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Emma's Anticipated Treasures

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?

Pre-order here*

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.

Pre-order here*

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.

Pre-order here*

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 . . . 

Pre-order here*

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.

Pre-order here*

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*

Categories
Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – March 2024

Welcome to my list of most anticipated books out in March. It’s another jam-packed month, with highly anticipated books from authors such as Bobby Palmer, Doug Johnstone, C. L. Taylor and Freya Sampson.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Published March 7th by Century
Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy,Horror Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Ghost Horror, Science Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The sweeping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden.

‘A wonderful clash of fire and ice … A book you won’t want to let go of.’ Diana Gabaldon
‘A spectacular tour de force … I love this book so much and want everyone to read it!‘ Naomi Novik
Darkly beautiful and deeply humane … The Warm Hands of Ghosts will stir your heart, and settle into your bones.’ Ava Reid
Visionary, imaginative and brilliantly written.’ Anthony Horowitz
‘This exquisite novel took me over like a haunting … One of the best historical fantasies I’ve ever read’ Emma Törzs
______________

World War One, and as shells fall in Flanders, a Canadian nurse searches for her brother believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise in this gripping and powerful historical novel from the bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.


January 1918Laura Iven has been discharged from her duties as a nurse and sent back to Halifax, Canada, leaving behind a brother still fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now home, she receives word of Freddie’s death in action along with his uniform -but something doesn’t quite make sense. Determined to find out more, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about ghosts moving among those still living and a strange inn-keeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie – but if so, where is he?

November 1917Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped under an overturned pillbox with an enemy soldier, a German, each of them badly wounded. Against all odds, the two men form a bond and succeed in clawing their way out. But once in No Man’s Land, where can either of them turn where they won’t be shot as enemy soldiers or deserters? As the killing continues, they meet a man – a fiddler – who seems to have the power to make the hellscape that surrounds them disappear. But at what price?

A novel of breath-taking scope and drama, of compulsive readability, of stunning historical research lightly worn, and of brilliantly drawn characters who will make you laugh and break your heart in a single line, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a book that will speak to readers directly about the trauma of war and the power of those involved to love, endure and transcend it.

Pre-order here*

The Tower by Flora Carr

Published March 7th by Hutchinson Heinmann
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Tower is such a vivid, visceral read, you feel you’re locked in the tower alongside the characters, acting out a royal family drama. I am moved and impressed‘ TRACY CHEVALIER


They are imprisoned, but not contained.

Three women cross a loch. It is 1567, one of them is pregnant, two of them fretful. The boat takes them to Lochleven castle in the middle of the water. Awaiting them are courtiers braying for blood, hellbent on keeping one of them under lock and key: Mary Queen of Scots.

In the tower, Mary’s maids Frenchwoman, Cuckoo and watchful Scot, Jane are her only allies, and the chamber their entire world. A new reality sets in where they are at the mercy of not only their keepers, but of raging Scotland itself.

In the outside world, Mary’s kin, Queen Elizabeth claims she can do little but write. Downstairs, the shrewd jailor-courtier Margaret Erskine places her daughter-in-law Agnes in the chamber as her pair of eyes. Hope seems futile until the bewitching Lady Seton arrives. Seton’s power shifts everything in the tower and soon a plan is hatched.

But which of them will risk it all to save their mistress? Which woman loves her queen best? The Tower is a triumphant story of desire, grit, God-given power and wiles from a striking new voice in historical fiction.

Pre-order here*

Eliza Mace by Sarah Burton and Jem Poster

Published March 7th by Duckworth
Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Women Sleuth

SYNOPSIS:
A twisty Victorian mystery featuring quick-witted detective Eliza Mace

In the first of a thrilling new Victorian detective series, Eliza Mace, on the cusp of adulthood, is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house in the Welsh borders in the 1870s, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza’s determination to uncover the truth is unstoppable.

Joining forces with the charismatic new police constable, Dafydd Pritchard, she sets out to solve the case, but that’s no easy task. Her father has run up debts in town and beyond, and there are many who bear him a grudge. As she searches for evidence, Eliza exposes dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart…

Pre-order here*

Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh

Published March 7th by Chatto & Windus
Political Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘A warm, sweet love story, and a thought-provoking examination of the British slave trade and its legacy’ MARIAN KEYES

**STYLIST UNMISSABLE BOOK FOR 2024**

They already share a surname. But will they share a future?


When Layla and Andy first meet, they can’t believe they have the same surname. It feels like fate, almost too romantic to be true.

But Sera, Layla’s best friend, has her doubts about Andy. As the pair fall deeper and deeper in love, Sera becomes more and more vocal about Layla settling down with a white boy. And then, only a few weeks before their wedding, Layla makes a devastating discovery about their shared name.

What seemed like a fairy-tale romance is rapidly derailed. In part propelled by Sera’s rising anger, Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she had never imagined — or, perhaps, had simply learnt to ignore. And now, she faces an impossible choice, between past and future, friendship and marriage, the personal and the political.

Pre-order here*

Follow The Butterfly by Martta Kaukonen

Published March 7th by Pushkin Vertigo
Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Ida is a self-confessed serial killer of predatory men. She feels no remorse for her victims, but has decided she needs psychiatric help… if only to lay the groundwork for an insanity plea if she gets caught. Clarissa is a celebrity psychotherapist, the best in her field, a familiar face on television and in glossy magazines. For her, every patient is special-someone only she can save. When Ida walks into Clarissa’s consulting room one day, the therapist doesn’t know that they share a dark secret, buried in both their pasts. As Ida’s therapy begins, and Clarissa starts to probe the deepest recesses of her mind, a game of cat and mouse begins. Will Clarissa realise the truth before it’s too late? When Ida becomes Clarissa’s patient, a cat-and-mouse game begins in which nobody plays by the rules. The kind of game that never ends well…

Pre-order here*

Mrs Gulliver by Valerie Martin

Published March 7th by Serpent’s Tail
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Irresistible – a funny, sexy romp that’s also smart, even wise’ Kirkus starred review

‘ Pure elegance, subtlety and wit. A triumph of a novel’ – Francesca Segal, author of Mother Ship

It is 1954, and prostitution is legal in the tropical haven that is Verona Island. Here, among gangsters and corrupt lawmen, Lila Gulliver runs a brothel that promises her exclusive clientele privacy and discretion. When nineteen-year-old Carità, beautiful and blind since birth, comes to her door seeking employment, Mrs Gulliver sees a business opportunity and takes a chance. Carità is mesmerising, sharp and a mystery to her employer, always holding herself at a distance.

One night, the son of a wealthy judge patronises Mrs Gulliver’s establishment, immediately falling madly in love with Carità. This is Ian Drohan – young, idealistic and cushioned by wealth and family connections. Mrs Gulliver mistrusts him, and worries for Carità’s future. Carità, on the other hand, is fearless, headstrong and a force of nature that Mrs Gulliver is always several steps behind.

A dazzling drama filled with sex, wry wit and literary references, Mrs Gulliver follows two women who have nothing to lose in their fight for agency on an island too ready to dismiss them.

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A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata

Published March 7th by Footnote Press
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Only Kiyoko Murata can convey this world’ YOKO OGAWA, author of The Memory Police, Yomiuri Shibun

The year is 1903, and tenacious and spirited Aoi Ichi is sold to the most exclusive brothel in Kumamoto, Japan, becoming the protégée of Shinonome, the oiran, or the highest-ranking courtesan.

Through Shinonome’s teachings, fifteen-year-old Ichi begins to understand the intertwined power of sex and money. Education for a courtesan extends beyond the art of seduction, and as Ichi is taught to read and write she develops a voice that refuses to be dampened by the brothel’s rigid hierarchy.

Outside the cloistered world of the red-light district, rumours of local worker strikes grow, and as the seasons change in Kumamoto, Ichi, Shinonome and their fellow courtesans begin to wonder how they might redistribute the power and wealth of the brothels among themselves.

Critically acclaimed veteran writer Kiyoko Murata creates in stunning detail the harsh yet vibrant lives of women in a red-light district at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on real-life events, A Woman of Pleasure is a testament to the bonds between women and the power of owning one’s language and freedom.

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I Promise It Won’tAlways Hurt Like This by Clare Mackintosh

Published March 7th by Sphere
Memoir

SYNOPSIS:
‘Truly the best and most insightful book about grief I have ever read’ – Joanna Cannon

Grief is universal, but it’s also as unique to each of us as the person we’ve lost. It can be overwhelming, exhausting, lonely, unreasonable, there when we least expect it and seemingly never-ending. Wherever you are with your grief and whoever you’re grieving for, I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This is here to support you. To tell you, until you believe it, that things will get easier.

When bestselling writer Clare Mackintosh lost her five-week-old son, she searched for help in books. All of them wanted to tell her what she should be feeling and when she should be feeling it, but the truth – as she soon found out – is that there are no neat, labelled stages for grief, or crash grief-diets to relieve us of our pain. What we need when we’re grieving is time and understanding. With 18 short assurances that are full of compassion – drawn from Clare’s experiences of losing her son and her father – I Promise it Won’t Always Hurt Like This is the book she needed then.

‘A book dripping with a compassion that can only truly be laid out on the page by a Survivor of the Trenches of Grief . We need now, perhaps more than ever, beacon-makers like Clare to help guide us through our darkness’ – Greg Wise

‘That Clare has used her own devastating experience to help others who are going through something similar is a brave and hugely laudable thing to do. A book that is both heart-breaking in its honesty and uplifting in its compassionate approach, it is beautifully written and offers – implicit in the title – hope’ – Alan Titchmarsh

‘A true lifeline if you think no one else can possibly understand how you feel’ – Jill Mansell

‘Beautiful, heart-breaking and yet overwhelmingly hopeful’ – Mike Gayle

‘Written with honesty, realism, deep personal insight and hope’ – Child Bereavement UK

‘A salve for broken hearts. Readers who’ve been touched by loss will find comfort in these pages.’ – Publishers Weekly

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Learning To Think by Tracy King

Published March 7th by Doubleday
Audiobiography

SYNOPSIS:
‘Tracy King’s memoir is heartbreaking and hopeful…An incredible true story of survival and forgiveness.’ TIM MINCHIN

‘Impossible not to read in one sitting.’ – Stylist, Best books for 2024

‘What would you do if you began to suspect the events of your childhood didn’t happen as you remembered them? In this evocative memoir, Tracy King confronts the stories we all tell ourselves in order to live.’ HELEN LEWIS


…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

When you have nothing, you cling to whatever gives you hope.


Put yourself in Tracy King’s shoes. Growing up in an ordinary council estate outside Birmingham; a house filled with creativity, curiosity and love, but marked by her father’s alcoholism and her mother’s agoraphobia.

By the time she turns twelve her father has been killed, her sister taken into care and her mother ensnared by the promises of born-again Christianity.

This isn’t the stuff of cult documentaries; this is the story of an ordinary family trapped in a broken system. It’s a story that could happen to anyone without the tools to transform their circumstances. And it’s the story of how Tracy found her way out.

A shocking, inspiring and ultimately hopeful memoir that holds up a mirror to the everyday realities of living in poverty, it is also a testament to the power of books and to learning to question our world.

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Sylvia’s Second Act by Hillary Yablon

Published March 12th by Orion
Humorous Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Hilarious, heartwarming and delightfully refreshing’ CAROL KIRKWOOD

‘Will put a twinkle in your eye and a spring in your step. Fabulous fun!’ VERONICA HENRY

‘Wickedly funny and utterly engaging. Sylvia is our queen!’ ALEX BROWN

‘Joyful, feel-good fun with a feisty heroine you can’t help but love!’ FANNY BLAKE

Growing older doesn’t just mean growing wiser.

But it does mean a lot of fun…

When 63-year-old Sylvia finds her husband in bed with another woman, she’s shocked and furious . . . at first. But by the time her head stops spinning, Sylvia realises she hates the retirement community she’s living in – it’s for old people. And she certainly doesn’t feel old!

So, she enlists the help of her best friend, glamorous 70-year-old widow Evie, and the pair flee to Manhattan to start a new life in the city that never sleeps. Sylvia’s husband may have lost her life savings, but they’re scrappy and determined – and they weren’t born yesterday…

Before long, Sylvia is reviving her wedding planning business and even finds herself back in the dating game! And no matter what her meddling daughter thinks, it’s her time now – and she’s determined that in this glorious second act, the best is yet to come!

Hilarious, heartwarming and utterly feel-good, Sylvia’s Second Act is perfect for fans of Heartburn by Nora Ephron, Grace & Frankie, and Sex and the City.

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Small Hours by Bobby Palmer

Published March 14th by Headline
Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Powerful’ JOANNA GLEN
‘Beautiful’ KATE SAWYER
‘A triumph’ JENNIE GODFREY

The eagerly awaited new novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed debut Isaac and the Egg.


If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here’s what you’d see:

A father and son, a fox standing between them.

Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father.

Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.

Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack’s mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.

If you met them in the small hours, you’d begin to piece together their story.

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Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley

Published March 14th by Orenda
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Hadboiled, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Supernatural Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
An investigative reporter gives up her job when her young twins are killed in a fire, but when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager, she’s thrust into a chilling investigation that will leave no one unscathed…
 
 ‘An extraordinary debut: intriguing, unsettling, heavy on atmosphere and with a formidable leading lady … Suzy Aspley is one to watch’ Mari Hannah
 
‘A gripping piece of contemporary gothic, Crow Moon signals the arrival of a hugely promising new talent’ Kevin Wignall
 
A nerve-tingling thriller that both enchants and terrifies. Aspley weaves sinister folklore into a tense murder investigation that has you looking over your shoulder as you turn each page’ Eve Smith
 
____
 
When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed…
 
Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire.
 
Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back…

When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows. 
As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe, including Martha…
Both a nerve-shattering, enthralling and atmospheric thriller and a moving tale of grief and psychological damage, Crow Moon is a staggeringly accomplished debut and the start of an addictive, unforgettable series.

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Listen For The Lie by Amy Tinterra

Published March 14th by Bantam Press
Thriller, Mystery, Romantic Comedy

SYNOPSIS:
‘Dark comedy and darker thrills’ – ALEX MICHAELIDES
‘A world-class whodunit’ – STEPHEN KING
‘Edgy, thrilling, twisty – I loved it!’ – LIANE MORIARTY

Am I a murderer? You tell me . . .


You probably already know about me. Lucy Chase, the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend.

You all think I did it. That’s OK, I get it. Being found wandering the streets covered in her blood wasn’t a great look.

Believe me, I’m as frustrated as you are. I’d love to know if I’m a murderer – it’s the sort of thing you really should know about yourself, isn’t it?

And now, thanks to true-crime podcast Listen for the Lie, I finally have the chance to find out. But will I be able to live with myself if it turns out it was me?

And if it wasn’t, will digging into the secrets of the night I forgot make me the next target of whoever did?

Perfect for fans of HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY by Bella Mackie, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell and MURDER IN THE FAMILY by Cara Hunter.

Pre-order here*

The Best Way To Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale

Published March 14th by Viking
Dark Comedy, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
‘A darkly comedic story . . . I loved it’ JESSE SUTANTO, author of Dial A for Aunties

‘Poignant and funny, dark and searing’ ANDREA MARA, author of No One Saw a Thing



Four new friends. Four dead bodies. One big problem . . .

Sally never meant to cave her husband’s head in with a skillet. Or at least she didn’t until suddenly, she did.

But Sally isn’t the only woman in town being pushed to breaking point. When coincidence brings four strangers together, a surprising solidarity is formed.

So can they find the best way to bury their husbands – and get away with it?

Darkly funny and with a big beating heart, The Best Way to Bury Your Husband takes four very different women, one unexpected friendship and several spades to unravel a complex issue with a light touch in this irresistible must-read.

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My Name Was Eden by Eleanor Barker-White

Published March 14th by HarperNorth
Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Horror Ficiton, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
‘A compulsive, didn’t-see-it-coming thriller’
ABIGAIL DEAN, international bestselling author of Girl A

One twin vanished. One twin reappeared.

‘A fantastic debut – unpredictable, tense and absorbing’ ROSE CARLYLE, #1 international bestselling author of The Girl in the Mirror

‘Dark and creepy . . . in the most compelling way. A proper page-turner’ KATY BRENT, bestselling author of How to Kill Men and Get Away with It

*

When Eden is rescued from the lake, her mother Lucy has a second chance.

No one knows why the 14-year-old Eden almost drowned on her way home from school. But now she’s safe, Lucy can start being a good mother. The mother she should have always been, before the loss of Eden’s twin during the pregnancy consumed Lucy, all those years ago.

But when Eden wakes up in hospital, she claims that Eden isn’t her name. That her name is Eli – the name Lucy had reserved for the unborn twin.

Could it be that all this time, Lucy’s grief has been misplaced?

Eden, it seems, is the twin who’s really disappeared . . .

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Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

Published March 14th by Hutchinson Heinmann
Literary Fiction, Political Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the Olivier award-winning playwright of Prima Facie Suzie Miller comes her first novel, where power, patriarchy and morality diverge.

‘This is not life. This is law.’

Tessa Ensler is a brilliant barrister who’s forged her career in criminal defence through sheer determination. Since her days at Cambridge, she’s carefully disguised her working class roots in a male-dominated world where who you know is just as important as what you know. Driven by her belief in the right to a fair trial and a taste for victory, there’s nothing Tessa loves more than the thrill of getting her clients acquitted.

It seems like Tessa has it made when she is approached for a new job and nominated for the most prestigious award in her field. But when a date with a charismatic colleague goes horribly wrong, Tessa finds that the rules she’s always played by might not protect her, forcing her to question everything she’s ever believed in . . .

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Finding Sophieby Imran Mahmood

Published March 14th by Bloomsbury Publishing
Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A brilliantly compelling domestic suspense from a rising star of the crime fiction world, and the man behind BBC/Netflix smash hit, You Don’t Know Me

Sophie King is missing.

Her parents, Harry and Zara, are distraught; for the last seventeen years, they’ve done everything for their beloved only daughter and now she’s gone.

The police have no leads, and Harry and Zara are growing increasingly frantic, although they are both dealing with it in very different ways. Increasingly obsessed with their highly suspicious neighbour who won’t open the door or answer any questions, they are both coming to the same conclusion. If they want answers, they’re going to have to take the matter into their own hands.

But just how far are they both prepared to go for the love of their daughter?

Pre-order here*

Deliver Me by Malin Persson Giolito

Published March 14th by Simon & Schuster UK
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Legal Thriller, Urban Ficiton, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
From the internationally bestselling author of Quicksand, a brilliant, gut-wrenching story of childhood friends torn apart by gang violence and class differences.

Dogge is from affluent Rönnviken in Stockholm. Billy lives in the concrete towers of Våringe, a few hundred yards across a highway but a world apart. They met as six-year-olds at Rönnviken’s playground and have been unlikely best friends ever since. From the outside, Dogge looks privileged: he lives in a large home and there is plenty of money—at first. But his parents are addicts whose negligence becomes a form of abuse. Meanwhile, Billy’s family are poor first-generation immigrants unable to escape the no-go zone where they live. But their cramped apartment is nonetheless a bastion of love.

When gangs tighten their grip on Våringe, a ruthless small-time boss seeks recruits and both Dogge and Billy become runners by the time they’re twelve. Fast cash, easy access to drugs, and the dream of gaining status draw them in. But when Billy wants to leave the gang and finds himself trapped, the boys must face the violent rules of the adult game they tried to play.

When children commit horrible crimes, who bears the responsibility? With piercing prose and a breathless sense of urgency, Deliver Me is at once a poignant portrayal of the power of friendship and a shattering depiction of what happens when society fails to protect those that need it most. What does justice mean for these lost children and is the law capable of delivering it?

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The Island of Mists and Miracles by Victoria Mas

Published March 14th by Doubleday
Historical Fiction, Literary Ficion

SYNOPSIS:
Sometimes the truth lies in the things you cannot see.

In 1830 a young novice called Catherine Labouré was granted a vision of the Virgin Mary. Nearly 200 years later, Sister Anne is also waiting for a sign. Which is why she accepts a mission to go to a tiny community on an island just off the coast of Brittany. Her only companion there is a sceptical, chain-smoking older nun who just wants to be left in peace.

On the island she meets Hugo, the son of a devout family who prefers to look for the meaning of life amid the stars; Madenn, a grandmother whose daughter was killed in a crash and who finds meaning in routine; Isaac, Madenn’s grandson, an otherworldly teenager who doesn’t fit in but who befriends Hugo, and Julia, a sickly child. If anyone needs a miracle, it is her.

But it is not Sister Anne who receives a vision. Instead it is Isaac who is found on a promontary, transfixed, unable to utter more than the words ‘I see’. The event soon becomes headline news and the world descends on the small island, opening old wounds and unleashing a chain of events none of them could have foreseen.

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Diva by Daisy Goodwin

Published March 14th by Aria
Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

‘An extraordinary, vivid, and skilful re-imagining of a modern Greek legend’ – Victoria Hislop


In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas is known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she’s the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. Yet her fame has been hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her, Maria learned early in life how to protect herself.

When she meets the fabulously rich shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, her isolation melts away. For the first time in her life, she believes she’s found a man who sees the woman rather than the legendary soprano. Desperately in love, Onassis introduces her to a life of unbelievable luxury, mixing with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then, suddenly, it’s over. The international press announce that Onassis will marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice.

‘I gulped it down… the brilliantly persuasive portrayal of a woman negotiating the demands of her art with an intense emotional life is so compelling’ – Elizabeth Buchan

Pre-order here*

The Collapsing Wave (The Enceladons Trilogy, 2) by Doug Johnstone

Published March 14th by Orenda
Suspense, Science Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Alternative History

SYNOPSIS:
Ava, Lennox and Heather make contact with alien Sandy and head for a profound confrontation … The awe-inspiring, exquisitely moving sequel to The Space Between Us, as seen on BBC Two’s Between the Covers.
 
_________________
 
Six months since the earth-shattering events of The Space Between Us, the revelatory hope of the aliens’ visit has turned to dust and the creatures have disappeared into the water off Scotland’s west coast.
 
Teenager Lennox and grieving mother Heather are being held in New Broom, a makeshift US military base, the subject of experiments, alongside the Enceladons who have been captured by the authorities.
 
Ava, who has given birth, is awaiting the jury verdict at her trial for the murder of her husband. And MI7 agent Oscar Fellowes, who has been sidelined by the US military, is beginning to think he might be on the wrong side of history.
 
When alien Sandy makes contact, Lennox and Heather make a plan to escape with Ava. All three of them are heading for a profound confrontation between the worst of humanity and a possible brighter future, as the stakes get higher for the alien Enceladons and the entire human race…
 
Sequel to the bestselling The Space Between UsThe Collapsing Wave is an exquisite, epic first-contact novel, laced with peril and populated by unforgettable characters, and the awe-inspiring book we all need right now…

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Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amelie Wen Zhao

Published March 14th by Harper Voyager
Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Adventure Ficiton, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
The epic sequel to Song of Silver, Flame Like Night. A fast-paced, riveting YA fantasy inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

Years ago, the Elantian colonizers invaded Lan’s homeland and killed her mother in their search to uncover the Last Kingdom’s greatest the location of its legendary four Demon Gods. Lan’s mother devoted her life to destroying the Demon Gods, and Lan is determined to finish her mission. Yet, there are others searching for the gods, too.

Zen knew his soul was forfeit the moment he made a deal with the Demon God known as the Black Tortoise, but he’s willing to lose himself if it means saving the Kingdom–and the girl–he loves. But to crush the colonizers who have invaded his land he needs more power than even a single Demon God can provide. He needs an army. And he knows exactly where he can find it–in the undead army his great grandfather lead decades ago.

The Elantians may have stolen their throne, but the battle for the Last Kingdom has only begun.

Pre-order here*

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Published March 19th by Quercus
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Alternative History

SYNOPSIS:
‘Rebecca Serle is a maestro of love in all its forms’ – GABRIELLE ZEVIN, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

‘Everything you could wish for in a love story – beautifully told, effortlessly romantic, and surprising in the very best of ways’ – HOLLY MILLER, author of What Might Have Been

Daphne has never left her love life to chance. The truth is, she can’t. . . Every time she meets a man, a note will arrive. On it, a name and a date. An expiration date.

Without fail, Daphne has always known when her next relationship will end. So when a note arrives with only a name on it: Jake, she is sure this is it. Finally, her own happy ever after.

But is it. . .? Because Daphne has another secret, and this one has the power to break Jake’s heart.
Will their love story have an expiration date, or is fate on Daphne’s side at last?

A heartbreaking and emotional read from the queen of unexpected love stories.

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Medea by Rosie Hewlett

Published March 21st by Bantam Press
Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Mythology, Greek Mythology,

SYNOPSIS:
From an unmissable new voice comes the powerful and epic story of mythology’s darkest heroine


‘Delightfully devastating’ Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen

‘A fiery and dramatic novel, starring one of mythology’s most notorious women, this is a fascinating descent into darkness‘ Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne

Full of thwarted love and dark magic . . . Vivid and powerful, this is a book with teeth‘ Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros

_____________________________________

Shunned. Persecuted. Tormented.
Medea longs for a different life. Since childhood, she has been separated from her sister, shunned by her mother, and persecuted and tormented by her brother and father. All because of a unique and dangerous talent: witchcraft.

Fierce. Powerful. Sorceress.
But when a dashing young hero, Jason, arrives to claim the famed Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea sees her opportunity for escape. Her offer to help Jason overcome the trials set by her father sets in motion a journey that will test every ounce of her strength, magic and loyalty; a journey that will see her battle monsters, dethrone kings and fall in love.

When faced with the ultimate betrayal, Medea is driven to an act of desperation so brutal it rips apart the lives of everyone involved…

Pre-order here*

The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola

Published March 21st by Orion
Mystery, Susspense, Thriller, Historical Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
The thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!

‘Vividly alive with menace, magic, and mystery’ ESSIE FOX

‘Exceptional. Anna Mazzola’s finest work yet’ ELODIE HARPER

Rome, 1659.

Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.

To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out.

Stefano’s investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished…

The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.

Pre-order here*

Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland

Published March 21st by Pan Macmillan
Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Mythology, Norse and Viking Mythology

SYNOPSIS:
A must-read for fans of Circe, Song of the Huntress recasts the folklore behind the Wild Hunt into a dark, feminist fantasy set amidst the legends and beauty of ancient Britain.

Britain, 60 AD. Hoping to save her lover and her land from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the Otherworld King. She becomes Lord of the Hunt and for centuries she rides, reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield – a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes.

Queen Æthelburg of Wessex is a proven fighter, but after a battlefield defeat she finds her husband’s court turning against her. Yet King Ine needs Æthel more than ever: the dead kings of Wessex are waking, and Ine must master his bloodline’s ancient magic if they are to survive.

When their paths cross, Herla knows it’s no coincidence. Something dark and dangerous is at work in the Wessex court. As she and Æthel grow closer, Herla must find her humanity – and a way to break the curse – before it’s too late.

‘Striking, bold and beautifully written’ – Angela Slatter, author of The Briar Book of the Dead

Pre-order here*

Meet Me When My Heart Stops by Becky Hunter

Published March 21st by Corvus
Contemporary Ficiton, Romantic Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Horror, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Grips your emotions from the very first page … a love story not to miss’ Holly Miller

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife?


The first time Emery’s heart stops, she is only five years old…

Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do – if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery’s heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead.

Each time Emery’s heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once – but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her.

As Emery’s life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop – so that she can see Nick again.

This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.

Pre-order here*

The Haven by Fiona Neill

Published March 21st by Michael Joseph
Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Haven is a smart, fierce thriller about an unravelling family, a corrupted utopia, and the wild hearts of teenage girls. I couldn’t look away’ Lauren Beukes, internationally bestselling author of The Shining Girls

The Haven is a taut and propulsive story of a family in crisis, a shattering of innocence, and a savage fight for survival. I couldn’t put it down. – Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Perry ‘Wow – what a book. I could not put it down.’ READER REVIEW

Sixteen year old Cass Sawyer wakes up in the woods with a head injury.
She has no recollection of what happened.


But she recognises where she is. The Haven. The idyllic, off-grid retreat her parents claimed would heal their broken family.

As Cass searches the now deserted buildings, memories begin to trickle through.

Her father’s erratic behaviour. Her mother’s pleas that they go back to town. The Haven’s charismatic, free-spirited leader. The strange girls that hang on his every word.

And a nagging feeling: that Cass has done something terribly wrong.

What happened at The Haven? Where is Cass’s family?
And will they ever escape?

Pre-order here*

I’m F*cking Amazing by Anoushka Warden

Published March 21st by Trapeze
Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
“Genuinely new, bold and fascinating. Anoushka Warden is a true talent.” – Deborah Frances-White, author of The Guilty Feminist

Maybe fannies and long-term love just don’t work well together . . .


Hers used to work perfectly. It found her fingerings, orgasms and love. But now, as she moves into her thirties completely committed to Serious Boyfriend Number Three…

It can’t get wet.
It hurts.
It might be broken.
Surely there must be some way to get it going again?

Setting off on a desperate quest to fix her fanny, there’s no limit to what she’ll try. But nothing seems to be working…

What becomes of happily-ever-after for a woman who can’t stand sex with the best guy ever?

I’m F*cking Amazing is a hilariously frank, sharp and relatable tale of love, sex, pain and self-determination from a brilliant new voice in fiction, Anoushka Warden

Pre-order here*

The Furies by Elizabeth Flock

Published March 21st by Viking
Journalistic Writing, Violence and Crime in Society

SYNOPSIS:
Three women. Three blazing stories of violent resistance. Three complicated paths to justice.

Brittany Smith, a young Alabama woman, killed a man she said raped her in her home, but was denied a self-defense claim.

Angoori Dahariya led a gang in Uttar Pradesh, India, dedicated to avenging victims of domestic abuse.

Cicek Mustafa Zibo fought in a thousands-strong all-female militia that battled ISIS in Syria.

Each woman has been criticised for their actions by those who believe that violence is never the answer; yet each has transmuted a story of pain into a story of power.

In this intimate, shocking and rigorous investigation, award-winning journalist Elizabeth Flock examines the lives of three women who chose to use lethal force to gain power, safety, and freedom when the institutions meant to protect them – government, police, courts – utterly failed to do so. In luminous prose, Flock asks searching questions about cultures in which violence seems like the only means of survival, where deeply ingrained ideas about masculinity have helped breed the unsafe conditions that women face.

Can women’s acts of vengeance help to create lasting change in misogynistic and paternalistic systems, or will they ultimately hurt their cause? The novelistic accounts of these three women offer profound insights into the quest for understanding what a society where women have real power might look like.

Pre-order here*

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Published March 26th by Quercus
Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Literary Fiction, Humorous Ficiton, Crime Series

SYNOPSIS:
The biggest debut of 2024 and a hilarious mystery with a killer hook. Perfect for fans of Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building.

FRANCES ALWAYS SAID SHE’D BE MURDERED…

SHE WAS RIGHT.

In 1965, seventeen-year-old Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. Of course, no one took her seriously – until she was dead.

For Frances, being the village busybody was a form of insurance. She’d spent a lifetime compiling dirt on every person she met, just in case they might turn out to be her killer. In the heart of her sprawling country estate lies an eccentric library of detective work, where the right person could step in and use her findings to solve her murder.

When her great-niece Annie arrives from London and discovers that Frances’ worst fear has come true, Annie is thrust into her great-aunt’s last act of revenge against her sceptical friends and family. Frances’ will stipulates that the person who solves her murder will inherit her millions.

Can Annie unravel the mystery and find justice for Frances, or will digging up the past lead her into the path of the killer?

Pre-order here*

Every Move You Make by C. L. Taylor

Publsihed March 28th by Avon
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
The only way to stop a stalker is to become one yourself…

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…

Alexandra, Lucy, Bridget, River and Natalie. Five friends who wish they’d never met. Because the one thing they have in common is the worst thing in their lives: they are all being stalked.

When one of their group is murdered, days after their stalker is released from prison, time stands still for them all. They know their lives could end just as brutally at any moment – all it takes is for the people they fear the most to catch up with them.

When the group receive a threat that one of them will die in ten days’ time, the terror that stalks their daily lives becomes all-consuming. But they know they don’t want to be victims anymore – it’s time to turn the tables and finally get their revenge.

Because the only way to stop a stalker is to become one yourself…

The multimillion bestseller returns with her most propulsive and addictive book yet. A chilling and terrifyingly real thriller that will keep you up all night – and looking over your shoulder for days to come…

Pre-order here*

Day One by Abigail Dean

Published March 28th by Hemlock Press
Mystery, Suspense, Pyshcological Fiction, Crime Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
*The breathtaking new novel from the bestselling author of Girl A*

Marty told the reporters that she saw it happen. She saw the gunman enter the hall. She saw her mother die trying to protect them all.

That’s the version of Day One Marty wishes was true.

But strange inconsistencies in her story begin to surface. Details that don’t add up. Questions she can’t answer.

The story ignites. Amidst the media frenzy, conspiracy theorists become obsessed with exposing what really happened. And at the epicentre of it all is a small community changed forever. Survivors crushed by guilt. Families torn in half. Outsiders consumed by the hunt for truth.

Each has their own version of Day One. Each must grapple with this tragedy, even as fanatics question whether it ever really happened at all.

But what did Marty really see?

And why would she lie?

As events spiral out of control, the true story is revealed, piece by shocking piece. Day One is an unflinching and heart-breaking exploration of our obsession with tragedy – and what it really means to live it.

Pre-order here*

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

Published March 28th by Raven Books
Thriller, Mystery, Science Ficiton, Supernatural Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Dystopian

SYNOPSIS:
Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.

‘A mind-bending, genre-blending, boy-that-ending mystery unlike any I’ve ever read’ A. J. FINN

‘I loved it’ C. J. TUDOR
‘An absolute blast’ BENJAMIN STEVENSON
‘Wildly inventive’ M. W. CRAVEN
‘Believe the hype’ ALICE BELL
‘Extraordinary’ WILL DEAN

Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn’t solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it.

The outstanding new high-concept murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. An ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, an audacious solution. 

Pre-order here*

Leave No Trace ( Kat & Lock Book 2) by Jo Callaghan

Published March 28th by Simon & Schuster UK
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Science Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock return in the provocative new thriller from the author of In the Blink of an Eye.

‘A smart, agile, immaculately plotted and moving thriller that is unswervingly gripping and scary, and at the same time beautifully tender and humane’ NICCI FRENCH 
‘Chilled me to the bone and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Callaghan writes with such intelligence; interspersing humour with moments of utter heartbreak’ NIKKI SMITH
 
One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .
 
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.
 
But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.
 
For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to.

Pre-order here*

The Mind of a Murderer (Dr Olivia Winter Book 1) by Michael Wood

Published March 28th by One More Chapter
Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series

SYNOPSIS:
The best person to understand a serial killer is one of his victims.

Meet Dr Olivia Winter.

‘I was hooked from the first page… mind-blowing and gripping. I am eagerly awaiting the next instalment’ Angela Marsons
‘Chilling, unnerving [and] pacey’ John Marrs
‘A searingly intense, utterly captivating character-driven thriller, and destined to be one of 2024’s most memorable pieces of crime fiction’ B P Walter
‘Perfectly paced – intriguing and relentless through to a pitch perfect conclusion’ Will Shindler

A DARK PAST

Dr Olivia Winter is a forensic psychologist whose job is to understand the minds of serial killers. There’s only one monster she can’t understand, her father.

A NEW IDENTITY

Notorious and brutal, he held a reign of terror until he was caught. His nine-year-old daughter was supposed to be his last victim, but she survived.

A SERIAL KILLER WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING

Now, a serial killer is stalking the streets of London. As the body count rises, the police need Olivia’s help to profile him before he can strike again. But to do so, she will need to confront her own demons…

Pre-order here*

Murder Road by Simone St James

Published March 28th by Michael Joseph
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Horror Fiction, Ghost Story

SYNOPSIS:
GET READY FOR THE SCARIEST READ OF 2024 – a gripping new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases

*********
April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn.

They’re on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble.

They stop and pick her up. It’s only once she’s in the car that they see the blood.

And then they see the headlights, and at last, the woman speaks, her voice faint. “I’m sorry, he’s coming.”

Ingeniously plotted and heartstoppingly terrifying, are you ready to uncover the secret of Murder Road?

Pre-order here*

The Trade Off by Sandie Jones

Published March 28th by Pan Macmillan
Thriller, Pscyhological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
The Trade Off from Sandie Jones – the author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, The Other Woman – is an addictive, page-turning psychological thriller about how far a journalist will go to get the story. Everyone has a price. What’s yours?

Would you print a lie across a front page?


For Stella, Deputy Editor of The Globe, the choice has always been clear. There is no stone she will leave unturned in her pursuit of the best story. It’s what she’s built her reputation on.

For Jess, The Globe’s rookie reporter, the story stops when the truth does. But she knows that the dirty tricks of the tabloids will be hard to overturn.

And when the subject of the story Jess is working on pays the ultimate price, she suspects that the paper may have had more to do with it than they’re letting on . . .

What price would you pay to uncover the truth if someone is prepared to kill to bury it?

Pre-order here*

Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John

Published March 28th by Harper 360
Historical Romance, Mythology, Fairy Tale, Saga, Romance Novel, Adventure Fiction, Greek Mythology, LGBTQ Literature

SYNOPSIS:
‘As I read Orphia and Eurydicius I imagined the muses beside Elyse John, focussing her mind and guiding her hand. The writing is poetic and evocative, and the story will thrill readers who have long suspected something is missing from the classics of Greek Myth.’ Pip Williams, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words

Their love transcends every boundary. Can it cheat death?
Orphia dreams of something more than the warrior crafts she’s been forced to learn. Hidden away on a far-flung island, her blood sings with poetry and her words can move flowers to bloom and forests to grow … but her father, the sun god Apollo, has forbidden her this art. A chance meeting with a young shield-maker, Eurydicius, gives her the courage to use her voice. After wielding all her gifts to defeat one final champion, Orphia draws the scrutiny of the gods. Performing her poetry, she wins the protection of the goddesses of the arts: the powerful Muses, who welcome her to their sanctuary on Mount Parnassus. Orphia learns to hone her talents, crafting words of magic infused with history, love and tragedy. When Eurydicius joins her, Orphia struggles with her desire for fame and her budding love. As her bond with the gentle shield-maker grows, she joins the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Facing dragons, sirens and ruthless warriors on the voyage, Orphia earns unparalleled fame, but she longs to return to Eurydicius. Yet she has a darker journey to make – one which will see her fight for her love with all the power of her poetry.

Pre-order here*

Nosy Neighbours by Freya Sampson

Published March 28th by Zaffre
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Brimming with hope, heart and intrigue’ JESSICA RYN

‘What a beautiful, compelling book! . . . I loved it’ HEMA SUKUMAR

‘A real hug of a book’ HAZEL PRIOR

You can choose your home, but you can’t choose who lives next door . . .

Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, especially not in crumbling Shelley House. The other residents think she’s prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past and looking for somewhere to belong.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived in Shelley House for longer than anyone else, and if you believe the other tenants, she’s as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Dorothy may spend her days spying on the neighbours, but she has a closely guarded secret herself – and a good reason for barely leaving her home.

When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home; and even less likely detectives when they suspect that foul play is coming from within Shelley House . . .

Pre-order here*

Seven Summers by Paige Toon

Published March 28th by Cornerstone
Contemporary Romance, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
Two epic love stories. One impossible choice. The stunning new novel from Paige Toon.

Six summers ago

Liv and Finn meet working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family – so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summer

Liv crosses paths with Tom – a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every year.

Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more . . .

Pre-order here*

The Good, the Bad and the Aunties by Jesse Sutanto

Published March 28th by HQ
Mystery, Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Dark Comedy, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Another on point mix of humour, chaos and quirky fun’ Katy Brent, How to Kill Men and Get Away With It

The laugh-out-loud new novel from the bestselling author of Dial A For Aunties, winner of the Comedy Women In Print Prize 2021

It’s Chinese New Year, a time to celebrate…

Fresh from their honeymoon, Meddy and Nathan meet the Aunties in Jakarta for a family celebration. Amid the festivities, an old flame of Second Aunt’s arrives with extravagant gifts. Unfortunately, not all the presents were meant for them.

NOT the time to start an all-out war.

The most important gift goes missing, putting Meddy and the Aunties in the middle of a feud between Jakarta’s most powerful business moguls – and in great danger. To save her loved ones, Meddy must organise a search party, a break-in and a kidnapping. It might sound like an impossible mission– but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is impossible… just complicated.

Praise for Jesse Sutanto and Dial A For Aunties:

‘Had me laughing aloud within its first five pages. Charming, hilarious and heartfelt’ Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read

Pre-order here*

How To Kill A Guy in Ten Ways by Eve Kellman

Published March 28th by Avon
Mystery, Dark Comedy, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary Romance

SYNOPSIS:
‘A masterclass in murder. Millie is the serial killer you never knew you needed in your life.’ LM Chilton

Are you on a date that doesn’t feel right?

Can’t shake that creepy guy at the bar?

Worried you’re being followed home?

Message M.

After one too many terrifying encounters, Millie Masters sets up a hotline for women who feel unsafe walking home alone at night: Message M.

But very quickly she realises that there’s much more to be done to help the women who call in. Because the men just do it again the next night, and the next, and the next…

And when her own sister is assaulted on a night out, the temptation to take the law into her own hands becomes too much to resist.

Because M can also stand for murder…

A deliciously dark, hilariously twisted serial killer thriller with a villainous female lead. Perfect for fans of Bella Mackie’s How to Kill Your Family, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister, the Serial Killer, or anyone who enjoyed watching You.

Pre-order here*

Mrs Quinn’s Rise To Fame by Olivia Ford

Published March 28th by Michael Joseph
Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘An absolute delight. A lovely novel full of warmth, courage and heart, Jenny Quinn is a heroine you’ll cheer for every step of the way’ A J Pearce, bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird

‘A charming, heartfelt and uplifting novel about love, family and the emotive power of home baking. I loved every minute of it!’ Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido

‘Perfectly baked, utterly delicious, and completely moreish. Mrs Quinn is destined to become the nation’s favourite’ Clare Pooley, bestselling author of The Authenticity Project



Mrs Quinn is the unlikely star of Britain’s favourite baking show, but could her newfound stardom cause her biggest secret to unravel?

Jennifer Quinn has a secret. Her love of baking has just won her a spot as a contestant on a primetime TV show. It’s only the second time in fifty-nine years that she’s kept something from her beloved husband Bernard.

She’s about to be whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras, timed challenges and celebrity judges. She could be in with a chance of being crowned the best baker in Britain.

But, as Mrs Quinn’s quiet ambitions turn into unexpected stardom, the other secret she’s been keeping is in danger of resurfacing. It was supposed to stay hidden forever.

Will Mrs Quinn rise to the challenge? Or, will her success become a recipe for disaster?

Pre-order here*

The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird

Published March 28th by Manilla Press
Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘LOVED it. Tightly-plotted elegance, 50s glamour and suspense. Put it on your lists’ Jessie Burton

A dark and dazzling debut from a beguiling new voice – for fans of Beautiful Ruins and Lessons in Chemistry.

Lois Saunders thought that marrying the right man would finally cure her loneliness. But as picture-perfect as her husband is, she is suffocating in their loveless marriage. In 1951, though, unhappiness is hardly grounds for divorce – except in Reno, Nevada.

At the Golden Yarrow, the most respectable of Reno’s ‘divorce ranches’ Lois finds herself living with half a dozen other would-be divorcees, all in Reno for the six weeks’ residency that is the state’s only divorce requirement. They spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys, and it’s as wild and fun as Lake Forest, Illinois, was prim and stifling. But it isn’t until Greer Lange arrives that Lois’s world truly cracks open . . .

Gorgeous, beguiling, and completely indifferent to societal convention, Greer is unlike anyone Lois has ever met – and she sees something in Lois that no one else ever has. Under her influence, Lois begins to push against the limits that have always restrained her. But how much can she really trust her mysterious new friend? And how far will she go to forge her independence, on her own terms?

Set in the glamourous, dizzying world of 1950s Reno, THE DIVORCEES is a dark, riveting page-turner and a dazzling exploration of female friendship, desire, and freedom.

‘I straight up loved it. It’s so stylish, so elegant, each sentence a delectable little treat . . . and the nods towards darkness and things unravelling are so thrilling and chicly done’
Elizabeth Macneal, bestselling author of The Doll Factory

Pre-order here*

The Chain: The Relationships That Break Us , the Women Who Rebuild Us by Chimene Suleyman

Published March 28th by W&N
Biography, Autobiography

SYNOPSIS:
In January 2017, Chimene Suleyman was on her way to an abortion clinic in Queens, New York with her boyfriend, the father of her nascent child. It was the last day they would spend together. In an extraordinary sequence of events, Chimene was to discover the truth of her boyfriend’s life: that she and many other women had been subtly, patiently and painfully betrayed.

In this spellbinding memoir, she exposes one man’s control over many women and the trauma he left behind, and celebrates the sisterhood that formed in his wake despite – and in spite of – him. Exploring how women are duped every day by individuals, she interrogates how society itself continually allows this to happen. She demonstrates that, no matter how intelligent, educated or self-aware they might be, over time a woman can be played into performing the age-old role of giver and nurturer: self-sacrificing and subordinate.

Both a devastating personal testimony and a searing indictment of persistent misogyny, The Chain is a book for any woman who has questioned her relationship and buried her doubts, for any woman who can’t quite identify the source of her unease and for any woman who has been sheltered by the fierce protection of her female friends.

Pre-oreder here*

**********

What a month! Are any of these on your TBR? Let me know in the comments.

Categories
Uncategorised

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures, Most Anticipated 2023: Tantalising Thrillers

Today I have another list of exciting 2023 releases for you. Thrillers are one of my favourite and most read genres so this was always going to be an extensive list. There are books here from much loved authors, auto-buy authors, favourite series, and authors I’m still yet to read.

********

I’ll Never Tell by Philippa East

SYNOPSIS:
Gripping new suspense from the author of Little White Lies

Keep your family close, and your secrets closer…

To the outside world, the Goodlights are perfect.

Julia is a lawyer, Paul a stay-at-home dad who has dedicated his life to helping their daughter Chrissie achieve her dreams as a talented violinist.

But on the night of a prestigious music competition, which has the power to change everything for Chrissie and her family, Chrissie goes missing.

She puts on the performance of a lifetime, then completely disappears. Suddenly every single crack, every single secret that the family is hiding risks being exposed.

Because the Goodlights aren’t perfect. Not even close.

Published January 5th by HQ. Buy here*

Dead Man’s Creek by Chris Hammer

SYNOPSIS:
Old bones sink – but secrets always rise to the surface.

‘A commanding, consuming and outright thrilling mystery. Chris Hammer’s first-class series goes from strength to strength.’ 
– Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End

Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder – a ‘file and forget’.

But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult – and dangerous – than she’d ever expected.

The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more treacherous her path becomes. Can she survive to root out the truth, and what price will she have to pay for it?

Gripping and atmospheric, Dead Man’s Creek is a stunning multi-layered thriller from Chris Hammer, the award-winning author of Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year Scrublands (2019) and Times Crime Book of the Month Opal Country (January 2022).

Published January 5th by Wildfire
Pre-order here*

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

SYNOPSIS:
*** THE NEW MYSTERY PHENOMENON FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE APPEAL AND THE TWYFORD CODE ***

Open the safe deposit box. Inside you will find research material for a true crime book. You must read the documents, then make a decision. Will you destroy them? Or will you take them to the police?

Everyone knows the sad story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl and convinced her that her newborn baby was the anti-Christ. Believing they had a divine mission to kill the infant, they were only stopped when the girl came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than stand trial, while mother and baby disappeared into the care system.

Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed; if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong. The truth is something much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined. And the story of the Alperton Angels is far from over..

After all, the devil is in the detail…

Published January 12th by Viper.
Buy here*

The Marriage Act by John Marrs

SYNOPSIS:
From the bestselling author of The One, now an eight-part Netflix series. Set in the same world as The OneThe Marriage Act is a dark, high-concept thriller.

‘One of the most exciting original thriller writers’ Simon Kernick

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?

Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills – the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.

But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives, monitoring every word, every minor disagreement . . . and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honour and obey.

Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power.

Published January 19th by Pan Macmillan.
Buy here*

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

SYNOPSIS:
Survival can be murder . . .

During a deadly snowstorm, Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors.

Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She’s in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board.

Carter is gazing out of the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, the threat of something lurking in the chalet’s depths looms larger.

Outside, the storm rages. Inside one group, a killer lurks.

But which one?

And who will make it out alive?

Published January 19th by Michael Joseph.
Buy here*

Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah

SYNOPSIS:
You can choose your house. Not your neighbours.

WELCOME TO YOUR DREAM HOME…
Salma Khatun is extremely hopeful about Blenheim, the safe suburban development to which she, her husband and their son have just moved. Their family is in desperate need of a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like the place to make that happen.

MEET YOUR NEW NEIGHBOURS…
Not long after they move in, Salma spots her neighbour, Tom Hutton, ripping out the anti-racist banner her son put in their front garden. She chooses not to confront Tom because she wants to fit in. It’s a small thing, really. No need to make a fuss. So Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window instead. But the next morning she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint.

AND PREPARE FOR THE NIGHTMARE TO BEGIN…
This time she does confront Tom, and the battle lines between the two families are drawn. As things begin to escalate and the stakes become higher, it’s clear that a reckoning is coming… And someone is going to get hurt.

A gripping thriller about nightmare neighbours, Those People Next Door explores the loss of innocence and how far we’re prepared to go to defend ourselves and the people we love.

Published January 19th by HQ.
Buy here*

The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish

SYNOPSIS:
There’s the obvious story. And then there’s the truth.
 
Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most outgoing guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour.
 
That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread . . .
 
As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.
 
And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed.
 
And it still isn’t.

Published February 2nd by Simon & Schuster
Pre-order here*

The Murder Game by Tom Hindle

SYNOPSIS:
One house. Nine guests. Endless motives for murder…

In the seaside town of Hamlet Wick, nine guests assemble for a New Year’s Eve party to remember.

The owner of Hamlet Hall has organised a murder mystery evening with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play.

But the game has barely begun when one guest is found dead – killed by a fatal injury to the head.

With no phone signal and no way out of the house, the others are trapped with a killer in their midst.

Someone is playing by their own rules. And in a close-knit community, old rivalries run deep…

Published February 2nd by Century Pre-order here*

Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay

SYNOPSIS:
They think as one. They act as one. They kill as one.

The residents of Garrett Island are part of a visionary experiment. Their cars have been sent to the mainland and for one month, they’ve got self-driving vehicles called Arrivals. With just a voice command, an Arrival will take you where you want to go, and as the cars are all aware of each other, road accidents should be a thing of the past.

As the world’s press arrives for a glimpse of this driverless future, islander and single mom Sandra Montrose preps for the huge media event. She’s ready for this new world. Her husband died when he fell asleep at the wheel, and she’s relieved her two teens, Archie and Katie, may never need driver’s licenses.

But as the day gets underway, there are signs all is not well. A member of the press has vanished. There are rumours of industrial sabotage.

Before long, the sleek driverless cars are no longer taking orders. They’re starting to organize. They’re starting to hunt. And they’ve got the residents of Garrett Island in their sights.

Published February 2nd by HQ
Pre-order here*

Exiles by Jane Harper

SYNOPSIS:
A mother disappears from a busy festival on a warm spring night.

Her baby lies alone in the pram, her mother’s possessions surrounding her, waiting for a return which never comes.

A year later, Kim Gillespie’s absence still casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather to welcome a new addition to the family.

Joining the celebrations on a rare break from work is federal investigator Aaron Falk, who begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.

As he looks into Kim’s case, long-held secrets and resentments begin to come to the fore, secrets that show that her community is not as close as it appears.

Falk will have to tread carefully if he is to expose the dark fractures at its heart, but sometimes it takes an outsider to get to the truth…

An outstanding novel, a brilliant mystery and a heart-pounding read from the author of The DryForce of NatureThe Lost Man and The Survivors.

Published February 2nd by Pan Macmillan
Pre-order here*

What July Knew by Emily Koch

SYNOPSIS:
A moving mystery about family secrets, grief and growing up

Summer, 1995.

July Hooper knows eighteen things about her mother.

Like number thirteen: she loved dancing on the kitchen table. And number eight: she was covered in freckles.

And then there’s number two: she died after being hit by a car when July was small.

She keeps this list hidden in a drawer away from her father. Because they’re not allowed to talk about her mother. Ever.

But an anonymous note slipped into July’s bag on her tenth birthday is about to change everything she thinks she knows about her mum.

Determined to discover what really happened to her, July begins to investigate, cycling around the neighbourhood where her family used to live. There she meets someone who might finally have the answers.

July wants her family to stop lying to her, but will the truth be harder to face?

Published February 9th by Harvill Secker
Pre-order here*

Make Me Clean by Tina Baker

SYNOPSIS:
She will leave your surfaces sparkling.
But she may well leave you dead…

Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who’s losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Mr Balogan, with the terrible neighbours.

If you’re thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved.

She didn’t set out to kill anyone, of course, but her clients have hired her to clean up their lives, and she takes her job seriously – not to mention how much happier they all are now. The trouble is, murder can’t be washed out. You can only sweep it under the carpet, and pray no one looks too closely…

Darkly funny and completely gripping from the first page to the last, Make Me Clean is one thriller you won’t be able to scrub from your mind. Perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce, Fiona Cummins and My Sister the Serial Killer.

Published February 16th by Viper Books.
Buy here*

The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce

SYNOPSIS:
Over a hundred years ago, the citizens of F- did something rather bad. And local school teacher Catherine Evans has made writing the definitive account of what happened when Ilsbeth Clark drowned in the well her life’s work.

The town’s people may not want their past raked up, but Catherine is determined to shine a light upon that shameful event. For Ilsbeth was an innocent, after all. She was shunned and ostracised by rumour-mongers and ill-wishers and someone has to speak up for her. And who better than Catherine, who has herself felt the sting and hurt of such whisperings?

But then a childhood friend returns to F -. Elena is a successful author whose book, The Whispers Inside: A Reawakening of the Soul, has earned her a certain celebrity. In search of a new subject, she takes an interest in the story of Ilsbeth Clark and announces her intention to write a book about the long-dead woman, focusing on the natural magic she believes she possessed.

And Elena has everything Catherine has not, like a platform and connections and no one seems to care that Elena’s book will be pure speculation, tainting Ilsbeth’s memory rather than preserving it. Catherine is determined that something must be done and plots to blunt her rival’s pen. However she had not allowed for the fact that the past might not be so dead after all – that something is reaching out from the well, disturbing her reality.

Before summer’s over, one woman will be dead, the other accused of murder . . . but is she really guilty, or are there other forces at work? And who was Ilsbeth Clark, really? An innocent? A witch? Or something else entirely?

Published February 23rd by Michael Joseph.
Buy here*

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

SYNOPSIS:
Forgetting is terrifying. Remembering is worse…

Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They’ve been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning… they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love… every memory has vanished.

Now Charlie and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be… the more they question why they were ever together to begin with.

Forgetting is terrifying, but remembering may be worse.

The Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us joins forces with the New York Times bestselling author of The Wives for a gripping, twisty, romantic mystery unlike any other.

Published February 28th by HQ Pre-order here*

The Institution by Helen Fields

SYNOPSIS:
They’re locked up for your safety.
Now, you’re locked in with them.

Dr Connie Woolwine has five days to catch a killer.

On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late.

But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her?

A claustrophobic, haunting crime thriller that will keep you up at night, perfect for those who couldn’t put down The Sanatorium and Amy McCulloch’s Breathless.

Published March 2nd by Avon
Pre-order here*

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

SYNOPSIS:
From the Number 1 bestselling author of Our Little Cruelties and Skin Deep

Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say.

But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged . . .

Published March 2nd by Sandycover
Pre-order here*

Freeze by Kate Simants

SYNOPSIS:
ON THE TOUGHEST REALITY SHOW ON TELEVISION
A KILLER IS HIDING OUT OF SHOT

Frozen Out is set to be a TV sensation. On a small ship off the coast of Greenland, eight contestants will push themselves to breaking point for a £100,000 prize.

The show is Tori Matsuka’s baby. After years working her way up the ladder, she’s finally launching her own production company with Frozen Out, and the late nights, the debts, the strain on her relationship will all be worthwhile. Everything is riding on the next twelve days. For camerawoman Dee, it’s a chance to start again after the tragedy that tanked her undercover journalism career. Not even Tori, her oldest friend, knows the full truth of why Dee left her previous job, and she plans to keep it that way.

But as errors and mishaps mount on set, tempers among the cast and crew start to fray. And when one of the contestants is found dead, only Dee realises the death wasn’t natural – and from what she’s seen from behind the camera, it won’t be the last. As the Arctic ice closes in around them and all chance of escape is cut off, it becomes clear that although the world outside wants them dead, it’s the secrets inside the ship that might cost them their lives.

Packed with suspense from the first page to the last, Freeze is a must-read for fans of Shiver, The Sanatorium and One By One. This thriller isn’t just chilling: it’s sub-zero.

Published March 2nd by Viper
Pre-order here*

The Ugly Truth by L.C. North

SYNOPSIS:
Melanie Lange has disappeared.

Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private mental health clinic.

Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped.

The media will say whichever gets them the most views.

But whose side are you on?
#SaveMelanie
#HelpPeter

Told via interviews, transcripts and diary entries, The Ugly Truth is a shocking and addictive thriller about fame, power and the truth behind the headlines.

‘#FreeBritney meets The Appeal in this addictively unique thriller. Get ready to be utterly hooked’ Jack Jordan, author of DO NO HARM

Published March 16th by Bantam Press
Pre-order here*

End of Story by Louise Swanson

SYNOPSIS:
Too much imagination can be a dangerous thing

It has been five years since writing fiction was banned by the government.

Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to sleep-starved children; Hunter, the young boy who calls her and has captured her heart; and the dreaded visits from government officials.

But as Fern begins to learn more about Hunter, doubts begin to surface. What are they both hiding?

And who can be trusted?

Published March 23rd by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

The Half Burnt House by Alex North

SYNOPSIS:
ARE YOU READY TO ENTER THE HALF BURNT HOUSE?

The spine-tingling new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of THE WHISPER MAN, a Richard and Judy pick.

*****

Katie always looked after her beloved younger brother Chris – until she left him alone for one selfish afternoon, and their picture-perfect family fell apart. Although Chris survived the attack, the scars ran deeper than the ones left across his face. Now they’re adults, and they haven’t spoken in years. Then she gets a call, from Detective Laurence Page.

Page is facing an unusually disturbing crime scene. Alan Hobbes, a distinguished and wealthy philosophy professor, has been brutally murdered. Hobbes was living in a sprawling mansion – but one that remains half-ruined by a decades-old fire, wind and rain howling through the gaping, creaking roof.

Page only has one suspect: Chris, caught on CCTV at the house. But he has plenty of questions. What could cause a man as wealthy as Hobbes not to repair his home? Why did he seem to know his death was coming, yet do nothing to stop it? And why was he obsessed with a legendary local serial killer?

But Katie only has one thing on her mind. She knows this is her last, best chance to finally save her brother, and make up for her negligence all those years ago.

But she can’t possibly imagine just how much danger he’s in…

Published March 30th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

The Favour by Nicci French

SYNOPSIS:
A good deed
Can turn deadly…
 
When Liam unexpectedly turns up in Jude’s life after ten years of no contact, asking her for a favour, she just can’t say no. He was her first love, and even though she is now a successful doctor and about to get married, he will always be someone special to her.
But after she does the favour, she is contacted by the police, informing her that Liam has been found dead, and suddenly she is caught up in a murder investigation.
 
And she realises this one decision could cost her everything – even her life…

Published March 30th by Simon & Schuster
Pre-order here*

Every Happy Family by Sarah Stovell

SYNOPSIS:
The closer you are, the more damage they do.

Minnie and Bert are over the moon to have their three grown-up children home for the first time in a decade. But having Lizzie, Jess, Owen and the grandchildren under one roof isn’t without its dramas.

Lizzie is off the alcohol (although emergency gin doesn’t count), Jess is juggling a toddler and a newborn, but it’s Owen who has the power to throw a grenade into everything.

It all stems from an incident that happened years ago. And it involves Nora Skelly – a name you don’t mention in front of Minnie.

With Nora also back in town, the past is about to come crashing into the present. And what better time to revisit old secrets and resentments than around the family dinner table?

Published March 30th by HQ
Pre-order here*

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop

SYNOPSIS:
Novelist J.B. Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Her former professor, Patrick is much older than J.B.. But when they met, he seemed somehow ageless, as all new gods appear in the eyes of those who worship them. He is a film director. A cult figure. But now his success is starting to wane and J.B. is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize. Her art has been forever overseen by him, now it may overshadow his.
For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them.
Then a storm hits and Patrick falls off the ship. J.B. is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick – and the truth about their marriage – begins.

Published March 30th by W&N
Pre-order here*

A Truth For A Truth by Carol Wyer (Detective Kate Young 4)

SYNOPSIS:
DI Kate Young’s team is hunting for a killer. What they don’t know…is that the killer is her.

DI Kate Young has known for years that her boss, Superintendent John Dickson, is a violent and evil man. But when she finally confronts him and accidentally shoots and kills him, she’s forced to cover her tracks before anyone can pin his death on her. With revelations about his corruption soon to become public knowledge, Kate sets up a trail of evidence to make it seem that Dickson has conveniently vanished…

But Kate knows the corruption doesn’t end with Dickson. As she heads up the team investigating his supposed disappearance, she also pursues other loose ends. Stanka, the sex worker who supplied the evidence against Dickson, leads her to crucial information on another corrupt officer, DI Harriet Khatri, and her dubious involvement with sex traffickers.

As the noose starts to tighten on Kate, she finds herself targeted by traffickers, the bent cops on her force and even her own team of detectives. Can she stay one step ahead of them all and bring Harriet to justice? Can she trust anyone around her? And can she possibly get away with murder?

Published April 4th by Thomas & Mercer Pre-oder here*

Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner

SYNOPSIS:
THE SENSATIONAL NEW THRILLER FROM SARAH BONNER – REVENGE IS BEST SERVED SWEET.

Secrets and lies ruin lives

Two women receive an anonymous note.For one it’s a threat.For the other it’s an invitation for revenge.Helena is beautiful, successful, and living in married bliss in Exeter. But she’s hiding a secret that could tear her perfect life apart. When the notes begin to arrive, she realises someone else must know her secret. But what might her husband and his overbearing family do if they find out the truth?Thea is reeling from her best friend Helena’s death. But when she starts digging into the circumstances, she receives a threatening note warning her to stopShe knows her friend’s death wasn’t an accident. This was murder. And she is determined to get revenge . . .

Published April 6th by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

SYNOPISIS:
The new dark thriller from the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street

In a windswept cottage overlooking the sea, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood companions and the killer that stalked their small New England town. Of the body they found, the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, The Sound and the Dagger.

This book will be Wilder’s revenge on Sky, a man who betrayed his trust and died without ever telling him why. But as he writes, Wilder begins to find notes written in Sky’s signature green ink and events in his manuscript start to chime eerily with the present. Is Sky haunting him? Did Wilder have more to do with Sky’s death than he admits? And who is the woman drowning in the cove, whom no-one else can see?

No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to wonder: is he writing the book, or is the book writing him?

Published April 20th by Viper Pre-order here*

The Fall by Louise Jensen

SYNOPSIS:
She promised she wouldn’t tell. They made sure she couldn’t…

At her surprise 40th birthday party, Kate Granger feels like the luckiest woman in the world but just hours later her fifteen-year-old daughter, Caily, is found unconscious underneath a bridge when she should have been at school.

Now, Caily lies comatose in her hospital bed, and the police don’t believe it was an accident. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that not everyone in the family was where they claimed to be at the time of her fall.

Caily should be safe in hospital but not everyone wants her to wake up. Someone is desperate to protect the truth and it isn’t just Caily’s life that is in danger.

Because some secrets are worth killing for…

Published April 27th by HQ
Pre-order here*

Conviction by Jack Jordan

SYNOPSIS:
HE TRUSTS HIS LAWYER WITH HIS LIFE . . . HE SHOULDN’T
 
Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept and burning their house to the ground. 
 
When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could make her career. 

A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must throw the case or the secret about her husband’s disappearance will be revealed. Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about, until she does as she is told.
 
Neve must make a choice – go against every principle she has ever had, or the people she loves will die.

For fans of Steve Cavanagh, Linwood Barclay and Gillian McAllister, this is the latest novel from the master of the moral dilemma, Jack Jordan.

Published June 22nd by Simon & Schuster
Pre-order here*

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

SYNOPSIS:
OLIVIA:
22 years old.
No history of running away.
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 daughter.

But Julia has no idea how close to home it’s going to get.

Because 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?

Published May 11th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

The Last Passenger by Will Dean

SYNOPSIS:
The electrifying new stand-alone thriller from the author of THE LAST THING TO BURN and FIRST BORN.

My phone has no reception, something we’ve been told to expect from time to time out here, and my stomach feels uneasy. Maybe it’s the motion of the waves or maybe it’s the fact that Pete didn’t leave a note or a text. He usually leaves a note with a heart.
I pull on jeans and a jumper and scrunch my hair on top of my head and take my key card and step out into the corridor.
Thirty seconds later it hits me.
All the other cabin doors are wedged open.
Every single one is unoccupied and unlocked.
My heart starts beating harder. I break out into a run. At the end of the long corridor I take a lift down to the Ocean Lobby.
There’s nobody here.
My mouth is dry.
It’s like I’m trapped on a runaway train.
No, this is worse.
The RMS Atlantica is steaming out into the ocean and I am the only person on board.

This was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime for Cas. Now she just needs to survive.

With the drama of The Woman in Cabin 10 and the tension of And Then There Were None , The Last Passenger is a psychological thriller set aboard a cruise ship about a woman whose seemingly ordinary life is suddenly thrown dramatically off course. Will Dean is The Master of Intense Suspense and this novel is full of his trademark twists and turns.

Published May 11th by Hodder & Stoughton
Pre-order here*

The Final Party by A. A. Chaudhuri

SYNOPSIS:
SIX FRIENDS.

In a luxury villa set high in the hills above the glamorous town of Sorrento, southern Italy, three couples gather for the perfect 40th birthday celebration.

ONE BODY.

Before the week is out, one of them is dead.

COUNTLESS LIES.

Their perfect reunion quickly becomes the holiday from hell when one of the group starts receiving anonymous messages, threatening to expose a dark secret from their university days.

As old friendships are tested to the limit, it’s clear that what happens in the dark past won’t stay buried…

A heart-racing psychological thriller that will hook you from the very first page, with twist after twist that will make your jaw drop. Fans of B.A. Paris, My Husband’s Killer and Lucy Foley won’t be able to put this down. If you were hooked by The White Lotus or The Watcher, you’ll love this. 

Published May 25th by Hera
Pre-order here*

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

SYNOPSIS:
One of TIME’s most anticipated books of 2023

Athena Liu is a literary darling. Juniper Hayward is literally nobody.

White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, Juniper steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name June Song.

Dark humour
But as evidence threatens Juniper’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Deadly consequences…
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.

Published May 25th by The Borough Press
Pre-order here*

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

SYNOPSIS:
We are invisible: we clean your houses, we look after your children, we know your secrets.
But now you know one of ours…

Rules for being a maid:
• No smoking
• No boyfriends
• No visitors
• And most importantly: be invisible…

Corazon, Angel and Donita have all come to Singapore to work for a living. The thing that unites them? Their labour must remain unseen.

But when a friend is accused of murdering her employer, everything changes. The accused could be any of them; they all know the stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn’t commit.

Each woman has secrets to keep, yet they must gather every ounce of bravery, fearlessness and complete audacity to clear the name of one of their own.

After all, no-one knows the secrets of Singapore’s elite quite like the women who work in their homes…

Published May 25th by Harper Collins
Pre-order here*

Keep Her Secret by Mark Edwards

No synopsis available

Published May 30th by Thomas & Mercer Pre-order here*

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner

SYNOPSIS:
The outstanding new thriller from the author of international bestseller and Waterstones Thriller of the Month pick, Greenwich Park

Ex journalist Tash has been searching for a story to launch her freelance career. But she has also been searching for something else. New friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. The sleek, the sophisticated, the successful mothers. The women she wants to be.

And then one day they welcome her into their circle and Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of; their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills.

These families seem to have everything. But they also have their secrets.

And it’s soon clear that not everyone at the playgroup can be trusted.

Published June 8th by Raven
Pre-order here*

The Woman Inside by M. T. Edvardsson

SYNOPSIS:
The Woman Inside is a breathless page-turner from international master of suspense M. T. Edvardsson. Three suspects, two deaths and the truth that binds them together.

Three Suspects.

Bill, a widowed single dad, has urgent bills to pay when he rents out a room in his apartment to Karla.

Karla left home to study law and, in need of cash, begins working as a cleaner for a doctor and his wife. But inside their palatial house it’s clear that something is wrong with the wife who never leaves her bedroom.

Jennica is single and career-less when she meets her perfect match on Tinder. But just as she thinks her luck is changing, she finds out that he is hiding secrets of his own . . .

Two murders.

In a few short weeks, the doctor and his wife will be found dead in their home and the questions will begin . . .

One truth.

Ordinary people will do things they never thought possible when faced with extraordinary circumstances, and the woman inside the house will hold the key to it all . . .

Published June 15th by Pan Macmillan
Pre-order here*

Midnight by Amy McCulloch

SYNOPSIS:
When she’s gifted a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise, Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular.

Huge cliffs of ice loom up to the sky.
The sun never sets over the sparkling sea.
And there’s a killer on board…

Unable to sleep in the endless eerie daylight, Olivia has no idea who she can trust. And if she can’t figure it out soon, she won’t make it back alive…

Publsihed June 22nd by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin

SYNOPSIS:
Vivvy Bouchet saved a boy’s life when she was a child, after a premonition.
That boy is now a Texas police officer, who has always believed Vivvy is psychic.

He convinces her to help him solve a high-profile cold case: three-year-old Lizzie Solomon disappeared in broad daylight from her home. A body was never found, but the child’s mother, Nicolette, is in prison for the disappearance, loudly proclaiming her innocence.

When a popular podcaster hears of Vivvy’s involvement in the case, his conspiracy theories about the missing child, and Vivvy too, have an army of fans hanging on every dangerous word.

But when it becomes clear there may be a kidnapper – or killer – still on the loose, Vivvy knows there’s more to lose than her reputation.

Because the difference between the truth and a lie can mean life or death . . .

Night Will Find You is a sharply observed psychological thriller exploring the dangerous meeting of conspiracy theories and our need to believe.

Published June 22nd by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

The Launch Party by Lauren Forry

SYNOPSIS:
Agatha Christie meets Andy Weir in the ultimate locked room mystery set in the first hotel on the moon. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Anthony Horowitz and Hanna Jameson.

FEATURED IN THE EVENING STANDARD‘S BOOKS TO WATCH IN 2023

THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME. YOU’D DIE TO BE THERE.

Ten lucky people have won a place at the most exclusive launch event of the century: the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon. It’s an invitation to die for. As their transport departs for its return to Earth and the doors seal shut behind them, the guests take the next leap for mankind.

However, they soon discover that all is not as it seems. The champagne may be flowing, but there is no one to pour it. Room service is available, but there is no one to deliver it. Besides the ten of them, they are completely alone.

When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads through the group. But that death is only the beginning. Being three days’ journey from home and with no way to contact the outside, can any of the guests survive their stay?

Published June 22nd by Zaffre
Pre-order here*

The Beach Party by Nikki Smith

SYNOPSIS:
Six friends.
The holiday of their dreams.
One night that changed it all . . .

1989: The tunes are loud and the clothes are louder when a group of friends arrives in Mallorca for a post-graduation holiday of decadence and debauchery at a luxury villa.

A beach party marks the pinnacle of their fun, until it isn’t fun any longer. Because amidst the wild partying – sand flying from dancing feet and revellers leaping from yachts – an accident happens. Suddenly, the night of a lifetime becomes a living nightmare.

Now: The truth about that summer has been collectively buried. But someone knows what happened that night.

And they want the friends to pay for what they did.

Published July 6th by Penguin
Pre-order here*

Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena

SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to Stanhope – a safe neighbourhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery’s family declare her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbours become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

Published July 6th by Bantam Press
Pre-order here*

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

SYNOPSIS:
Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for Alix’s series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Alix agrees to a trial interview. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep digging.

Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.

Soon she begins to wonder who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

Published July 20th by Century
Pre-order here*

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

SYNOPSIS:
The second novel from the author of THE PUSH, 2021’s most explosive Sunday Times bestseller!

‘Utterly addictive’ Paula Hawkins on The Push

***

One morning on Harlow Lane, four families’ lives are changed forever.

Whitney Loverly can only sit by her son’s hospital bed after he falls from his bedroom window in the middle of the night. She refuses to speak to anyone.

Back at home, the Loverlys’ neighbours must reckon with their own roles in the tragedy – their selfless best friends who live across the street, the ambitious Goldsteins who desperately want a family of their own, and the quiet elderly couple who spend their days people watching on the front porch.

But what happens next, when over the course of a week, the hidden and explosive truths that connect these families must come out?

Exploring envy, motherhood and the intuitions that we silence, this is a novel that asks what happens when good people make bad choices.

Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies.

Published July 20th by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

All of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins

No synopsis available

Published July 20th by Pan Macmillan
Pre-order here*

The Short Straw by Holly Seddon

SYNOPSIS:
‘An addictive read. . . Patricia Highsmith meets Shirley Jackson’ – GILLIAN MCALLISTER

Three sisters find themselves lost in a storm at night, and seek safety at Moirthwaite Manor, where their mother once worked. They are shocked to find the isolated mansion that loomed so large through their troubled childhoods has long been abandoned. Drawing straws to decide who should get help, one sister heads back into the darkness. With the siblings separated, the deadly secrets hidden in the house finally make themselves known and we learn the unspeakable secret that binds the family together.

Published July 20th by Orion
Pre-order here*

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

SYNOPSIS:
From the bestselling author of My Lovely Wife comes a reckless, delicious thriller about a young couple that gives a whole new meaning to the dangers of modern dating.

Wes and Ivy are madly in love. They’ve never felt anything like it. It’s the kind of romance people write stories about.

But what kind of story?

Because when it’s good, it’s great. Flowers. Grand gestures. Deep meaningful conversations where the whole world disappears.

When it’s bad, it’s really bad. Vengeful fights. Damaged property. Arrest warrants.

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

There’s something Wes and Ivy never talk about–in good times or bad. The night of their worst breakup, when one of them took things too far, and someone ended up dead.

If they can stick together, they can survive anything–even the tightening net of a police investigation.

Because one more breakup might just be their last…

Published August 3rd by Penguin Books UK
Pre-order here*

DC Ffion Morgan Book 2 by Clare Mackintosh

SYNOPSIS:
DC FFION MORGAN AND DS LEO BRADY RETURN IN THE THRILLING SEQUEL TO THE LAST PARTY

Published August 3rd by Sphere
Pre-order here*

The Good Daughter by Laure van Rensburg

SYNOPSIS:
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?

Published August 3rd by Michael Joseph
Pre-order here*

These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald

SYNOPSIS:
Two women struggle toward a dark truth as a killer avenges the sins of the past in a twisting novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of Do No HarmBehind Every Lie, and The Night Olivia Fell.

After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when the body of a woman is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake.

Neve is hiding secrets, though. Detective Jess Lambert can tell. Recently back after her own personal tragedy, Jess knows what it’s like to live with skeletons in your closet, and she’s sure Neve has a few of her own.

When another woman’s body is found, Jess and Neve are forced to confront a horrible truth. Because one thing is clear: the darkness of the past is waiting. And the secrets of Black Lake are only just beginning to surface.

Published August 8th by Thomas & Mercer
Pre-order here*

I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto

SYNOPSIS:
Some friends–and friendships–are worth killing for in this dark, twisty suspense novel by national bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Jane is unhappy.

A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house–a life–she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life–cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now.

Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week–“Can’t wait to see you there!”–Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again.

Published August 17th by HQ Pre-order here*

********

What do you think of my list? Are any of these on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading Bibliophiles xxxx

*All purchase links are affiliate links

Categories
Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – August 2022

Welcome to my list of most anticipated books being released in August.

As always, the month is full of exciting new books and it was a struggle to narrow down my list to the ones you see here.

So, here are the thirty books out next month that I’m most looking forward to:

Small Angels by Lauren Owen

Published: August 2nd
Publisher: Tinder Press
Genre: Ghost Story, Gothic Fiction, Horror Fiction, Lesbian Literature

SYNOPSIS:
When Chloe turns the key to Small Angels, the church nestled at the edge of Mockbeggar Woods where she is to be married, she is braced for cobwebs and dust.What she doesn’t expect are the villagers’ concerned faces, her fiancé’s remoteness, or the nagging voice in her head that whispers to her of fears she didn’t even know she had.

Something in the woods is beginning to stir, to creep closer to the sleeping houses. Something that should have been banished long ago.

Whatever it is, it’s getting stronger, and pretending it’s not there won’t keep the wedding, or the village – or Chloe ­- safe.

Buy here*

The Last Party by Clare Macintosh

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

SYNOPSIS:
INTRODUCING DC FFION MORGAN, IN THE UNMISSABLE NEW SERIES FROM #1 BESTSELLER CLARE MACKINTOSH

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.


His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.

The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family – and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.

Buy here*

Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Headline
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Noir Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Romance Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The truth of what happened that night lies with a secret witness.

Quarter to Midnight is the first thrilling novel in a brand new series by Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose, set in New Orleans.

Rocky Hebert walks into his death at quarter to midnight one New Orleans night.

His son Gabe cannot accept the official verdict of suicide and enlists the help of the Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency to discover the real cause of death.

PI Molly Sutton knows what it’s like to lose a father in tragic circumstances and will go to any lengths to crack the investigation, as she tries to fight off her growing feelings for Gabe.

They soon realise Rocky was working on an investigation of his own; one that threatened to expose the deep corruption going all the way to the top of the police department. And that the key to the puzzle lies with a young witness to a murder that happened years earlier: Xavier Morrow.

Just what did Rocky know? And who might have shut him up?

As they get closer and closer to the truth, they realise that the killer is not going to stop at Rocky. And that Xavier is in very real danger. Someone will go to any lengths to protect what he witnessed that night coming out…

Buy here*

The Girls Are Good by Ilaria Bernadini

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Coming-of-Age Story, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
COMPETITION. PERFECTION. DESTRUCTION.

A DANGEROUS OBSESSION
Martina wants to be the best gymnast in the world. But so does everyone around her.

A TOURNAMENT WITH A DIFFERENCE
During one week of intense competition, Martina and her teammates are tested to the limit, and any sign of weakness can quickly spell the end.

A MURDER IN THE NIGHT
By the end of the week, one of the gymnasts will be dead. Every girl will do anything to win…but at what cost?

Buy here*

So Happy For You by Celia Laskey

Published: August 4th
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Literary Fiction, Satire, LGBTQ Literature

SYNOPSIS:
Bridesmaids meets Black Mirror in the most twisted and entertaining thriller of 2022.

Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. They’ve been through everything together, from Robin coming out to the death of Ellie’s dad. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honour, Robin is reluctant.

It’s not that Robin isn’t happy for Ellie, she just hates everything about weddings and marriage – plus the guy Ellie’s engaged to. There’s also the matter of the crazy (not to mention dangerous) wedding rituals that couples are resorting to in the hope of securing a lifetime of happiness.

Despite her misgivings, Robin finally says yes. But as the wedding day approaches, she gets the feeling that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. And it seems Ellie is willing to do anything for the perfect day. After all, marriage is about sacrifice…

Buy here*

Love and Other Human Errors by Bethany Clift

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Humour, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Comedy

SYNOPSIS:
An unforgettable story about love in all its chaotic glory from the author of Last One At The Party

A book synopsis is fundamentally ridiculous. How can I possibly convey, in only 100 words, the events of the past year and their impact on my perfectly ordered existence?

It is insufficient space to accurately detail how I was blackmailed into demonstrating my flawless algorithm to find a soulmate, despite having no desire for one.

In my former life I avoided trivial human connections. I was alone, accomplished and brilliant.

Unfortunately, that solitary and driven woman no longer exists.

My name is Indiana Dylan and this is the extraordinary account of how I fell in love.

There: 100 words exactly.

Buy here*

Small Miracles by Anne Booth

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Genre: Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Three nuns play the lottery to save their failing convent, resulting in a story of friendship, community, faith and love.

The 1990s are proving tough for the convent. The order of the Sisters of Saint Philomena is down to its three last nuns. The place that Sisters Margaret, Bridget and Cecilia call home is in dire need of repairs and, with no savings and no new recruits, they are facing the prospect of having to sell up and leave behind their friends and neighbours in the parish community that they love.

That is, until ninety-year-old Cecilia decides to play the newly launched National Lottery and a series of small miracles begins to unfold.

Small Miracles takes the reader on a joyful and uplifting journey as these three unforgettable nuns learn more about life, love and friendship than they could ever have imagined.

This is the perfect feel-good read for fans of AJ Pearce, Rachel Joyce, Katie Fforde and Joanna Cannon, as well as Sister ActRev and The Vicar of Dibley. It’s a story about love in its many guises and how it can heal us.

Buy here*

Daughter of Darkness by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Horror Fiction, Myths and Legends, Greek Mythology, YA Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Enter the Underworld in an epic new fantasy, where the Gods of ancient Greece rule everything but fate.

Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world – unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out.

Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.

So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades. . . The prize of freedom is before her – but what will it take to reach it?

From the authors of A THRONE OF SWANS and A CROWN OF TALONS comes a stunning new YA duology set in a world inspired by the mythology of ancient Greece.

Perfect for fans of Alexandra Bracken’s LORE and Jessie Burton’s MEDUSA.

Buy here*

The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Gothic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:

A remote village.

A deadly secret.

An outsider who knows the truth…

Maggie Mackay has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can’t shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is…

When she was five years old, without proof, Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm.

Now, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened and what the villagers are hiding. But everyone has secrets, and some are deadly. As she gets closer to the horrifying truth, Maggie’s own life is in danger…

From the critically-acclaimed author of Mirrorland comes a darkly disturbing new thriller that will chill you to the bone.

Buy here*

This Wild, Wild Country by Inga Vesper

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Manilla Press
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
Three women. An isolated town. A decades-old mystery.

They hate me down there, in Boldville. I can read it in their eyes, smell it on their noxious breaths. That dreaded little town hates everything about me: not just my personality and form, the clothes I wear, but the way I think.
The things that I know.

1933. Cornelia Stover is headstrong and business-minded – not the kind of woman the men of Boldville, New Mexico, expect her to be. Then she stumbles upon a secret hidden out in the hills . . .

1970. Decades later, Joanna Riley, a former cop, packs up her car in the middle of the night and drives west, fleeing an abusive marriage and a life she can no longer bear. Eventually, she runs out of gas and finds herself in Boldville, a sleepy desert town in the foothills of the Gila Mountains.

Joanna was looking for somewhere to retreat, to hide, but something is off about this place. In a commune on the outskirts a young man has been found dead and Joanna knows a cover up when she sees it. Soon, she and Glitter, a young, disaffected hippie, find themselves caught up in a dark mystery that goes to the very heart of Boldville, where for too long people have kept their eyes shut and turned their heads away. A mystery that leads them all the way back to the unexplained disappearance of Glitter’s grandmother Cornelia forty years before . . .

A captivating, atmospheric new novel from the lauded author of The Long, Long AfternoonThis Wild Wild Country simmers with secrets, lies and terrible betrayal, unravelling the lives of three women at the mercy of their times.

Buy here*

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Suspense, Psychological Thriller,

SYNOPSIS:
Everyone wanted her life
Someone wanted her dead

It was Hannah who found April’s body ten years ago.
It was Hannah who didn’t question what she saw that day.
Did her testimony put an innocent man in prison?
 
She needs to know the truth.
 
Even if it means questioning her own friends.
Even if it means putting her own life at risk.
 
Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows…

Buy here*

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Published: August 4th
Publisher: Picador
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A sweeping, breathtakingly ambitious novel about power, wealth and truth, told by four unique, interlocking voices and set against the backdrop of turbulent 1920s New York.

The legendary Wall Street tycoon whose immense wealth gives him the power to do almost anything.
The second-generation Italian immigrant tasked with recording his life story.
The reclusive, aristocratic wife.
And the writer who observes them from afar.

In a city devoted to making money and making stories like no other, where wealth means power, who gets to tell the truth? And to rise to the top of a glittering, destructive world, what – and who – do you have to sacrifice?

Buy here*

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

Published: August 11th
Publisher: Canongate
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
1628. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship’s busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain.

1989. Gil, a boy mourning the death of his mother, is placed in the care of his irritable and reclusive grandfather. Their home is a shack on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, notable only for its reefs and wrecked boats. This is no place for a child struggling with a dark past and Gil’s actions soon get him noticed by the wrong people.

The Night Ship is an enthralling tale of human brutality, providence and friendship, and of two children, hundreds of years apart, whose fates are inextricably bound together.

Buy here*

The Houseshare by Carla Kovach

Published: August 16th
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Noir Fiction, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Behind closed doors is a secret someone is willing to kill for.

I walk into the bright, open living room of my new apartment, and I know this is the fresh start I’ve been dreaming about. As I double lock my pretty red door each night, I feel like I can finally be happy. I can finally be safe.

But when I’m woken one night by the sound of my neighbours arguing through the wall. I swear I hear one of them saying my name. Why would they be talking about me?

Michaela and Kirsty seem so nice, always stopping to chat when we pass in the hallway, and inviting me round for a glass of wine after work.

I know I’m being paranoid, but then my favourite hair clip goes missing and I start to feel like someone’s watching me.

Nobody was meant to know where I am. And I was careful. I did everything right. But I can’t help but fear my past has caught up with me and this time, I might not escape…

If you love gripping psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and Mark Edwards’s Here to Stay, you’ll be blown away by The Houseshare. Addictive, tense and with an ending you won’t see coming, you’ll be up all night turning pages.

Buy here*

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Gothic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Daisy Darker is an all-consuming tale of psychological suspense with a spectacular twist from the internationally bestselling author Alice Feeney

Daisy Darker’s family were as dark as dark can be, when one of them died all of them lied and pretended not to see . . .

Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer . . .

Buy here*

My Other Husband by Dorothy Koomson

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Headline Review
Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Someone’s trying to frame me for murder. But I can’t prove my innocence. Because then I’d have to confess about… my other husband.

*Pre-order the brand new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Dorothy Koomson.

Cleo Forsum is a bestselling novelist turned scriptwriter whose TV series, ‘The Baking Detective’ is a huge success. Writing is all she’s ever wanted to do, and baking and murder stories have proved a winning combination.

But now she has decided to walk away from it all – including divorcing her husband, Wallace – before her past secrets catch up with her.

As Cleo drafts the final ever episodes of the series, people she knows start getting hurt. And it’s soon clear that someone is trying to frame her for murder.

She thinks she knows why, but Cleo can’t tell the police or prove her innocence. Because then she’d have to confess about her other husband . . .

A series of terrifying murders. A set of complex lies.
And a woman with no way to clear her name.

My Other Husband is the latest gripping thriller from the Queen of The Big Reveal.

Buy here*

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Published: August 18th
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Magical Realism, Supernatural Fiction, Coming-of-Age Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The change is coming…

Nessa: The Seeker
Jo: The Protector
Harriett: The Punisher

With newfound powers the time has come to take matters into their own hands…

After Nessa is widowed and her daughters leave for college, she’s left alone in her house near the ocean. In the quiet hours, she hears voices belonging to the dead – who will only speak to her.

On the cusp of fifty Harriett’s marriage and career imploded, and she hasn’t left her house in months. But her life is far from over – in fact, she’s undergone a stunning metamorphosis.

Jo spent thirty years at war with her body. The rage that arrived with menopause felt like the last straw – until she discovers she’s able to channel it.

Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio discover the abandoned body of a teenage girl. The police have written off the victim. But the women have not. Their own investigations lead them to more bodies and a world of wealth where the rules don’t apply – and the realisation that laws are designed to protect villains, not the vulnerable.

So it’s up to these three women to avenge the innocent, and punish the guilty…

The time has come to embrace The Change.

Buy here*

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Literature, Dystopian Fiction, Medical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Deborah Harkness, and Octavia E. Butler, The Women Could Fly is a feminist speculative novel that speaks to our times. A piercing dystopian tale about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her absent mother, set in a world in which magic is real and single women are closely monitored in case they are shown to be witches . . .

Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother’s disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge, because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behaviour raises suspicions and a woman – especially a Black woman – can find herself on trial for witchcraft.

But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of thirty – or enrol in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At twenty-eight, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honour one last request from her mother’s will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time.

In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face – and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them.

Buy here*

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Headline Review
Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A young man walks into the woods on the worst morning of his life and finds something there that will change everything.

It’s a tale that might seem familiar. But how it speaks to you will depend on how you’ve lived until now.

Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them. Isaac and the Egg is one of the most hopeful, honest and wildly imaginative novels you will ever read.

Buy here*

Haven by Emma Donoghue

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Picador
Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The hugely anticipated novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Pull of the Stars and Room

Three men vow to leave the world behind them and start anew . . .

In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks – young Trian and old Cormac – he travels down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. Their extraordinary landing spot is now known as Skellig Michael. But in such a place, far from all other humanity, what will survival mean?

Haunting, moving and vividly told, Haven displays Emma Donoghue’s trademark world-building and psychological intensity – but this tale is like nothing she has ever written before . . .

Buy here*

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Harper Voyager:
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A gorgeous new fantasy horror – a book about stories and fairytales with family and love at its dark heart…

Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Coraline), Susanna Clarke (Piranesi) and Let the Right One In.

Hidden across England and Scotland live six old Book Eater families.

The last of their lines, they exist on the fringes of society and subsist on a diet of stories and legends.

Children are rare and their numbers have dwindled, so when Devon Fairweather’s second child is born a dreaded Mind Eater – a perversion of her own kind, who consumes not stories but the minds and souls of humans – she flees before he can be turned into a weapon for the family… or worse.

Living among humans and finding prey for her son, Devon seeks a cure for his hunger. But time is running out – for her family want her back, and with every soul her son consumes he loses a little more of himself…

This is a story of escape, a savage mother’s devotion and a queer love that will electrify readers looking for something beguiling, thrilling, strange and new.

Buy here*

The Hollow Sea by Annie Kirby

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Genre: Fairy Tale, Mythology, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When Scottie Bains realises that she may never become a mother, she makes the heart-breaking decision to flee to the remote North Atlantic archipelago of St Hia.

Lashed by storms and far from the mainland, the islands are dangerous. Many have been lost to the ferocious tides known as the Hollow Sea – and local folklore warns that St Hia was once the home of a witch. Her name was Thordis, and when she was unable to provide her husband with a child, she was driven to a terrible act…

The islanders warn newcomers against examining the past, but Scottie can’t look away from the mystery of what happened to Thordis.

Could it be that St Hia’s troubled history holds the key to Scottie’s future?

Buy here*

Bad Fruit by Ella King

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
MEET MAMA.
A GOOD MOTHER?
OR A GOOD LIAR . . .

__________

17-year-old Lily is mama’s girl, mama’s doll.

Every evening she pours Mama a glass of perfectly spoilt orange juice. She arranges her teddy bears on the bed, just so. She puts on the matching pink clothes that Mama likes her to wear.

But Mama’s love flies so close to hate. And as her behaviour escalates, as she starts to unravel, so do the memories that Lily has kept locked away for so long.

She only wanted to be good, to piece Mama back together. But what if instead . . . Lily tears her apart?

Gripping and devastating, from a new voice that cuts as sharp as a knife, this is an unforgettable debut about a family gone bad.

Buy here*

All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Hardboiled

SYNOPSIS:
If you liked I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK and SHARP OBJECTS, you will love this!

What really happened to January Jacobs?

A MYSTERIOUS COLD CASE…
Twenty-five years ago, January Jacob’s parents awoke to find their daughter’s bed empty, a horrifying message spray-painted onto their wall. Hours later, January’s body was found discarded in a ditch. Her murder was never solved. But the town remembers.

A DANGEROUS OBSESSION…
Journalist Margot Davies is tired of reporting meaningless stories. One night, she stumbles upon a clue in the most infamous crime in her hometown’s history: the unsolved murder of six-year-old January.

A TOWN FULL OF SECRETS…
As Margot digs deeper, she begins to suspect that there is something truly sinister lurking in the small community: a secret that endangers the lives of everyone involved…including Margot.

A gripping, twisty thriller for fans of cold crime cases – from the #1 CRIME JUNKIE podcast host Ashley Flowers.

Buy here*

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

Published: August 18th
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She’s even analyzing the genre in her dissertation – if she can manage to finish writing it. It’s hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn’t had a relationship with for years. It doesn’t help that she’s low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he’s clearly up to something). But it’s not long before Phoebe realises that Sam might be something much scarier – a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.

Buy here*

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Published: August 23rd
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romanc

SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis – with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas … devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

Buy here*

The Furrows by Namwali Serpell

Published: August 25th
Publisher: Hogarth
Genre: Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
I don’t want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt.

Cassandra Williams is twelve; her little brother Wayne is seven. One day, when they’re alone together, there’s an accident, and Wayne is lost forever. Though his body is never recovered, their mother can’t stop searching. The missing boy cleaves the family with doubt: How do you grieve an absence? And how does it feel?

As C grows older, she relives and retells her story, and she sees her brother everywhere: in cafes, airplane aisles, subway cars. Here is her brother’s older face, the light in his eyes, his lanky limbs, the way he seems to recognise her, too. But it can’t be, of course. Or can it? And then one day, there’s another accident, and C meets a man both mysterious and familiar, a man who’s also searching for someone, as well as his own place in the world. His name is Wayne.

Namwali Serpell’s piercing new novel captures the ongoing and uncanny experience of grief, as the past breaks over the present, like waves in the sea. The Furrows is a bold exploration of memory and mourning that twists unexpectedly into a masterful story of mistaken identity, slippery reality, black experience, and the wishful and sometimes willful longing for reunion with those we’ve lost.

Buy here*

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Published: August 30th
Publisher: Tinder Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Biographical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘Someone swore that, as a little girl, he once saw you touch a tiger. And that the tiger didn’t harm you, it let you stroke it. It was always said that you had charmed the beast.’

The breathtaking new novel from the author of Hamnet, the Sunday Times No.1 bestseller (2021) and winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020, The Marriage Portrait is a dazzling evocation of the Italian Renaissance in all its beauty and brutality.

Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her.

Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence’s grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.

What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.

The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.

Buy here*

The Dragon’s Promise (Six Crimson Cranes Book 2) by Elizabeth Lim

Published: August 30th
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Series

SYNOPSIS:
A dragon’s kingdom. A star-crossed love. And a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world, or break it . . .

Shiori’s quest continues in the soaring sequel to the New York Times bestselling young adult fantasy Six Crimson Cranes.

Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all the while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood.

The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori’s aid one minute, and betraying her the next – threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she’s fought so hard to win.

Buy here*

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Published: August 30th
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Historical Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
In this powerful novel of survival and resilience, New York Times bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman takes readers on a gripping, emotional journey as one brave young woman’s search for the truth about her sister leads her to an infamous institution called Willowbrook . . .

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.
 
Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.
 
Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined . . .

Buy here*

********

Are any of these on your tbr? What books are you looking forward to being released next month? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading Bibliophiles😊 See you again next month for more anticipated treasures, Emma xxxx

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Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2022

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures: Most Anticipated in 2022 – Back Again

We aren’t even out of 2021 yet, but 2022 is overflowing with so many exciting books that I have had to create three lists to share the ones I’m most anticipating: Back Again, The Debuts and Next in Series.

I’m starting by sharing my list of books by authors I love or who have already had a book published, the ones who are back again – hence the title. There are a lot of books on this list, 47 in total even after narrowing it down as much as possible. And doing that was no simple task. It took me days!

So, without further ado, here are the books I’m most looking forward to being released in 2022:

The Unravelling by Polly Crosby

SYNOPSIS:
A darkly beautiful dual-timeline novel with a captivating mystery, for fans of Diane Setterfield and Kiran Millwood Hargrave

When Tartelin Brown accepts a job with the reclusive Marianne Stourbridge, she finds herself on a wild island with a mysterious history.

Tartelin is tasked with hunting butterflies for Marianne’s research. But she quickly uncovers something far more intriguing than the curious creatures that inhabit the landscape.

Because the island and Marianne share a remarkable history, and what happened all those years ago has left its scars, and some terrible secrets.

As Tartelin pieces together Marianne’s connection to the island, she must confront her own reasons for being there. Can the two women finally face up to the painful memories that bind them so tightly to the past?

Atmospheric and deeply emotional, The Unravelling is the captivating novel from the author of The Illustrated Child.

Published January 6th by HQ. Buy here*

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of the modern classic A Little Life, a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment, about lovers, family, loss and the elusive promise of utopia.

‘To Paradise is a transcendent, visionary novel of stunning scope and depth. A novel so layered, so rich, so relevant, so full of the joys and terrors – the pure mystery – of human life, is not only rare, it’s revolutionary.’ – Michael Cunningham

In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him – and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances.

These three sections are joined in an enthralling and ingenious symphony, as recurring notes and themes deepen and enrich one another: A townhouse in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village; illness, and treatments that come at a terrible cost; wealth and squalor; the weak and the strong; race; the definition of family, and of nationhood; the dangerous righteousness of the powerful, and of revolutionaries; the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise, and the gradual realization that it can’t exist. What unites not just the characters, but these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human: Fear. Love. Shame. Need. Loneliness.

To Paradise is a findesiecle novel of marvellous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love – partners, lovers, children, friends, family and even our fellow citizens – and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

Published January 11th by Picador. Buy here*

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

SYNOPSIS:
It’s time to solve the murder of the century…

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. Wanting to know more, he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles, not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion. Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to solving a puzzle, and that a message in secret code ran through all Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Iles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven has no memory of what happened to her.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Iles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today?

Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Iles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…

Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Alex Pavesi and S.J. Bennett, The Twyford Code will keep you up puzzling late into the night.

Published January 13th by Viper. Buy here*

The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown

SYNOPSIS:
I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unravelling from an upper window, and the terrace bathed in a hectic orange light . . . Now I see that the decision I made at Polneath was the only decision of my life. Everything marred in that one dark minute.

By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still.

For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.

But once you open a door to the past, can you ever truly close it again?

From the award-winning author of The Witchfinder’s Sister comes a captivating story of burning secrets and buried shame, and of the loyalty and love that rises from the ashes.

Published January 13th by Viking. Buy here*

Violeta by Isabel Allende

SYNOPSIS:
One extraordinary woman.
One hundred years of history.
One unforgettable story.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father’s prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling.

In a letter to someone she loves above all others, Violeta recounts devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy, and a life shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women’s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics. Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humour will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.

Published January 25th by Bloomsbury Publishing. Buy here*

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

SYNOPSIS:
You’re on your honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort.

You receive a note warning you to ‘Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours’. At dinner that night, five other couples are present, and none of their tables is any nearer or further away than any of the others. It’s as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless – but why would anyone do that?

You have no idea.

You also don’t know that you’re about to be murdered, or that once you’re dead, all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could possibly have committed the crime.

So who might be trying to warn you? And who might be about to commit the perfect impossible murder?

Published January 27th by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*

Em and Me by Beth Morrey

SYNOPSIS:
A mother.
A daughter.
A secret waiting to be discovered.

‘Glorious! A wonderful book, such a joy!’ Clare Pooley

For too long – since the sudden death of her mother as a teenager, since the birth of her daughter, Em, when she was just seventeen – Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting Em and clinging to a secret that could ruin everything. She’s been living life in safe shades of grey.

The day that Delphine finally stands up for herself is the day that changes everything.

Delphine begins to remember what it’s like to want more: rediscovering her singing voice, opening herself to friendship, and reviving not only her mother’s roots, but her mother’s memories. As her life begins to fill with colour, can she be brave for herself and for Em? And what would happen if she finally told the truth?

A big-hearted, hopeful novel about finding second chances – and taking them.

Published February 3rd by Harper Collins. Buy here*

The Hemlock Cure by Joanne Burn

SYNOPSIS:
It is 1665 and the women of Eyam keep many secrets.

Isabel Frith, the village midwife, walks a dangerous line with her herbs and remedies. There are men in the village who speak of witchcraft, and Isabel has a past to hide. So she tells nobody her fears about Wulfric, the pious, reclusive apothecary.

Mae, Wulfric’s youngest daughter, dreads her father’s rage if he discovers what she keeps from him. Like her feelings for Rafe, Isabel’s ward, or that she studies from Wulfric’s forbidden books at night.

But others have secrets too. Secrets darker than any of them could have imagined.

When Mae makes a horrifying discovery, Isabel is the only person she can turn to. But helping Mae will place them both in unspeakable peril.

And meanwhile another danger is on its way from London. One that threatens to engulf them all . . .

Based on the real history of an English village during the Great Plague, The Hemlock Cure is an utterly beguiling tale of fear and ambition, betrayal, self-sacrifice and the unbreakable bond between two women.

Published February 10th by Sphere. Buy here*

Off Target by Eve Smith

SYNOPSIS:
When a one-night stand leads to a long-desired pregnancy, Susan will do anything to ensure her husband won’t find out … including the unthinkable. But when something horrendous is unleashed around the globe, her secret isn’t the only thing that is no longer safe…

––––––––––––––––––––––––

A longed-for baby
An unthinkable decision
A deadly mistake

In an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, not just crops, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect … altering genes that may cause illness, and more…

Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out … including the unthinkable. She believes her secret is safe. For now.

But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common, and people are starting to ask questions…

Bestselling author of The Waiting Rooms, Eve Smith returns with an authentic, startlingly thought-provoking, disturbing blockbuster of a thriller that provides a chilling glimpse of a future that’s just one modification away…

Published February 17th by Orenda. Buy here

Breathless by Amy McCullock

SYNOPSIS:
IT’S ICE COLD. YOU’RE MILES FROM HELP. AND ONE OF YOU WILL BE NEXT . . . Pre-order next year’s most gripping thriller now, and ensure you’re the first to read the book that everyone will be talking about

‘A high-altitude, high-stakes thriller that combines fascinating, authentic mountaineering experience with pure thriller entertainment
I loved it’ MATT HAIG, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
________

When struggling journalist Cecily Wong is invited to join an expedition to climb one of the world’s tallest mountains, it seems like the chance of a lifetime.

She doesn’t realise how deadly the climb will be.

As their small team starts to climb, things start to go wrong. There’s a theft. Then an accident. Then a mysterious note, pinned to her tent: there’s a murderer on the mountain.

The higher they get, the more dangerous the climb becomes, and the more they need to trust one another.

And that’s when Cecily finds the first body . . .

Published February 17th by Michael Joseph. Buy here*

The Gifts by Liz Hyder

SYNOPSIS:
The luminous debut adult novel from the Waterstones Prize Winner, perfect for fans of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, The Essex Serpent and The Doll Factory

In an age defined by men, it will take something extraordinary to show four women who they truly are . . .

October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in Shropshire as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders.

Meanwhile, when rumours of a ‘fallen angel’ cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune finds himself in the grip of a dangerous obsession, one that will place the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .

THE GIFTS is the astonishing debut adult novel from the lauded author of BEARMOUTH. A gripping and ambitious book told through five different perspectives and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the role of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.

Published February 17th by Manilla Press. Buy here*

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

SYNOPSIS:
Deadly storms. An ancient curse. Will her sacrifice save them all?

For generations, deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curse them with death and despair. To appease him, each year a maiden is thrown into the sea, in the hopes that one day the ‘true bride’ will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe Shim Cheong – Mina’s brother’s beloved – to be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is sacrificed, Mina’s brother follows her, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina finds the Sea God, trapped in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man and a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits, Mina sets out to wake him and bring an end to the storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: a human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking . . .

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a magical feminist retelling of a classic Korean legend, perfect for fans of Uprooted and Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

Published February 22nd by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*

Nasty Little Cuts by Tina Baker

SYNOPSIS:
WHO WILL SURVIVE THE NIGHT?

A nightmare jolts Debs awake. She leaves the kids tucked up in their beds and goes downstairs. There’s a man in her kitchen, holding a knife. But it’s not an intruder. This is her husband Marc, the father of her children. A man she no longer recognises.

Once their differences were what drew them together, what turned them on. Him, the ex-army officer from a good family. Her, the fitness instructor who grew up over a pub. But now these differences grate to the point of drawing blood. Marc screams in his sleep. And Debs hardly knows the person she’s become, or why she lets him hurt her.

Neither of them is completely innocent. Neither is totally guilty. Marc is taller, stronger, and more vicious, haunted by a war he can’t forget. But he has no idea what Debs is capable of when her children’s lives are at stake…

A powerful exploration of a relationship built on passion, poisoned by secrets and violence. Perfect for readers of Blood Orange and Big Little Lies.

Published February 24th by Viper. Buy here*

The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola

SYNOPSIS:
Paris, 1750.

In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city’s celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.

Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker’s experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.

For as children quietly vanish from the Parisian streets, rumours are swirling that the clockmaker’s intricate mechanical creations, bejewelled birds and silver spiders, are more than they seem.

And soon Madeleine fears that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might reach to the very heart of Versailles…

A intoxicating story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom.

Published March 3rd by Orion. Buy here*

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to No.12 rue des Amants

A beautiful old apartment block, far from the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower and the bustling banks of the Seine.

Where nothing goes unseen.
And everyone has a story to unlock.

The watchful concierge
The scorned lover
The prying journalist
The naïve student
The unwanted guest

Something terrible happened here last night.
A mystery lies behind the door of apartment three.

Only you – and the killer – hold the key . . .

Published March 3rd by Harper Collins. Buy here*

The Marsh House by Zoe Somerville

SYNOPSIS:
Part ghost story, part novel of suspense The Marsh House is the haunting second novel from the author of The Night of the Flood where two women, separated by decades, are drawn together by one, mysterious house on the North Norfolk coast.

December, 1962. Desperate to create a happy Christmas for her young daughter, Franny, after a disastrous year, Malorie rents a remote house on the Norfolk coast. But once there, the strained silence between them feels louder than ever. As Malorie digs for decorations in the attic, she comes across the notebooks of the teenaged Rosemary, who lived in the house thirty years before. Trapped inside by a blizzard, and with long days and nights ahead of her, Malorie begins to read. Though she knows she needs to focus on the present, she finds herself inexorably drawn into the past…

July, 1931. Rosemary lives in the Marsh House with her austere father, surrounded by unspoken truths and rumours. So when the glamorous Lafferty family move to the village, she succumbs easily to their charm. Dazzled by the beautiful Hilda and her dashing brother, Franklin, Rosemary fails to see the danger that lurks beneath their bright façades…

As Malorie reads Rosemary’s diary, past and present begin to merge in this moving story of mothers and daughters, family obligation and deeply buried secrets.

Published March 3rd by Apollo. Buy here*

Sundial by Catriona Ward

SYNOPSIS:
You can’t escape the desert. You can’t escape Sundial.

Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive…

From the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street comes a stunning thriller exploring the toxicity of the mother-daughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present.

Published March 10th by Viper. Buy here*

The Awakenings by Sarah Maine

SYNOPSIS:
An immersive and compelling novel that explores the struggle by two women, divided across centuries, for control over their lives, set against a beautiful historical backdrop.

‘An echo of Daphne du Maurier’ Independent

Yorkshire, 1890. Having lost her father and brothers in tragic circumstances, Olwen Malkon is forced to leave her childhood home to live with her uncle’s family. In his chill vicarage, however, she fears that she is also losing her mind, as strange dreams take her into the life of Ælfwyn, a woman from a distant past whose fate is overshadowed by menace and betrayal.

In the grip of these afflictions, Olwen finds sympathy with the local doctor, John Osbourne, who is intrigued by her case. Suspecting darker undercurrents are at work, John comes into conflict with Olwen’s family, who dismiss her as a hysteric and, when he seeks to protect her, with the law.

As the dreams intensify, danger awaits them both. But when they begin to mirror reality, she and John start to suspect that it is these visions of the past which hold the answers . . .

Published March 17th by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*

First Born by Will Dean

SYNOPSIS:
THE LAST THING A TWIN EXPECTS IS TO BE ALONE …

Molly
 lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Every day the same.

Her identical twin Katie is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail.

But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened. As she tracks her twin’s last movements, cracks begin to emerge. Nothing is what it seems. And a web of deceit is closing around her.

Delivering the same intensity of pace and storytelling that made THE LAST THING TO BURN a word-of-mouth sensation, FIRST BORN will surprise, shock and enthral.

Published April 14th by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*

Into the Dark by Fiona Cummins

SYNOPSIS:
Into the Dark is the new dark and gripping crime thriller from Fiona Cummins about revenge, greed, ambition and the true cost of friendship.

THE PLACE: Seawings, a beautiful Art Deco home overlooking the sweep of the bay in Midtown-on-Sea.

THE CRIME: The gilded Holden family – Piper and Gray and their two teenage children, Riva and Artie – has vanished from the house without a trace.

THE DETECTIVE: DS Saul Anguish, brilliant but with a dark past, treads the narrow line between light and shade.

One late autumn morning, Piper’s best friend arrives at Seawings to discover an eerie scene – the kettle is still warm, all the family’s phones are charging on the worktop, the cars are in the garage. But the house is deserted.

In fifteen-year-old Riva Holden’s bedroom, scrawled across the mirror in blood, are three words:

Make
Them
Stop.

What happens next?

Published April 14th by Pan Macmillan. Buy here*

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

SYNOPSIS:
An exciting and equally lyrical new retelling from Jennifer Saint, the Sunday Times bestselling author of ARIADNE

‘Saint’s immersive novel thrusts the reader straight into the heart of Greek mythology’ ipaper on Ariadne

The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods.

Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon – her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them and determines to win, whatever the cost.

Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.

Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?

Published April 28th by Wildfire. Buy here*

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary

SYNOPSIS:
The funny, heart-breaking and uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of The Flatshare

Three women. Three dates. One missing man…

8.52 a.m. Siobhan is looking forward to her breakfast date with Joseph. She was surprised when he suggested it – she normally sees him late at night in her hotel room. Breakfast on Valentine’s Day surely means something … so where is he?

2.43 p.m. Miranda’s hoping that a Valentine’s Day lunch with Carter will be the perfect way to celebrate her new job. It’s a fresh start and a sign that her life is falling into place: she’s been dating Carter for five months now and things are getting serious. But why hasn’t he shown up?

6.30 p.m. Joseph Carter agreed to be Jane’s fake boyfriend at an engagement party. They’ve not known each other long but their friendship is fast becoming the brightest part of her new life in Winchester. Joseph promised to save Jane tonight. But he’s not here…

Meet Joseph Carter. That is, if you can find him.

The No-Show is the brilliantly funny, heart-breaking and joyful new novel from Beth O’Leary about dating, and waiting, and the ways love can find us. An utterly extraordinary tearjerker of a book, this is O’Leary’s most ambitious novel yet.

Published April 28th by Quercus. Buy here*

The Birdcage by Eve Chase

SYNOPSIS:
Some secrets need to be set free . . .

When half-sisters Kat, Flora and Lauren are unexpectedly summoned to Rock Point, the remote Cornish house where they spent their childhood summers, it is the first time they have been there together since their artist father painted them in the celebrated Girls and Birdcage.

Since then they have drifted apart into wildly different lives, each one determined to forget the fateful summer of twenty years ago.

But when they arrive at Rock Point it is clear they are not alone.

Someone is lurking in the shadows, watching their every move. Someone who remembers what they did, and has been waiting for their return.

As the events of that summer rise closer to the surface, will the three sisters escape unscathed for a second time? Or are some secrets too powerful to remain under lock and key?

An emotional mystery full of dark secrets and twists, transporting the reader to the rugged remote landscape of north Cornwall.

Published April 28th by Michael Joseph. Buy here*

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of This Lovely City comes a new historical murder mystery, this time set on board the Queen Mary

London, 1936

Lena Aldridge is wondering if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho and her married lover has just left her. She has nothing to look forward to until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. 
 
After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. Until death follows her onto the ship and she realises that her greatest performance has already begun.

Because someone is making manoeuvres behind the scenes, and there’s only one thing on their mind…

MURDER

Miss Aldridge Regrets is the exquisite new novel from Louise Hare, the author of This Lovely City. A brilliant murder mystery, it also explores class, race and pre-WWII politics, and will leave readers reeling from the beauty and power of it.

Published April 28th by HQ. Buy here*

Beggar’s Abbey by V.L. Valentine

SYNOPSIS:
A dark house filled with darker secrets…

Winter 1954, and in a dilapidated apartment in Brooklyn, Sam Cooper realises that she has nothing left. Her mother is dead, she has no prospects, and she cannot afford the rent. But as she goes through her mother’s things, Sam finds a stack of hidden letters that reveal a family and an inheritance that she never knew she had, three thousand miles away in Yorkshire.

Begars Abbey is a crumbling pile, inhabited only by Sam’s crippled grandmother, Lady Cooper, a housekeeper and a handful of servants. Sam cannot understand why her mother kept its very existence a secret, but her diaries offer a glimpse of a young girl growing increasingly terrified. As is Sam herself.

Built on the foundations of an old convent, Begars moves and sings with the biting wind. Her grandmother cannot speak, and a shadowy woman moves along the corridors at night. For there are dark places in the hidden tunnels beneath Begars. And they will not give up their secrets easily…

Perfect for readers of Laura Purcell and Natasha Pulley, Begars Abbey will keep you up at night.

Published April 28th by Viper. Buy here*

Idol by Louise O’Neill

SYNOPSIS:
‘Follow your heart and speak your truth.’

For Samantha Miller’s young fans – her ‘girls’ – she’s everything they want to be. She’s an oracle, telling them how to live their lives, how to be happy, how to find and honour their ‘truth’.

And her career is booming: she’s just hit three million followers, her new book Chaste has gone straight to the top of the bestseller lists and she’s appearing at sell-out events.

Determined to speak her truth and bare all to her adoring fans, she’s written an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager, with her female best friend, Lisa. She’s never told a soul but now she’s telling the world. The essay goes viral.

But then – years since they last spoke – Lisa gets in touch to say that she doesn’t remember it that way at all. Her memory of that night is far darker. It’s Sam’s word against Lisa’s – so who gets to tell the story? Whose ‘truth’ is really a lie?

‘You put yourself on that pedestal, Samantha. You only have yourself to blame.’

Riveting, compulsive and bold, IDOL interrogates our relationship with our heroes and explores the world of online influencers, asking how well we can ever really know those whose carefully curated profiles we follow online. And it asks us to consider how two memories of the same event can differ, and how effortlessly we choose which stories to believe.

Published May 12th by Bantam Press. Buy here*

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

SYNOPSIS:
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?

It’s every parent’s nightmare.

Your happy, funny, innocent son commits a terrible crime: murdering a complete stranger.

You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your teenage boy is in custody and his future lost.

That night you fall asleep in despair. Until you wake . . .

. . . and it is yesterday.

Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. Another chance to stop it.

Somewhere in the past lie the answers,and you don’t have a choice but to find them . . .

Published May 12th by Michael Joseph. Buy here*

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

SYNOPSIS:
‘Shot through with spirit and hope, it’s one hell of a book’ Stylist, Books You Can’t Miss in 2022

A nurse at the Family Planning Clinic in Montgomery Alabama, Civil Townsend is passionate about putting choice into women’s hands. She brings the option of birth control to their doorsteps, and with it the right to determine their own destinies. Or so she believes.

When she is assigned to administer birth control to two school-age Black girls, the Williams sisters, who live off an old unpaved road in a shack without running water, Civil can’t help but feel uneasy. She grows close to the family and becomes fiercely invested in their well-being. And then she makes a shocking discovery: the girls have been involuntarily sterilized. Civil is horrified that such a terrible mistake could have taken place, and vows to get to the bottom of it. She soon learns that this is no isolated event but a pattern, far more serious than she could ever have imagined, targeting poor Black women. Could her clinic be responsible? Had she and her fellow Black nurses been complicit? No matter how ugly, Civil is determined for the truth to be brought to light.

Based on true events, Take My Hand brims with hope, compassion, and the burning pursuit of justice.

Published May 12th by Phoenix. Buy here*

The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood-Hargrave

SYNOPSIS:
In Strasbourg, in the boiling hot summer of 1518, a plague strikes the women of the city. First it is just one – a lone figure, dancing in the main square – but she is joined by more and more and the city authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in. The devil will be danced out of these women.

Just beyond the city’s limits, pregnant Lisbet lives with her mother-in-law and husband, tending the bees that are their livelihood. Her best friend Ida visits regularly and Lisbet is so looking forward to sharing life and motherhood with her. And then, just as the first woman begins to dance in the city, Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from six years’ penance in the mountains for an unknown crime. No one – not even Ida – will tell Lisbet what Nethe did all those years ago, and Nethe herself will not speak a word about it.

It is the beginning of a few weeks that will change everything for Lisbet – her understanding of what it is to love and be loved, and her determination to survive at all costs for the baby she is carrying. Lisbet and Nethe and Ida soon find themselves pushing at the boundaries of their existence – but they’re dancing to a dangerous tune . . .

From Kiran Millwood Hargrave, the bestselling author of The MerciesThe Dance Tree is a heart-stopping story of family secrets, forbidden love and women pushed to the edge.

Published May 12th by Picador. Buy here*

Do No Harm by Jack Jordan

SYNOPSIS:
My son has been taken. And I’ve been given a choice…
Kill a patient on the operating table. Or never see him again.

The man lies on the table in front of me.
As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him.
As a mother, I know I must kill him.
You might think that I’m a monster.
But there really is only one choice.
I must get away with murder.
Or I will never see my son again.

I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES.
WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?

DON’T MISS THE HEART-STOPPING THRILLER OF 2022
#DONOHARM

Published May 26th by Simon and Schuster. Buy here*

Madwoman by Louisa Treger

SYNOPSIS:
In 1887 young Nellie Bly sets out for New York and a career in journalism, determined to make her way as a serious reporter, whatever that may take.

But life in the city is tougher than she imagined. Down to her last dime and desperate to prove her worth, she comes up with a dangerous plan: to fake insanity and have herself committed to the asylum that looms on Blackwell’s Island. There, she will work undercover to document – and expose – the wretched conditions faced by the patients.

But when the asylum door swings shut behind her, she finds herself in a place of horrors, governed by a harshness and cruelty she could never have imagined. Cold, isolated and starving, her days of terror reawaken the traumatic events of her childhood. She entered the asylum of her own free will – but will she ever get out?

An extraordinary portrait of a woman way ahead of her time, Madwoman is the story of a quest for the truth that changed the world.

Published by Bloomsbury. Buy here*

The Set-Up by Lizzie Dent

SYNOPSIS:
He thinks it’s fate.
She set the whole thing up.

Mara wants to believe in fate – she’s just never had a good reason to. Until now…

After a case of mistaken identity, and the appearance of Joe – a gorgeous Austrian cellist – Mara has the chance to set up her own destiny. But life is complicated… The lido where she works is under threat and her new housemate, Mike, proves to be more than she bargained for.

Will Mara manage to arrange her own happiness? And what if true love is closer to home than she thinks?

Published June 9th by Viking. Buy here*

No Place To Run by Mark Edwards

SYNOPSIS:
No synopsis available.

Published June 21st by Thomas & Mercer. Buy here*

The Bay by Allie Reynolds

SYNOPSIS:
There’s a darkness inside all of us and The Bay has a way of bringing it out. Everyone here has their secrets but we don’t go looking for them. Because sometimes it’s better not to know.

The waves are to die for at The Bay. It’s a paradise they would kill to keep. The Beach meets Point Break in the thriller of the summer by Allie Reynolds.

Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend, shocked to hear she’s going to marry a guy she’s only just met. But Mikki and her fiancé Jack are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride.

Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the mysterious group of people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and disappear from life. How will they feel about Kenna turning up unannounced?

As Kenna gets drawn into their world, she sees the extremes they are prepared to go to for the next thrill. And everyone seems to be hiding something. What has her best friend got involved in and how can she get her away? But one thing is rapidly becoming clear about The Bay: nobody ever leaves.

Published June 23rd by Headline. Buy here*

The Guest House by Ronin Morga-Bentley

SYNOPSIS:
KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE.
WHATEVER THE COST…

Jamie and Victoria are expecting their first baby.

With a few weeks to go, they head off for a final weekend break in a remote part of the North Pennines. The small and peaceful guesthouse is the ideal location to unwind together before becoming parents. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Barry and Fiona, the older couple who run the guesthouse. They cook them dinner and show them to their room before retreating to bed themselves.

The next morning, Jamie and Victoria wake to find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. Both their mobile phones and car keys have disappeared. Even though it’s a few weeks early, Victoria knows the contractions are starting.

The baby is coming, and there’s no way out.

Published June 23rd by Orion. Buy here*

The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor

SYNOPSIS:
The Sunday Times and million copy bestseller returns with her most pulse-pounding, page-turning book yet.

Five years ago, Olivia Sutherland was wrongfully convicted of plotting to murder her husband.

Now she’s finally free, Olivia has three goals: repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, clear her name, and bring down her husband – the man who framed her. 

Just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants? And how far will her husband go to stop her? Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…

Published June 23rd by Avon. Buy here*

The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle

SYNOPSIS:
Inspired by a box of mementos found abandoned in a skip following a house clearance, The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant, thought-provoking but ultimately uplifting story of memory and love, grief, loss and the things we leave behind. It is another brilliant novel from an author who seems to have the absolute knack of writing topical, engaging, heartwarming stories which really connect with readers.

Published July 7th by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*

My Other Husband by Dorothy Koomson

SYNOPSIS:
What if your murderous fantasies start to come true?

Someone is trying to frame me for murder.

They’re hurting people in the ways I write about – and making sure I’m the prime suspect.

I think I know why.

But I can’t tell the police or even use my rock-solid alibi . . .

Because then I’d have to confess about my other husband.

A series of terrifying murders. A set of complex lies.

And a woman with no way to clear her name.

My Other Husband is the latest gripping thriller from the Queen of The Big Reveal.

Published July 7th by Headline. Buy here*

Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman

SYNOPSIS:
12-year-old Sophie and her mother, Amelia-Rose, move to London from Massachusetts where they meet the charismatic Matty Melgren, who quickly becomes an intrinsic part of their lives. But as the relationship between the two adults fractures, a serial killer begins targeting young women with a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose.

When Matty is eventually sent down for multiple murders, questions remain as to his guilt — questions which ultimately destroy both women. Nearly twenty years later, Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing her Matty is dying and wants to meet. It looks like Sophie might finally get the answers she craves. But will the truth set her free — or bury her deeper?

Published July 7th by Quercus. Buy here*

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

SYNOPSIS:
Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts. Paris Peralta is suspected of killing her celebrity husband, and her long-hidden past now threatens to destroy her future.

When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom–covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her–she knows she’ll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it’s not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it’s only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she’s worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she’s unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris’s secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

Published July 19th by Minotaur Books. Buy here*

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

SYNOPSIS:
Most are here to recharge and refresh.
But someone’s here for revenge . . .

The addictive new thriller from the global bestselling author of The Sanatorium.
___________________________________

An eco-wellness retreat has opened on an island off the coast of Devon, promising rest and relaxation – but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumoured to be cursed. DS Elin Warner is called to the retreat when a young woman’s body is found on the rocks below the yoga pavilion, in what seems to be a tragic fall. But the victim wasn’t a guest – she wasn’t meant to be on the island at all.

When a man drowns in a diving incident the following day, Elin starts to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the retreat – and who else is in danger?

Elin must find the killer – before the island’s history starts to repeat itself . . .

Published July 21st by Bantam Press. Buy here*

That Bonesetter Woman by Frances Quinn

SYNOPSIS:
It’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all.
 
Meet Endurance Proudfoot, the bonesetter’s daughter: clumsy as a carthorse, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie only wants one thing in life – to follow her father and grandfather into the family business of bonesetting. It’s a physically demanding job, requiring strength, nerves of steel and discretion – and not the job for a woman.
 
But Durie isn’t like other women. She’s strong and stubborn and determined to get her own way. And she finds that she has a talent at bonesetting – her big hands and lack of grace have finally found their natural calling. 
 
So, when she is banished to London with her sister, who is pretty, delicate and exactly the opposite to Durie in every way, Durie will not let it stop her realising her dreams. And while her sister will become one of the first ever Georgian celebrities, Durie will become England’s first and most celebrated female bonesetter. But what goes up must come down, and Durie’s elevated status may well become her undoing…

Published August 4th by Simon and Schuster. Buy here*

The Last Party by Clare Macintosh

SYNOPSIS:
On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.

His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.

The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family – and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.

Published August 4th by Sphere. Buy here*

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

SYNOPSIS:
Daisy Darker is an all-consuming tale of psychological suspense with a spectacular twist from the internationally bestselling author Alice Feeney

Daisy Darker’s family were as dark as dark can be, when one of them died all of them lied and pretended not to see . . .

Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer . . .

Published August 18th by Pan MacMillan. Buy here*

Something Wicked by Laura Purcell

SYNOPSIS:
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping tale of obsession, superstition and ambition, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Victorian London. Be careful what you wish for… it may just come true.

By the pricking of my thumbs…

At The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it’s as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

…Something Wicked this way comes

Published August 25th by Raven Books. Buy here*

The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson

SYNOPSIS:
When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, broken-hearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly pensioner Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like her own. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery, but Frank lost the ticket with her number written on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her.

Libby is inspired by the story and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she makes it her mission to help Frank’s search. As she begins to open her guarded heart to strangers and new connections, Libby’s tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the number 88 bus is slipping away.

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness – before it’s too late.

A beautifully uplifting novel about how one chance meeting can change the course of your life

Published September 8th by Zaffre. Buy here*

**********

So what do you think? Will you be adding any of these to your tbr? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading Bibliophiles ☺️ Emma xxx


Categories
Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – June 2021

How are we almost half way through the year already? Crazy! June is almost upon us and it’s a great month for books. A few of these are ones that are part of my most anticipated books of the year, and I’m really excited to finally own and read them soon.


The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Published: June 1st, 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre: Literary Fiction, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
‘The year’s most buzzed-about debut’ 

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and the micro-aggressions, she’s thrilled when Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events cause Nella to become Public Enemy Number One and Hazel, the Office Darling.

Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.

It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realises that there is a lot more at stake than her career.

A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.

Buy here*


The Cookbook of Common Prayer by Francesca Haig

Published: June 3rd, 2021
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Genre: Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When Gill and Gabe’s elder son drowns overseas, they decide they must hide the truth from their desperately unwell teenaged daughter. But as Gill begins to send letters from her dead son to his sister, the increasingly elaborate lie threatens to prove more dangerous than the truth.

A novel about family, food, grief, and hope, this gripping, lyrical story moves between Tasmania and London, exploring the many ways that a family can break down – and the unexpected ways that it can be put back together.

Buy here*


The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

Published: June 8th, 2021
Publisher: Del Rey
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Jewish Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman – he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

Buy here*


Mrs England by Stacey Halls

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Manilla Press
Genre: Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the bestselling author of The Familiars and The Foundling comes Stacey Halls’s most compelling and ambitious novel to date.

‘Something’s not right here.’
I was aware of Mr Booth’s eyes on me, and he seemed to hold his breath. ‘What do you mean?’
‘In the house. With the family.’

West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there’s something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.

Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband, and is far from the ‘angel of the house’ Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there’s no such thing as the perfect family – and she should know.

Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, weaving an enthralling story of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception. Set against the atmospheric West Yorkshire landscape, Stacey Halls’ third novel proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our times.

Buy here*


The Maidens by Alex Michelades

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of the global #1 bestselling debut The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding literary thriller which weaves together Greek mythology, psychology, and murder…

St Christopher’s College, Cambridge, is a closed world to most.

For Mariana Andros – a group therapist struggling through her private grief – it’s where she met her late husband. For her niece, Zoe, it’s the tragic scene of her best friend’s murder.As memory and mystery entangle Mariana, she finds a society full of secrets, which has been shocked to its core by the murder of one of its own.

Because behind its idyllic beauty is a web of jealousy and rage which emanates from an exclusive set of students known only as The Maidens. A group under the sinister influence of the enigmatic professor Edward Fosca.A man who seems to know more than anyone about the murders – and the victims. And the man who will become the prime suspect in Mariana’s investigation – an obsession which will unravel everything…

The Maidens is a story of love, and of grief – of what makes us who we are, and what makes us kill.

Buy here*


The Good Neighbours by Nina Allan

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Riverrun
Genre: Fairy Tale

SYNOPSIS:
Cath is a photographer hoping to go freelance, working in a record shop to pay the rent and eking out her time with her manager Steve. He thinks her photography is detective work, drawing attention to things that would otherwise pass unseen and maybe he’s right . . .

Starting work on her new project – photographing murder houses – she returns to the island where she grew up for the first time since she left for Glasgow when she was just eighteen. The Isle of Bute is embedded in her identity, the draughty house that overlooked the bay, the feeling of being nowhere, the memory of her childhood friend Shirley Craigie and the devastating familicide of her family by the father, John Craigie.

Arriving at the Craigie house, Cath finds that it’s occupied by Financial Analyst Alice Rahman. Her bid to escape the city lifestyle, the anxiety she felt in that world, led her to leave London and settle on the island. The strangeness of the situation brings them closer, leading them to reinvestigate the Craigie murder. Now, within the walls of the Craigie house, Cath can uncover the nefarious truths and curious nature of John Craigie: his hidden obsession with the work of Richard Dadd and the local myths of the fairy folk.

The Good Neighbours is an enquiry into the unknowability of the past and our attempts to make events fit our need to interpret them; the fallibility of recollection; the power of myths in shaping human narratives. Nina Allan skilfully weaves the imagined and the real to create a magically haunting story of memory, obsession and the liminal spaces that our minds frequent to escape trauma.

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Everything Happens For A Reason by Katie Allen

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Mystery, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When Rachel’s baby is stillborn, she becomes obsessed with the idea that saving a stranger s life months earlier is to blame. An unforgettable, heart-wrenching, warm and funny debut.

Mum-to-be Rachel did everything right, but it all went wrong. Her son, Luke, was stillborn and she finds herself on maternity leave without a baby, trying to make sense of her loss.

When a misguided well-wisher tells her that ‘everything happens for a reason’, she becomes obsessed with finding that reason, driven by grief and convinced that she is somehow to blame. She remembers that on the day she discovered her pregnancy, she’d stopped a man from jumping in front of a train, and she s now certain that saving his life cost her the life of her son.

Desperate to find him, she enlists an unlikely ally in Lola, an Underground worker, and Lola’s seven-year-old daughter, Josephine, and eventually tracks him down, with completely unexpected results…

Both a heart-wrenchingly poignant portrait of grief and a gloriously uplifting and disarmingly funny story of a young woman’s determination, Everything Happens for a Reason is a bittersweet, life- affirming read and, quite simply, unforgettable.

Buy here*


This Is How We Are Human by Louise Beech

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Psychological Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, Urban Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
When the mother of an autistic young man hires a call girl to make him happy, three lives collide in unexpected and moving ways … changing everything. A devastatingly beautiful, rich and thought-provoking novel that will warm and break your heart…

Sebastian James Murphy is twenty years, six months and two days old. He loves swimming, fried eggs and Billy Ocean. Sebastian is autistic. And lonely.

Veronica wants her son Sebastian to be happy … she wants the world to accept him for who he is. She is also thinking about paying a professional to give him what he desperately wants.

Violetta is a high-class escort, who steps out into the night thinking only of money. Of her nursing degree. Paying for her dad’s care. Getting through the dark.

When these three lives collide – intertwine in unexpected ways – everything changes. For everyone.

A topical and moving drama about a mother’s love for her son, about getting it wrong when we think we know what’s best, about the lengths we go to care for family … to survive … This Is How We Are Human is a searching, rich and thought-provoking novel with an emotional core that will warm and break your heart.

Buy here*


Fragile by Sarah Hilary

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Everything she touches breaks . . .

Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperate to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong.

So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands.

But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for. Her employer lives by a set of rigid rules and she soon sees that he is hiding secrets of his own.

But is Nell’s arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easy they can be to break . . .

Fragile is a dark, contemporary psychological thriller with a modern Gothic twist from an award-winning and critically acclaimed writer who has been compared to Ruth Rendell, P. D. James and Val McDermid. Rebecca meets The Handmaid’s Tale in Sarah Hilary’s standalone breakout novel.

Buy here*


Unwell Women by Elionor Cleghorn

Published: June 10th, 2021
Publisher: W&N
Genre: History, Society and Culture, Gender Studies

SYNOPSIS:
‘We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body’s mysteries. And as a science, we expect medicine to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people, but we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion to be free of any prejudice about who we are, our gender, or the colour of our skin. But medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has always reflected the realities of a changing world, and the meanings of being human.’

In Unwell Women Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women’s bodies, and traces the journey from the ‘wandering womb’ of ancient Greece, the rise of witch trials in Medieval Europe, through the dawn of Hysteria, to modern day understandings of autoimmune diseases, the menopause and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical orthodoxy – and drawing on her own experience of un-diagnosed Lupus disease – this is a ground-breaking and timely exposé of the medical world and woman’s place within it.

Buy here*


The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas

Published: June 17th, 2021
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Salpêtrière asylum, 1885. All of Paris is in thrall to Doctor Charcot and his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad or hysterical, outcasts from society. But the truth is much more complicated – for these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives or strong-willed daughters. Once a year a grand ball is held at the hospital. For the Parisian elite, the Mad Women’s Ball is the highlight of the social season; for the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.

Geneviève is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister, she has shunned religion and placed her faith in Doctor Charcot and his new science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugénie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family. Because Eugénie has a secret, and she needs Geneviève’s help. Their fates will collide on the night of the Mad Women’s Ball…

Buy here*


Animal by Lisa Taddeo

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus
Genre: Literary Fiction, Romantic Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig.

That’s a cruel thing to think, I know. He did it in a restaurant where I was having dinner with another man, another married man.

Do you see how this is going? But I wasn’t always that way.

I am depraved. I hope you like me.

MEET JOAN: SUMMER 2021

Buy here*


False Witness by Karin Slaughter

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

SYNOPSIS:
They thought they’d got away with it … they were wrong.

Leigh and her sister Callie are not bad people – but one night, more than two decades ago, they did something terrible. And the result was a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, devastated by violence.

Years later, Leigh has pushed that night from her mind and become a successful lawyer – but when she is forced to take on a new client against her will, her world begins to spiral out of control.

Because the client knows the truth about what happened twenty-three years ago. He knows what Leigh and Callie did. And unless they stop him, he’s going to tear their lives apart …

Just because you didn’t see the witness … doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.

Buy here*


Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Adventure Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
You can save hundreds of lives.
Or the one that matters most . . .

The atmosphere on board the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric. Celebrities are rumoured to be among the passengers in business class, and the world is watching the landmark journey.

Flight attendant Mina is trying to focus on the passengers, instead of her troubled five-year-old daughter back at home – or the cataclysmic problems in her marriage.

But soon after the plane takes off, Mina receives a chilling anonymous note. Someone wants to make sure the plane never reaches its destination. They’re demanding her cooperation . . . and they know exactly how to get it.

It’s twenty hours to landing.
A lot can happen in twenty hours . . .

Buy here*


Truth Or Dare by M. J. Arlidge

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Hardboiled, Police Procedural, Crime Fiction, Crime Series

SYNOPSIS:
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME?

A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

THE BEST BOOK YET FROM THE MASTER OF THE KILLER THRILLER.

Buy here*


The Stranding by Kate Sawyer

Published: June 24th, 2021
Published: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Domestic Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Science Fiction, Saga

SYNOPSIS:
HER WORLD FELL TO PIECES.

FROM THE BONES SHE BUILT A NEW LIFE.

Ruth lives in the heart of the city. Working, drinking, falling in love: the rhythm of her vivid and complicated life is set against a background hum of darkening news reports from which she deliberately turns away.

When a new romance becomes claustrophobic, Ruth chooses to leave behind the failing relationship, but also her beloved friends and family, and travels to the other side of the world in pursuit of her dream life working with whales in New Zealand.

But when Ruth arrives, the news cycle she has been ignoring for so long is now the new reality. Far from home and with no real hope of survival, she finds herself climbing into the mouth of a beached whale alongside a stranger. When she emerges, it is to a landscape that bears no relation to the world they knew before.

When all has been razed to the ground, what does it mean to build a life?

The Stranding is a story about the hope that can remain even when the world is changed beyond recognition.

Buy here*


The Island Home by Libby Page

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Lorna’s world is small but safe.

She loves her daughter, and the two of them is all that matters. But after nearly twenty years, she and Ella are suddenly leaving London for the Isle of Kip, the tiny remote Scottish island where Lorna grew up.

Alice’s world is tiny but full.

She loves the community on Kip, her yoga classes drawing women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna’s arrival might help their family finally mend itself – even if forgiveness means returning to the past…

So with two decades, hundreds of miles and a lifetime’s worth of secrets between Lorna and the island, can coming home mean starting again?

Buy here*


Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Picador
Genre: Historical Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of Sunday Times Bestseller, Dear Mrs Bird, comes a much hoped-for follow up, Yours Cheerfully. Charming, heart-warming and hilarious, Yours Cheerfully is just the tonic we’ve all been waiting for.

London, September, 1941.

Following the departure of the formidable Editor, Henrietta Bird, from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, is still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, but bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It.

When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty, and standing by her friends.

Every bit as funny, heartwarming, and touching as AJ Pearce’s debut, Dear Mrs BirdYours Cheerfully is a celebration of friendship, a testament to the strength of women and the importance of lifting each other up, even in the most challenging times.

Buy here*


The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Hutchinson
Genre: Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘So that was all it took,’ I thought. ‘That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn’t so much after all.’

Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the shop without getting caught, the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, the perfect wall for handstands.

Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing, sherbet feeling in her belly. She doesn’t get to feel power like this at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Fifteen years later, Julia is trying to mother her five-year-old daughter, Molly. She is always worried – about affording food and school shoes, about what the other mothers think of her. Most of all she worries that the social services are about to take Molly away.

That’s when the phone calls begin, which Julia is too afraid to answer, because it’s clear the caller knows the truth about what happened all those years ago.

And it’s time to face the truth: is forgiveness and redemption ever possible for someone who has killed?

Buy here*


Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce

Published: June 24th, 2021
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Genre: Suspense, Psychological Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Named one of the most riveting books of Spring 2021 by Veranda Magazine!

Like the chilling psychological thriller The Silent Patient, Deborah Goodrich Royce’s Ruby Falls is a nail-biting tale of a fragile young actress, the new husband she barely knows, and her growing suspicion that the secrets he harbors may eclipse her own.

On a brilliantly sunny July day, six-year-old Ruby is abandoned by her father in the suffocating dark of a Tennessee cave. Twenty years later, transformed into soap opera star Eleanor Russell, she is fired under dubious circumstances. Fleeing to Europe, she marries a glamorous stranger named Orlando Montague and keeps her past closely hidden.

Together, Eleanor and Orlando start afresh in LA. Setting up house in a storybook cottage in the Hollywood Hills, Eleanor is cast in a dream role—the lead in a remake of Rebecca. As she immerses herself in that eerie gothic tale, Orlando’s personality changes, ghosts of her past re-emerge, and Eleanor fears she is not the only person in her marriage with a secret.

In this thrilling and twisty homage to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, the story ricochets through the streets of Los Angeles, a dangerous marriage to an exotic stranger, and the mind of a young woman whose past may not release her.

Buy here*


A Cut For A Cut (Detective Kate Young 2) by Carol Wyer

Published: June 29th, 2021
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Crime Series, Police Procedural

SYNOPSIS:
DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving―even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link―now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

Buy here*

********

Are any of these on your tbr? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading Bibliophiles😊 Emma xxx

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book reviews

Publication Day Review: ‘After The End’ by Clare Macintosh ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Happy Publication Day to Clare Macintosh and her incredible new novel. I read this a little while ago now and have been eagerly waiting to share it with you.

SYNOPSIS:

Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. Only now they’re facing the most important decision of their lives – and they don’t agree. 

As the consequences of an impossible choice threaten to devastate them both, nothing will ever be the same again.

But anything can happen after the end…

REVIEW:

A heartbreaking and impossible dilemma is handled in a beautiful, sensitive and original way in this emotional novel. This isn’t the kind of book you expect from this Ms Macintosh but it could be her best yet.

The story opens with a courtroom where parents are awaiting a judge’s ruling on their young son’s fate and then goes back to when two-year-old Dylan Adam lies unconscious in hospital with complications from chemotherapy to treat his brain tumour. When doctors tell his parents Max and Pip they’ve reached the end of the road they ask them to make an impossible choice: further treatment that will prolong Dylan’s life for a while or palliative care. Initially the couple are in no doubt of their agreement of the right choice. But by the time they come to tell the doctors their decision Pip has changed her mind and the couple now find themselves on opposing sides of a battle where both believe they know what is best for their beloved son.

What would you do? How do you know what the right choice is? What if the one you made wasn’t the right one? What would life have been like if we’d taken the other path? These questions and more are explored in this poignant and thought-provoking story. 

I don’t want to say too much about what happens once they go to court as it would ruin the story, but after the court case is written in a unique manner that gave the book a lot of it’s charm. It was unexpected and at first I wasn’t sure what I thought. But I quickly loved the direction the author took and the message she was conveying to the reader. 

This was one of the most moving, tragic and affecting stories I have ever read. Max and Pip are faced with the choice no parent ever wants to make and you can’t help but have your heart break alongside them. 

One last thing- you need to read the author’s notes at the end of the book. In these notes the author shares her motivation for writing this story and my heart broke all over again. 

Clare, I have such admiration and respect for your bravery in writing this book. You have touched my heart and soul with this unforgettable story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Clare Macintosh for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Out today.

 

 

Categories
book reviews Uncategorised

May Wrap Up

That’s another month wrapped! We’re now almost half way through the year and Summer is nearly here.

So how has May been for everyone? I’ve had a great month and managed to read 14books. Also this month I went to my first author event and book signing since joining bookstagram. I still plan to do a blog post about it but as with some of the reviews I’m a little behind so please bear with me.

So let’s take a look at what I read in May:

  1. ‘The Corset’ by Laura Purcell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain? This is what Dorothea Truelove doesn’t know when she begins to visit the alleged murderess in prison. A dark, haunting, atmospheric and chilling gothic novel this book was impossible to put down. While telling a great story the author also highlights important issues and takes an interesting look at mental health and women’s roles in society in Victorian times. With this book Laura Purcell has solidified her place in my top authors list.                                      Out Now
  2. ‘The Au Pair’ by Emma Rous ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This family saga that echoes the writing style of V. C. Andrews and combines it with the mysteries of Gillian Flynn. Twins Seraphine and Danny Mayes are the first twins born on their family’s estate in years. But the same day they’re born their mother plunges to her death and the au pair disappears. Ever since, whispers of folklore have followed the twins and left Seraphine feeling like she doesn’t belong. Who is she? And what exactly happened the day she and her brother were born? My review for this novel will be published closer to the release date but I will say that this is a book full of surprising twists that kept me guessing throughout.                                                                                  Published July 11th
  3. ‘The Flat Share’ by Beth O’Leary ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 – This was a refreshing, witty novel that wasn’t your average chic lit. Full of soul, heart, courage and spirit, this is a book that not only deals with romance but also the heavier topics of toxic relationships and PTSD. It perfectly balances the whimsical and the darker sides making it relatable and uplifting. This book has been everywhere and actually lives up to all the hype.                                                                                                                                  Out Now
  4. ‘After The End’ by Clare Macintosh ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – A heartbreaking and impossible dilemma is handled in a beautiful, sensitive and original way in this emotional novel. This isn’t the kind of book you expect from this Ms Macintosh but it could be her best yet. My review will be posted on publication day.                              Published June 25th
  5. ‘The Neighbour’ by Fiona Cummins ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – FOR SALE: A lovely family home with a good-sized garden and trees occupying a plot close to woodland. Perfect for kids, fitness enthusiasts, dog-walkers…And, it seems, a perfect hunting ground for a serial killer. This tense, gripping thriller is one I’m behind on the review for.             Out Now
  6. ‘For The Love Of Books’ by Graham Tarrant ⭐⭐⭐.5 – A book about books! This is a light-hearted and quick read that biblophiles will enjoy. While I did find some parts a little tedious, this was overall a fun read.                                                           Published June 4th
  7. ‘Hello My Name Is May’ by Rosalind Stopps ⭐⭐⭐⭐- This book was not what I expected, but in a good way. Told in dual timelines, present-day May is sharp, witty, scathing and frustrated at the loss of her ability to speak and control her body after a stroke. Back in the late ‘70s young May is a woman living in fear who feels trapped in her life and too terrified to change it. This is a book that is enjoyable but also hard to read as it tackles domestic and elder abuse in a raw and honest way. A gripping and touching read with a ending that shook me to the core.Out now
  8. ‘Someone You Know’ by Olivia Isaac-Henry ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – When the body of Tess’s twin sister, Edie is found two decades after she disappeared Tess decides it’s finally time to discover the truth about what happened to her beloved sister. A captivating thriller full of twists and turns.                                                                                            Out Now
  9. ‘The Missing Years’ by Lexie Elliott ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The eerie and bizarre is woven throughout this tale about family and self-discovery from the outset. Atmospheric, haunting, creepy and macabre with shocking twists and an ending that I wasn’t prepared for. This is a steady-paced and engrossing read that’s perfect for anyone who loves a good thriller.Published June 6th  
  10. ‘Lying Next To You’ by Gregg Olsen ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 – I devoured this addictive, fast-paced novel and would have read it in one sitting if not for that pesky thing called sleep…The bombshell finale had my jaw on the floor and it is a testament to the writing how I can instantly recall lines that now have a completely different meaning and were a subtle foreshadowing of the truth. Lying Next To Me is a story about family, love, lust, sex, secrets, betrayal, desperation and revenge. I highly recommend this dramatic, layered, tense and twisty thriller. Just make sure you have plenty of time spare as you won’t want to put it down.                                            Out Now
  11. ‘The Queen of Hearts’ by Kimmery Martin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I loved this book so  much that I could read it every day and it would bring me joy. This debut novel is not just a pretty book, it’s a spectacular novel that had me savouring every word and completely immersed in the pages. The author has created the perfect amalgamation of her two loves: medicine and literature. Intelligent, funny, mesmerising and at times gut-wrenching, I highly recommend this to everyone.   Out Now.
  12. ‘Before She Was Found’ by Heather Gudenkauf ⭐⭐⭐.5 – Three twelve year old girls walked into a train yard and two come out unscathed… Having your child attacked and almost killed is every parents worst nightmare. Or is it? What if your child was suspected of attempting to kill their friend? This was a twisty, readable thriller that opens with a chilling first chapter and keeps it’s secrets right up until the final pages.                                                                                                          Published  June 13th 
  13. ‘The Confessions of Frannie Langton’ by Sara Collins ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I’ve yet to publish my review for this novel but this could have easily been my book of the month. This is one of those books that reaches into your soul. It tells the story of Frances Langton, a former slave who is awaiting trial for the murder of her Master and Mistress. Frannie says she couldn’t have done it because she loved her Mistress. This book deals with important issues from the era , some of which are still relevant today. A spectacular debut novel that I highly recommend. The review will be up on the blog soon.                                                                                                                          Out Now
  14. ‘The Last Widow’ by Karin Slaughter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – An exciting, absorbing, and frighteningly real thriller, this novel is an example of why Ms Slaughter is one of the world’s most acclaimed authors. The story begins with an abduction in a shopping centre car park and then jumps forward to a month later. The rest of the story takes place over a tense three days. I’m currently in the process of writing the review for this book and it should be up on the blog in the next few days, but trust me when I say this is a thriller you don’t want to miss.                                      Published June 13th

My favourite book this month was The Queen of Hearts, although The Confessions of Frannie Langton is so good they almost tie as my favourites.

Have you read any of these books or are they in your TBR pile? What was your favourite book in May? Comment below.

Thank you to Kimmery Martin, Atlantic Books, Corvus Books, Quercus Books, Harper Collins UK, Little Brown Book Group UK, Thomas & Mercer, HQ, Avon Books UK, Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for my copies of these novels in exchange for an honest review.