’

Nottingham, 1906

Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered. At the wishes of her family, she will be obligated to marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But when a mysterious toymaker, Dr Drosselmeier, purchases a neighbouring townhouse, it heralds the arrival of magic and wonder in her life. Although Drosselmeier’s magic is darker than Marietta could have imagined…

When he constructs an elaborate theatrical set for her final ballet performance, Marietta discovers it carries a magic all of its own. As the clock chimes midnight, Marietta finds herself walking through a land of snow-topped fir trees leading to a frozen sugar palace silent with secrets and must find a way to return home.

In the darkness of night, magic awaits and you will never forget what you find here…

Buy the book here*

Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: Tor
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Gay Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Witty, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is a gift for troubled times. TJ Klune brings us a warm hug of a story about a man who spent his life at the office – and his afterlife building a home.

Welcome to Charon’s Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own sparsely-attended funeral, Wallace is outraged. But he begins to suspect she’s right, and he is in fact dead. Then when Hugo, owner of a most peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace reluctantly accepts the truth.

Yet even in death, he refuses to abandon his life – even though Wallace spent all of it working, correcting colleagues and hectoring employees. He’d had no time for frivolities like fun and friends. But as Wallace drinks tea with Hugo and talks to his customers, he wonders if he was missing something.

The feeling grows as he shares jokes with the resident ghost, manifests embarrassing footwear and notices the stars. So when he’s given one week to pass through the door to the other side, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in just seven days.

Buy the book here*

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction Contemporary Romance

SYNOPSIS:
The brand new feel-good Christmas novel from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Jenny Colgan.

Carmen has always worked in her local department store. So, when the gorgeous old building closes its doors for good, she is more than a little lost.

When her sister, Sofia, mentions an opportunity in Edinburgh – a cute little bookshop, the spare room in her house – Carmen is reluctant, she was never very good at accepting help. But, short on options, she soon finds herself pulling into the snowy city just a month before Christmas.

What Sofia didn’t say is that the shop is on its last legs and that if Carmen can’t help turn things around before Christmas, the owner will be forced to sell. Privately, Sofia is sure it will take more than a miracle to save the store, but maybe this Christmas, Carmen might surprise them all…

Buy the book here*

The Ripping Tree by Nikki Gemmell

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: The Borough Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
GET OUT. BEFORE THEY SAVE YOU.

Early 1800s. Thomasina Trelora is on her way to the colonies. Her fate: to be married to a clergyman she’s never met. As the Australian coastline comes into view a storm wrecks the ship and leaves her lying on the rocks, near death. She’s saved by an Aboriginal man who carries her to the door of a grand European house, Willowbrae.

Tom is now free to be whoever she wants to be and a whole new life opens up to her. But as she’s drawn deeper into the intriguing life of this grand estate, she discovers that things aren’t quite as they seem. She stumbles across a horrifying secret at the heart of this world of colonial decorum – and realises she may have exchanged one kind of prison for another.

The Ripping Tree is an intense, sharp shiver of a novel, which brings to mind such diverse influences as The Turn of the Screw, Rebecca and the film Get Out as much as it evokes The Secret River. A powerful and gripping tale of survival written in Nikki Gemmell’s signature lyrical and evocative prose, it examines the darkness at the heart of early colonisation. Unsettling, audacious, thrilling and unputdownable.

Buy the book here*

The Cult by Abby Davies

Published: October 28th, 2021
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Hardboiled

SYNOPSIS:
The gripping new thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last!

A hidden community…
Thirty years ago, in the English countryside, a commune was set up. Led by Uncle Saviour, it was supposed to be a place of love, peace and harmony. But what started out as paradise turned into hell.

A shocking abduction…
Now, two young children have vanished from their home in the middle of the night. Their parents are frantic, the police are at a loss.

A twisting case…
DI Ottoline is leading the search – her only clue a mask found in the woods. Could the key lie in events that took place decades ago, when a dream of a new way of life became something far more sinister?

Buy the book here*

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Are any of these on your tbr? Let me know in the comments.

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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles😊 See you next month for more of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures xxx

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Book Features Emma's Anticipated Treasures Support Debuts

4th February 2021: A Bumper Publication Day

Post author By emmasbibliotreasures
Post date 7th Feb 2021
2 Comments on 4th February 2021: A Bumper Publication Day

Hello Bibliophiles! Today is a busy day in the book world with a vast array of amazing books out in Kindle, Hardback, Paperback and Audio Today. This is a last minute post so it is in no way comprehensive, but I’ve put together a list of many of the amazing books out today. Thank you to Publishers for my gifted copies of some of the books pictured above.

THE DEBUTS

The Long, Long Afternoon by Inga Vesper

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Manilla Press

SYNOPSIS:
The sunniest places hold the darkest secrets . . .

A stunning 1950s set debut mystery brimming with atmosphere and perfect for fans of Tangerine, Small Pleasures and Mad Men.
________

Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . .

It’s the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.

While the Haney’s neighbours get busy organising search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family’s ‘help’, who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes’ starched curtains than anyone, and it isn’t long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved? In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole ‘perfect’ world to set alight . . .

A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and ultimately under-estimated.

Buy the book*

Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift

Genre: Humour, Science Fiction Comedy, Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

SYNOPSIS:
THE END OF EVERYTHING WAS HER BEGINNING

It’s December 2023 and the world as we know it has ended.

The human race has been wiped out by a virus called 6DM (‘Six Days Maximum’ – the longest you’ve got before your body destroys itself).

But somehow, in London, one woman is still alive. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants, hiding how she feels and desperately trying to fit in. A woman who is entirely unprepared to face a future on her own.

Now, with only an abandoned golden retriever for company, she must travel through burning cities, avoiding rotting corpses and ravenous rats on a final journey to discover if she really is the last surviving person on earth.

And with no one else to live for, who will she become now that she’s completely alone?

Buy the book*

The Downstairs Neighbour by Helen Cooper

Genre: Thriller, Suspense , Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

SYNOPSIS:
In a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof.

The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph, and their bubbly teenage daughter Freya. The smaller first floor flat is rented by Emma, who spends most of her time alone, listening to people coming in and out of the building. And the basement flat belongs to Chris, a local driving instructor, who prefers to keep his personal life private from the neighbours.

But their lives are all upended when Freya vanishes. As the police become involved and a frantic Paul and Steph desperately search for answers, they begin to realise that the truth behind their daughter’s disappearance may lie closer to home than they were expecting.

When everyone has something to hide, can you ever really know those closest to you? Or will some secrets be taken to the grave?

Buy the book*

The Art of Death by David Fennell

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Police Procedural, Crime Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Zaffre

SYNOPSIS:
AN INTENSELY CREEPY SERIAL KILLER THRILLER DEBUT, FOR FANS OF CHRIS CARTER, M. W. CRAVEN AND THE WHISPER MAN.

Death is an art, and he is the master . . .

Three glass cabinets appear in London’s Trafalgar Square containing a gruesome art installation: the floating corpses of three homeless men. Shock turns to horror when it becomes clear that the bodies are real.

The cabinets are traced to @nonymous – an underground artist shrouded in mystery who makes a chilling promise: MORE WILL FOLLOW.

Eighteen years ago, Detective Inspector Grace Archer escaped a notorious serial killer. Now, she and her caustic DS, Harry Quinn, must hunt down another.

As more bodies appear at London landmarks and murders are livestreamed on social media, their search for @nonymous becomes a desperate race against time. But what Archer doesn’t know is that the killer is watching their every move – and he has his sights firmly set on her . . .

He is creating a masterpiece. And she will be the star of his show.

Buy the book*

Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton

Genre: New Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Medical Romance
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Bantam Press

SYNOPSIS:
CAN YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN?

Alice and Alfie are strangers. But they sleep next to each other every night.

Alfie Mack has been in hospital for months recovering from an accident. A new face on the ward is about as exciting as life gets for him right now, so when someone moves into the bed next to him he’s eager to make friends. But it quickly becomes clear that seeing his neighbour’s face won’t happen any time soon.

Alice Gunnersley has been badly burned and can’t even look at herself yet, let alone allow anyone else to see her. She keeps the curtain around her bed firmly closed, but it doesn’t stop Alfie trying to get to know her. And gradually, as he slowly brings Alice out of her shell, might there even be potential for more?

Buy the book*

Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Raven Books

SYNOPSIS:
Winner of the 2019 UEA Crime Writing Prize, Lightseekers is the start of a major new crime series introducing investigative psychologist Dr Philip Taiwo.

When three young students are brutally murdered in a Nigerian university town, their killings – and their killers – are caught on social media. The world knows who murdered them; what no one knows is why.

As the legal trial begins, investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo is contacted by the father of one of the boys, desperate for some answers to his son’s murder. But Philip is an expert in crowd behaviour and violence, not a detective, and after travelling to the sleepy university town that bore witness to the killings, he soon feels dramatically out of his depth.

Will he finally be able to uncover the truth of what happened to the Okiri Three?

Buy the book*

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Genre: Coming-of-Age Fiction, Urban Fiction, Political Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Viking

SYNOPSIS:
Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists – he a photographer, she a dancer – trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.

At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential British debut of recent years.

Buy the book*

The Crow Folk: The Witches of Woodville 1) by Mark Stay

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Coming-of-Age Fiction, Adventure Fiction, War Fiction
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

SYNOPSIS:
As Spitfires roar overhead and a dark figure stalks the village of Woodville, a young woman will discover her destiny . . .

Faye Bright always felt a little bit different. And today she’s found out why. She’s just stumbled across her late mother’s diary which includes not only a spiffing recipe for jam roly-poly, but spells, incantations, runes and recitations . . . a witch’s notebook.

And Faye has inherited her mother’s abilities.

Just in time, too. The Crow Folk are coming. Led by the charismatic Pumpkinhead, their strange magic threatens Faye and the villagers. Armed with little more than her mum’s words, her trusty bicycle, the grudging help of two bickering old ladies, and some aggressive church bellringing, Faye will find herself on the front lines of a war nobody expected.

For fans of Lev Grossman and Terry Pratchett comes this delightful novel of war, mystery and a little bit of magic . . .

Buy the book*

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

SYNOPSIS:
This is a story about taking a leap of faith
And believing the unbelievable

They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.

I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight.
And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.

Right now, you probably think I’m going mad.
Let me explain…

Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?

Space Hopper is an original and poignant story about mothers, memories and moments that shape life.

Buy the book*

The Man I Didn’t Marry by Anna Bell

Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: HQ

SYNOPSIS:
What happens when the man she married can’t remember her?

Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years . . . including their relationship.

Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right?

As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?

Buy the book*

Black Widows by Cate Quinn

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Police Procedural, Domestic Fiction, Religious Fiction, Southern Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Orion

SYNOPSIS:
Blake’s dead. His wife killed him.
The question is: which one?

Blake Nelson moved into a hidden stretch of land – a raw paradise in the wilds of Utah – where he lived with his three wives:

Rachel, the chief wife, obedient and doting to a fault.
Tina, the other wife, who is everything Rachel isn’t.
And Emily, the youngest wife, who knows little else.

When their husband is found dead under the desert sun, the questions pile up.
But none of the widows know who would want to kill a good man like Blake.

Or, at least, that’s what they’ll tell the police…

Buy the book*

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Foundling Story by Justine Cowan

Genre: Biography, Autobiography
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Virago Press

SYNOPSIS:
A gripping memoir and revelatory investigation into the history of the Foundling Hospital and one girl who grew up in its care – the author’s own mother.

Growing up in a wealthy enclave outside San Francisco, Justine Cowan’s life seems idyllic. But her mother’s unpredictable temper drives Justine from home the moment she is old enough to escape. It is only after her mother dies that she finds herself pulling at the threads of a story half-told – her mother’s upbringing in London’s Foundling Hospital. Haunted by this secret history, Justine travels across the sea and deep into the past to discover the girl her mother once was.

Here, with the vividness of a true storyteller, she pieces together her mother’s childhood alongside the history of the Foundling Hospital: from its idealistic beginnings in the eighteenth century, how it influenced some of England’s greatest creative minds – from Handel to Dickens, its shocking approach to childcare and how it survived the Blitz only to close after the Second World War.

This was the environment that shaped a young girl then known as Dorothy Soames, who was left behind by a mother forced by stigma and shame to give up her child; who withstood years of physical and emotional abuse, dreaming of
escape as German bombers circled the skies, unaware all along that her own mother was fighting to get her back.

Buy the book*

Waiting For Superman: One Family’s Struggle To Survive – and cure – Chronic Illness by Tracie White

Genre: Biography
Format: Papernack, Kindle
Publisher: Allen & Unwin

SYNOPSIS:
For the past six years, Whitney Dafoe has been confined to a bedroom in the back of his parents’ home, unable to walk, eat or speak. His diagnosis? The mysterious disease myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) which affects 20 million people around the world who largely suffer in silence because the condition is little known and much misunderstood.

Waiting for Superman follows Whitney’s father, groundbreaking geneticist Ron Davis, as he uncovers new possibilities for treatments and potentially a cure. At its heart, this book is about more than just cutting-edge research or a race to find an answer – it’s about the lengths to which a parent will go to save their child’s life.

Buy the book*

The Santatorium by Sarah Pearse

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Gothic Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Fiction
Format: Kindle (Hardcover published 18th February)
Publisher: Bantam Press

SYNOPSIS:
‘An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.’ Reese Witherspoon

EVERYONE’S IN DANGER. ANYONE COULD BE NEXT.

An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother’s recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it’s beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous – as does her brother, Isaac.

And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin’s unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they’re all in . . .

Buy the book*

Everything Is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

Genre: Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Format: Kindle (Hardcover publisher March 25th)
Publisher: Piatkus

SYNOPSIS:
When Amy Ashton’s world fell apart eleven years ago, she started a collection.

Just a few keepsakes of happier times: some honeysuckle to remind herself of the boy she loved, a chipped china bird, an old terracotta pot . . . Things that others might throw away, but to Amy, represent a life that could have been.

Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves – soon there’ll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she’d lost still be hers for the taking?

Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant and The Keeper of Lost Things, this exquisitely told, uplifting novel shows us that however hopeless things might feel, beauty can be found in the most unexpected of places

Buy the book*

The Favour by Laura Vaughan

Genre: Coming-of-Age Fiction, Holiday Fiction
Format: Kindle (Hardcover published March 4th)
Publisher: Corvus

SYNOPSIS:

Fortune favours the fraud…

When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.

In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.

But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she’s been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined…

Buy the book*

If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin

Genre: Romance Novel, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Urban Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: HQ

SYNOPSIS:
If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin is an all-consuming novel about loneliness, obsession and how far we go for the ones we love.

My name is Constance Little.
This is my love story.
But this isn’t the way it was supposed to end.

After fleeing Manchester for London, Constance attempts to put past tragedies behind her and make a fresh start. When she embarks on a relationship with the new doctor at the medical practice where she works, she’s convinced she’s finally found the love and security she craves.

Then he ends it.

But if life has taught her anything, it’s that if you love someone, you should never let them go.

That’s why for Constance Little, her obsession is only just beginning . . .

Buy the book*

THE VETERANS

The Shadow Man by Helen Fields

Genre: Crime Thriller
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Avon Books

SYNOPSIS:
He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe.

Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go.

Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth.

Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real.

And he’s watching.

Buy the book*

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Urban Fiction
Format: Hardcover. Kindle, Audio
Publisher: HQ

SYNOPSIS:
One will change your life.
One will end it.
Who will … FIND YOU FIRST?

It’s a deadly race against time…

Tech billionaire Miles has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of – except time. Now facing a terminal illness, Miles knows he must seize every minute to put his life in order. And that means taking a long hard look at his past.

Somewhere out there, Miles has children. And they might be about to inherit both the good and bad from him – possibly his fortune, or possibly something more sinister.

So Miles decides to track down his missing children. But a vicious killer is one step ahead of him. One by one, people are vanishing. Not just disappearing, every trace of them is wiped.

Number One Sunday Times bestseller Linwood Barclay returns with his electrifying new thriller, Find You First.

Buy the book*

A Net For Small Fished by Lucy Jago

Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Bloomsbury

SYNOPSIS:
Frances Howard has beauty and a powerful family – and is the most unhappy creature in the world.

Anne Turner has wit and talent – but no stage on which to display them. Little stands between her and the abyss of destitution.

When these two very different women meet in the strangest of circumstances, a powerful friendship is sparked. Frankie sweeps Anne into a world of splendour that exceeds all she imagined: a Court whose foreign king is a stranger to his own subjects; where ancient families fight for power, and where the sovereign’s favourite may rise and rise – so long as he remains in favour.

With the marriage of their talents, Anne and Frankie enter this extravagant, savage hunting ground, seeking a little happiness for themselves. But as they gain notice, they also gain enemies; what began as a search for love and safety leads to desperate acts that could cost them everything.

Based on the true scandal that rocked the court of James I, A Net for Small Fishes is the most gripping novel you’ll read this year: an exhilarating dive into the pitch-dark waters of the Jacobean court.

Buy the book*

Pippo and Clara by Diana Rosie

Genre: Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Mantle Press

SYNOPSIS:
Italy, 1938. Mussolini is in power and war is not far away . . .

Clara and Pippo are just children: quiet, thoughtful Clara is the older sister; Pippo, the younger brother, is forever chatting. The family has only recently arrived in the city carrying their few possessions.

When Mamma goes missing early one morning, both Clara and Pippo go in search of her. Clara turns right; Pippo left.

As a result of the choices they make that morning, their lives will be changed forever.

Diana Rosie’s Pippo and Clara tells the story of a family and a country divided. But will Clara and Pippo – and their mother – find each other again?

Buy the book*

The Children God Forgot by Graham Masterson

Genre:Thriller, Suspense, Horror Fiction, Medical Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Head of Zeus

SYNOPSIS:
Forsake the living. Forget the dead. Fear the children… The brand new chilling page-turner from the master of horror

A TERRIFYING BIRTH
A young woman is rushed to the hospital with stabbing pains in her stomach. The chief surgeon delivers a living child with the face of an angel and the body of a tentacled monster. The doctors are unanimous that the baby must die.

AN ESCAPE FROM THE DARK
Engineer Gemma is plunged into darkness in a tunnel beneath London. Before she escapes, a strange green light illuminates a cluster of ghostly figures. Gemma is certain they were children.

A SUPERNATURAL THREAT
DC Jerry Pardoe and DS Jamila Patel, of Tooting Police, have investigated the occult before – but nothing as strange and horrible as what they must confront in the city sewers. Down here in the dark, where the dead come back to life, witchcraft is the only force strong enough to save you…

Buy the book*

Passenger 23 by Sebastian Fitzek

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Head of Zeus

SYNOPSIS:
A high concept thriller from the author of The Package, international number one bestseller Sebastian Fitzek.

On average 23 people a year disappear from the world’s cruise ships. They are written off as accidents or suicides. But what if they’re not?

Five years ago Martin Schwarz, a police psychologist, lost his wife and son. They were holidaying on a cruise ship when they simply vanished. A lacklustre investigation was unable to shed any light on what happened – murder-suicide being the coroner’s verdict. It is a verdict that has haunted Martin ever since, blighting his life. But then he is contacted by an elderly woman, a writer, who claims to have information regarding their fate and wants him to come on board The Sultan of the Seas immediately.

She explains that his wife and son are not the only mother and child pair to have disappeared. Only a few months ago another mother and daughter also vanished. She believes there may be a serial killer on board.

But when the missing daughter reappears – carrying the teddy bear of Martin’s missing son – it becomes apparent that the truth could be much, much worse…Sebastian Fitzek is Germany’s most successful author. His books have sold 13 million copies, been translated into more than thirty-six languages and are the basis for international cinema and theatre adaptations. Sebastian Fitzek was the first German author to be awarded the European Prize for Criminal Literature. He lives with his family in Berlin.

Buy the book*

The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forma

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd

SYNOPSIS:
The must-read epic fantasy of 2021, as featured on Cosmo, Buzzfeed, BookRiot and Refinery 29. In this West African-inspired world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice, perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman’s worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold – the colour of impurity, of a demon – she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed…

Buy the book*

Mother For Dinner by Shalom Auslander

Genre: Humorous Fiction, Religious Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle,
Publisher: Picador

SYNOPSIS:
Seventh Seltzer has done everything he can to break from the traditions of the past, but in his overbearing, narcissistic mother’s last moments, she whispers in his ear the two words he always knew she would: ‘Eat me’.

This is not unusual, as the Seltzers are Cannibal-Americans, a once proud and thriving ethnic group, but for Seventh, it raises some serious questions. Of practical concern, she’s six-foot-two and weighs over thirty stone – even divided up between Seventh and his eleven brothers, that’s a lot of red meat. Plus, Second keeps kosher, Ninth is vegan and Sixth is dead. To make matters worse, even if he can wrangle his brothers together for a feast, the Can-Am people have assimilated, and the only living Cannibal who knows how to perform the ancient ritual is their Uncle Ishmael, a far from reliable guide.

Beyond the practical, Seventh struggles with the sense of guilt and responsibility he feels – to his mother, to his people and to his unique cultural heritage. His mother always taught him he was a link in a chain, stretching back centuries. But he’s getting tired of chains.

Shalom Auslander’s Mother for Dinner is an outrageously tasty comedy about identity and inheritance, the things we owe our families and the things we owe ourselves.

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The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Publisher: Sphere

SYNOPSIS:
The BRAND NEW novel from the internationally bestselling author of THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL

In Morocco, behind the ancient walls of the medina, secrets will be revealed . . .

Amina Bennis has come back to her childhood home in Morocco to attend her sister’s wedding. The time has come for her to confront her strict, traditionalist father with the secret she has kept for more than a year – her American husband Max.

Amina’s best friend Charlie, and Charlie’s feisty grandmother Bea, have come along for moral support, staying with Amina and her family in their palatial riad in Fès, and enjoying all that the city has to offer. But Charlie is also hiding someone from her past – a mystery man from Casablanca.

And then there’s Samira, the Bennis’s devoted housekeeper for many decades. Hers is the biggest secret of all – and the one that strikes at the very heart of the family . . .

From the twisted alleyways of the ancient medina of Fès to a marriage festival high in the Atlas Mountains, Deborah Rodriguez’s entrancing new bestseller is a modern story of forbidden love set in the sensual landscape of North Africa.

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Serpentine (Alex Delaware 36) by Jonathan Kellerman

Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Century

SYNOPSIS
The electrifying new Alex Delaware thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Ellie Barker never knew her mother.

When she was barely three years old, her mother was found with a bullet in her head inside a torched Cadillac, overturned on Mulholland Drive. No physical evidence, no witness and no apparent motive.

Twenty-five years on, many detectives tried and failed to get to the bottom of the case.

Desperate for answers, Ellie hires LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis, who calls in the expertise of brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware, to investigate.

But as the duo start digging, the mystery becomes even more twisted. And they soon discover a string of dangerous threats still lurking in the present…

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The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin

Genre: Literary Fiction, Suspense
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: John Murray Press

SYNOPSIS:
Nessa McCormack’s marriage is coming back together again after her husband’s affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibit for one of Ireland’s most beloved and enigmatic artists, the late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: a chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her, and at work, an odd woman comes forward claiming to be the true creator of Robert Locke’s most famous work, The Chalk Sculpture.

As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she must decide whether she can continue to live a lie – or whether she’s ready to face the consequences once everything is out in the open. In this gripping debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that rule us.

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The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books

SYNOPSIS:
Soon to be a Netflix film starring Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown – this must-read psychological thriller, perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, will leave you guessing until the final page.

As an ex con artist, Nora has always got herself out of tricky situations. But the ultimate test lies in wait when she’s taken hostage in a bank heist. And this time, Nora doesn’t have an escape plan …

Meet Nora. Also known as Rebecca, Samantha, Haley, Katie and Ashley – the girls she’s been.

Nora didn’t choose a life of deception – she was born into it. As the daughter of a con artist who targeted criminal men, Nora always had to play a part. But when her mother fell for one of the men instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con herself: escape.

For five years Nora’s been playing at normal – but things are far from it when she finds herself held at gunpoint in the middle of a bank heist, along with Wes (her ex-boyfriend) and Iris (her secret new girlfriend and mutual friend of Wes … awkward). Now it will take all of Nora’s con artistry skills to get them out alive.

Because the gunmen have no idea who she really is – that girl has been in hiding for far too long.

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The Last Snow by Stina Jackson

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Corvus

SYNOPSIS:
What secrets are hidden within the walls of a desolate farmhouse in a forgotten corner of Lapland?

Early spring has its icy grip on Ödesmark, a small village in northernmost Sweden, abandoned by many of its inhabitants. But Liv Björnlund never left. She lives in a derelict house together with her teenage son, Simon, and her ageing father, Vidar. They make for a peculiar family, and Liv knows that they are cause for gossip among their few remaining neighbours.

Just why has Liv stayed by her domineering father’s side all these years? And is it true that Vidar is sitting on a small fortune? His questionable business decisions have made him many enemies over the years, and in Ödesmark everyone knows everyone, and no one ever forgets.

Now someone wants back what is rightfully theirs. And they will stop at nothing to get it, no matter who stands in their way…

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His Hidden Wife by Wendy Clarke

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Bookouture

SYNOPSIS:
The first time you see them, out for an evening walk on the cliffs, you’ll think they’re the perfect family. You’ll see a wife who looks so happy, strolling peacefully beside her husband in his dark winter coat, holding her daughter’s hand. But you have no idea what’s really happening in their house…

If you come a little closer you might hear the way the man speaks to his wife.

You might notice that the woman doesn’t have any close friends. That sometimes her husband doesn’t want her to leave the house. You might wonder if that’s a scar her beautiful daughter is hiding on her neck.

When you read the local newspaper and hear the news that the wife has fallen from the cliffs, you’ll question whether it was really an accident at all.

And when the husband starts dating someone new – a woman with the same long dark hair and big blue eyes as his wife – will you say something this time?

Because someone has to protect the little girl and stop history from repeating itself. And it may already be too late.

A thrilling and twisty tale, His Hidden Wife will keep you up all night, desperate to race through to its final conclusion. Readers of Gone Girl, The Couple Next Door and Lisa Jewell will be hooked.

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All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romance Novel, Domestic Fiction, Urban Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

SYNOPSIS:
Hubert Bird is not alone in being alone.
He just needs to realise it.

In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfilment.

But Hubert Bird is lying.

The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul.

Until, that is, he receives some good news – good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on.

Now Hubert faces a seemingly impossible task: to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out.
Along the way Hubert stumbles across a second chance at love, renews a cherished friendship and finds himself roped into an audacious community scheme that seeks to end loneliness once and for all . . .

Life is certainly beginning to happen to Hubert Bird. But with the origin of his earlier isolation always lurking in the shadows will he ever get to live the life he’s pretended to have for so long?

From bestselling author Mike Gayle, All the Lonely People is by turns a funny and moving meditation on love, race, old age and friendship that will not only charm and uplift, but also remind you of the power of ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference.

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Grown Ups by Marian Keyes

Genre: Humour, Domestic Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Penguin

SYNOPSIS:
MEET JESSIE, CARA AND NELL.

Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey.

Three very different women tied to three very different men.

Every family occasion is a party – until the day the secrets spill out.

PLAYTIME IS OVER.

BUT WHERE ARE THE GROWN-UPS?

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Written In Blood by Chris Carter

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Book Series
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK

SYNOPISIS:
A serial killer who will stop at nothing…

The Killer
His most valuable possession has been stolen.
Now he must retrieve it, at any cost.

The Girl
Angela Wood wanted to teach the man a lesson. It was a bag, just like any other.
But when she opens it, the worst nightmare of her life begins.

The Detective
A journal ends up on Robert Hunter’s desk. It soon becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose.
And if Hunter can’t stop him in time, more people will die.
Starting with Angela.

If you have read it
You must die.

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Six Tudor Queens: Katheryn Howard, The Tainted Queen by Alison Weir

Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Headline

SYNOPSIS:
‘This six-book series looks likely to become a landmark in historical fiction’ The Times

Alison Weir, historian and author of the Sunday Times-bestselling Six Tudor Queens series, relates one of the most tragic stories in English history: Katheryn Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth queen.

A NAIVE YOUNG WOMAN AT THE MERCY OF HER AMBITIOUS FAMILY.

At just nineteen, Katheryn Howard is quick to trust and fall in love.

She comes to court. She sings, she dances. She captures the heart of the King.

But Henry knows nothing of Katheryn’s past – one that comes back increasingly to haunt her. For those who share her secrets are waiting in the shadows, whispering words of love… and blackmail.

The fifth of Henry’s queens.
Her story.

Acclaimed, bestselling historian Alison Weir draws on extensive research to recount the tale of a vivacious young woman used by powerful men for their own gain.

HISTORY TELLS US SHE DIED TO SOON.
THIS MESMERISING NOVEL BRINGS HER TO LIFE.

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20th Victim by James Patterson

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Legal Thriller, Book Series
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Arrow

SYNOPSIS:
THREE CITIES. THREE BULLETS. THREE VICTIMS.

Simultaneous murders hit LA, Chicago and San Francisco. SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer is tasked with uncovering what links these precise and calculated killings.

Lindsay discovers that the victims all excel in lucrative, criminal activity. As the casualty list expands, fear and fascination with this shocking spree provoke debate across the country.

Are the killers villains or heroes? And who will be next?

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A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry

Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Faber & Faber

SYNOPSIS:
Even when you come out of bloodshed and disaster in the end you have got to learn to live.

Winona is a young Lakota orphan adopted by former soldiers Thomas McNulty and John Cole.
Living with Thomas and John on the farm they work in 1870s Tennessee, she is educated and loved, forging a life for herself beyond the violence and dispossession of her past. But the fragile harmony of her unlikely family unit, in the aftermath of the Civil War, is soon threatened by a further traumatic event, one which Winona struggles to confront, let alone understand.

Told in Sebastian Barry’s rare and masterly prose, A Thousand Moons is a powerful, moving study of one woman’s journey, of her determination to write her own future, and of the enduring human capacity for love.

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Writers & Lovers by Lily King

Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Picador

SYNOPSIS:
Recently out of a devastating love affair and mourning the loss of her beloved mum, Casey is lost. The novel she has been writing for six years isn’t going anywhere, her debt is soaring, and at thirty-one, with all her friends getting married and having kids, she feels too old for things to be this way.

Then she meets Silas. He is kind, handsome, interested. But only a few weeks later, Oscar – older, fascinating, troubled – walks into her life, his two boys in tow. Suddenly Casey finds herself at the point of a love triangle, torn between two very different relationships that promise two very different futures. And she’s still got to write that book…

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Take A Chance On Me by Beth Moran

Genre: Romance Novel, Domestic Fiction, Travel Literature, Holiday Fiction
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Boldwood Books

SYNOPSIS:
Meet Patrick Cooper– desperately down on his luck, and head-over-heels in unrequited love with his best friend Bridget.
Meet Bridget’s sister, Emma Donovan -eternally single maker-of-cakes for many a happy couple, whilst never making it down the aisle herself.

Emma has four younger sisters, all of whom are married or getting married, and an Italian mother who can’t understand what is ‘wrong’ with her eldest daughter, who seems to be stranded on the shelf. Despairing of her own ability to find a suitable husband, Emma agrees to be part of a compatibility project to get married at first sight.

Meanwhile Cooper is struggling to get over his crush on Bridget and seems destined to stay firmly on the shelf too. Perhaps it’s time his fate was taken out of his hands…

Is happily-ever-after just about daring to take a chance, or do you need some extra magic to make love last?

Join Beth Moran, Cooper and the Donovan sisters on this life-affirming and uplifting tale of love, family, friendship, and risking it all for happiness.

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Lullaby Beach by Stella Duffy

Genre: Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Publisher: Virago Books

SYNOPSIS:
A compelling novel about family secrets and the legacy of trauma, set against the changing fortunes of an English seaside town, from award-winning writer Stella Duffy.

When Lucy discovers the body of her great aunt Kitty, with a puzzling note and empty pill bottles by her bed, she can’t believe that the formidable woman who held her family together is gone – or understand why she has taken her own life.

Lucy is determined to decipher Kitty’s final message. What she finds will overturn everything she thought she knew about her family.

Lullaby Beach takes the reader on a journey through three generations of a complicated, close-knit family whose joys and misfortunes track many of the most pressing conflicts and concerns of post-war Britain, from the promise and hypocrisies of 1950s London to the political divides and risky freedoms of the present day.

Told with the warmth, generosity and fierce passion which has won Stella Duffy so much praise over her career, Lullaby Beach is a brilliant story of loss and love, revenge and redemption.

Love Letters of Kings and Queens by Daniel Smith

Genre: Biography
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Publisher: Greenfinch

SYNOPSIS:
Tender, moving, heartfelt and warm (and sporadically scandalous and outrageous too), these are the private messages between people in love. Yet they are also correspondence between the rulers of nations.

From Henry VIII’s lovelorn notes to Anne Boleyn and George IV’s impassioned notes to his secret wife, to Queen Victoria’s tender letters to Prince Albert and Edward VIII’s extraordinary correspondence with Wallis Simpson – these letters depict romantic love from its budding passion to the comfort and understanding of a long union (and occasionally beyond to resentment and recrimination), all set against the background of great affairs of state, wars and the strictures of royal duty.

Here is a chance to glimpse behind the pomp and ceremony, the carefully curated images of royal splendour and decorum, to see the passions, hopes, jealousies and loneliness of kings and queens throughout history. By turns tender, moving, heartfelt and warm (and sporadically scandalous and outrageous too), these are the private messages between people in love. Yet they are also correspondence between the rulers of nations, whose actions (and passions) changed the course of history, for good and bad.

This morning I received your dear, dear letter of the 21st. How happy do you make me with your love! Oh! my Angel Albert, I am quite enchanted with it! I do not deserve such love! Never, never did I think I could be loved so much. Queen Victoria to Prince Albert (28 November 1839)

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Are any of these on your tbr? If so, which ones?

Thank you for reading. Until next time Bibliophiles, Emma xx