Welcome to another month of my most anticipated releases. I can’t quite believe we’re almost at the end of this year, and even though November and December generally have less releases, there’s still a lot of exciting books in this list.
Here’s the books out in November I’m most anticipating:
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
Published November 2nd by Viper Books
Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
* FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL IN TRANSLATION *
‘Kwok is an impressive talent’ – KARIN SLAUGHTER
‘A beautiful, propulsive story’ – LAURA DAVE
‘A hugely atmospheric and suspenseful mystery’ – LUCY FOLEY
‘I will find my daughter. No matter the cost…’
Jasmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China’s one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it all: a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.
Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again…
Pre-order here*
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Published November 2nd by Canongate Books
Historical Ficiton, Biographical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Dolly Maunder is born at the end of the nineteenth century, when society’s long-locked doors are just starting to creak ajar for determined women. Growing up in a poor farming family in rural New South Wales, Dolly spends her life doggedly pushing at those doors. A husband and two children do not deter her from searching for love and independence.
Restless Dolly Maunder is a subversive, triumphant tale of a pioneering woman working her way through a world of limits and obstacles, who is able – despite the cost – to make a life she could call her own.
Pre-order here*
Mary; or, The Birth of Franenstein by Anne Eekhout
Published November 2nd by Pushkin Press
Gothic Fiction, Historical Ficiton, Biographical Fiction, LGBT Literature
SYNOPSIS:
Gothic, fantasy-tinged historical fiction, delving back into the teenage years of Mary Shelley to find the inspiration for Frankenstein Scotland, 1812. When Mary is sent to the countryside for her health, she soon forms a brooding, amorous friendship with Isabella, the grief-stricken eldest daughter of the Baxter family. While the girls explore the local countryside and revel in its stories of witches, ghosts and monsters, the mysterious David Booth develops a sinister interest in Mary and Isabella… Geneva, 1816. In the famous year without a summer, Mary is caught between her husband’s ideals of free love, her stepsister’s narcissism and the immense anguish she feels for her recently lost child. While her days are filled with strife, the long evenings are spent drinking laudanum-laced wine and sharing ghost stories. As Mary grapples with the inspiration for her famous novel, she is plagued by troubling memories… Provocative, sensual and dark, Mary; or the Birth of Frankenstein is a hypnotic ode to the power of the imagination.
Pre-order here*
Mrs Winterbottom Takes A Gap Year by Joanna Nell
Published November 2nd by Hodder & Stoughton
Romance Novel, Humorous Fiction, Medical Fiction, Romantic Comedy
SYNOPSIS:
It’s never too late for the adventure of a lifetime . . .
Heather Winterbottom has worked side by side with her husband as GPs in their idyllic rural practice for over forty years. But as the time comes to hang up their stethoscopes, the Winterbottoms discover that they have rather different visions of retirement . . .
Heather dreams of exploring the Greek Islands, of escaping the shackles of her routine life and embracing an exciting new adventure. Alan dreams of growing his own vegetables.
When things come to a head at a family lunch, Heather announces that she has decided to take a year off. From her old life, from her marriage – from Alan. Alone in beautiful Greece, Heather embarks on her very own odyssey – complete with peak experiences, pitfalls and temptations. But what if coming home is the biggest adventure yet?
Pre-order here*
People To Follow by Olivia Worley
Published November 2nd by Hodder
Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Ten influencers. Ten secrets. One dead body. A pacy, page-turning thriller perfect for fans of We Were Liars, The Inheritance Games and One Of Us Is Lying.
‘Agatha Christie meets TikTok . . . a wicked, juicy page-turner’ – Alexa Donne, author of Brightly Burning
They’re used to being followed. But not like this . . .
Ten social media stars think they’re about to join the cast of a hot new reality show.
But the production crew never shows up, and the influencers find themselves stranded on a deserted Caribbean island with no contact with the outside world – except for messages from the mysterious ‘Sponsor’, who is threatening to expose their darkest secrets.
When one of them winds up dead, things start to get more real than they bargained for . . .
With the body count rising, the influencers must figure out who is trying to get them cancelled – like, literally – before their number one follower strikes again.
Pre-order here*
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean Book 2)
Published November 7th by Piatkus
Romantic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Fantasy Series
SYNOPSIS:
THE THRILLING SEQUEL TO THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL PHENOMENON, FOURTH WING!
The deadly second year at Basgiath awaits. Don’t miss out on the series that the world can’t stop talking about:
‘This book contains an addictive, drug like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn’t warn you’ – Glamour
__________________________________________
She survived her first year at Basgiath War College . . . but the danger is only beginning.
Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College, Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.
Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is – unless she betrays the man she loves.
Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits, and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.
But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.
Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College – and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.
Pre-order here*
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Published November 7th by Sphere
Contemporary Romance, Science Fiction Romance, Young Adult Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
In this clever and swoonworthy new novel from the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious ‘Kingkiller’ Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.
Nolan’s loss to an unknown rookie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist…
As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent… and infuriating…)
This novel is suitable for both young adult and adult audiences.
Pre-order here*
The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper (Wolf Den Trilogy Book 3)
Published November 9th by Head of Zeus
Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Book Series, Historical Romance
SYNOPSIS:
The final instalment in Elodie Harper’s Sunday Times bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy
A courtesan in Rome. Playing for power. Haunted by her past. Her name is Amara. How will her fortunes fall?
Amara’s journey has taken her far, from a lowly slave in Pompeii’s brothel to a high-powered courtesan in Rome. She is now a freedwoman with wealth and influence, yet she is still drawn back to her past.
For while Amara is caught up in the political scheming of the Imperial palace, her daughter remains in Pompeii, raised by the only man she ever truly loved. Although she longs for her family, Amara knows they are safest while she is far away. Perhaps, with enough cunning and courage, she will manage to turn Fortuna’s wheel in their favour.
But the year is ad 79, and Mount Vesuvius is preparing to make itself known…
The Temple of Fortuna is the dramatic final instalment in Elodie Harper’s Sunday Times-bestselling Wolf Den trilogy, which reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.
Pre-order here*
Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver
Published November 9th by Orenda
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, PsychologivlcaThriller, Horror Satire
SYNOPSIS:
Hotel Beresford: a grand old building, just outside the city, where any soul is welcome, and strange goings-on mask explosive, deadly secrets. A chilling, darkly funny sequel to Will Carver’s bestselling The Beresford…
There are worse places than hell…
Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome.
Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can’t keep his hands to himself. Now he’s tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle’s broken ashtray.
The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall.
Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal.
When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much, much darker…
Pre-order here
His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave
Published November 9th by Orenda
Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Police Procedural, Hardboiled, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Desperate for reward money – and to rescue his marriage – an embattled sheriff takes incalculable risks to find a missing boy. An edge-of-your-seat, twisted and twisty thriller from New Zealand’s King of Crime.
To catch a killer…
Maybe you’ve got to be one…
Acacia Pines, USA. Sheriff Cohen’s life is falling apart – his father accidentally burned down the retirement home, his wife has moved out, and his son is bullying other kids at school.
When high-school student, Lucas Connor, is abducted, Cohen sees a chance to get his life back on track – to win back his wife and scoop the reward money offered for Lucas’s safe return.
But as the body count rises, it becomes clear that Cohen’s going to have to make the kind of decision from which there’s no coming back … a decision with deadly consequences…
A furiously paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller exposing the dark underbelly of small-town life, His Favourite Graves is also a twisted and twisty story of father-and-son relationships, and the one last gamble of a desperate man to save everything…
Pre-order here
The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton
Published November 9th by Orion
Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Erotic Thriller
SYNOPSIS:
Sharon Bolton has written another cracker! The twists! The tension! The characters!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘You’ll never guess where this book is going’ SAMANTHA DOWNING
‘Totally gripping, with characters who draw you in’ JP DELANEY
‘A thriller that had me desperate for answers. I loved it!’ HARRIET TYCE
Olive Anderson is dining alone at a hotel when a glamourous stranger joins her table, pretending to be her wife. What starts as a thrilling game quickly turns into something dangerous. But as much as the fake wife has her secrets, Olive just might have more . . .
The Fake Wife is an unputdownable thriller that will shock and surprise you like the best television boxsets. If you enjoyed Netflix shows like Behind Her Eyes, The Stranger and Obsession you will love The Fake Wife.
Pre-order here*
The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
Published November 9th by Simon & Schuster UK
Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Adventure Fiction, LGBT Literature, Domestic Fiction, Holiday Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
***GIVE THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS EARLY. PRE-ORDER THIS DELICIOUSLY DARK CHRISTMAS MYSTERY FOR FANS OF CLEVER, PUZZLING CRIME. THE PERFECT STOCKING FILLER***
THIS CHRISTMAS, A KILLER TAKES FAMILY GAMES TO A MURDEROUS NEW LEVEL.
On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces.
Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle.
Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest.
Pre-order here*
The Man of Her Dreams by Sara Manning
Published November 9th by Hodder & Stoughton
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Humorous Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
‘Romantic, funny, sweet and sexy’ MARIAN KEYES
‘The funny, clever, deeply romantic, sinfully sexy, devastatingly heartbreaking, perfectly uplifting book of your dreams’ CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLIN
Is he too good to be true?
Meet Theo. Handsome, sexy, funny. kind. And he can cook.
He’s literally the man of Esme’s dreams. But Esme’s sensible enough to know that you can’t just manifest your perfect boyfriend then have him turn up on your doorstep.
Or can you?
Pre-order here*
The Manor House Governess by C. A. Castle
Published November 9th by Black & White Publishing
Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Coming-of-Age Story, New Adult Fiction, Transgender Fiction, LGBT Literature, Gay Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
‘Fun, fresh and clever . . . a huge treat for all fans of Jane Eyre.’ KATIE LUMSDEN, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
‘A sublime and tenderly written novel.’ BEA FITZGERALD, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen
All Brontë Ellis has ever known is life at St. Mary’s all-boys boarding school, where he lingered first as a student and then as a teaching assistant. So when a chance to forge a new life in Cambridge presents itself, he seizes it with both hands.
Arriving at Greenwood Manor as the new live-in tutor, Bron finds himself welcomed by all – the gregarious Mr Edwards, his precocious pupil Ada . . . except for Darcy, the elusive and tempestuous eldest son. Despite the rumours about him, Bron cannot help feeling drawn to the one person who seems determined to avoid him.
When tragedy strikes the house, Bron begins to sense dark secrets smouldering beneath Greenwood Manor’s surface. Soon he’s not sure what to believe, or whether he even has a future at Greenwood. Only Darcy holds the key, if he can be persuaded to reveal his heart to Bron . . .
Pre-order here*
Can’t I Go Instead by Lee Geum-yi
Published November 9th by Scribe UK
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
From the author of The Picture Bride, two women’s lives and identities are intertwined ― through World War II and the Korean War ― revealing the harsh realities of class division in the early part of the 20th century.
Can’t I Go Instead follows the lives of the daughter of a Korean nobleman and her maidservant in the early 20th century. When the daughter’s suitor is arrested as a Korean Independence activist, and she is implicated during the investigation, she is quickly forced into marriage to one of her father’s Japanese employees and shipped off to the United States. At the same time, her maidservant is sent in her mistress’s place to be a comfort woman to the Japanese Imperial army.
Years of hardship, survival, and even happiness follow. In the aftermath of WWII, the women make their way home, where they must reckon with the tangled lives they’ve led, in an attempt to reclaim their identities, and find their places in an independent Korea.
Pre-order here*
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Published November 9th by Fig Tree
Contemporary Romance, Literary Fiction, Psychological Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
‘Leaves you heartsore but happier. Irresistible’ RICHARD E. GRANT
‘Wise and relatable and pee-your-pants funny… Dolly Alderton is, quite simply, the bard of modern day love’ LENA DUNHAM
—
Every relationship has one beginning.
This one has two endings.
Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy.
And he can’t work out why she stopped.
Now he is. . .
1. Without a home
2. Waiting for his stand-up career to take off
3. Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn’t looking
Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak at a time when everything he thought he knew about women, and flat-sharing, and his friendships has transformed beyond recognition, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of their broken relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him.
Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend’s side of the story.
From the bestselling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a sharply funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely relatable story of heartbreak and friendship, and how to survive both.
Pre-order here*
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou
Published November 9th by Head of Zeus
Suspesne, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
**Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club 2023**
‘Tense. Moving. Morally complex. Zina Pavlou is wholly unforgettable.’ Rachel Rhys
‘Hugely powerful… Easily one of the best books you’ll read this year.’ Emma Christie
THEY HAVE TOLD SO MANY LIES ABOUT ME.
London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can’t speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.
Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman. While she works as Zina’s translator, her obsession with the case deepens, and so too does her bond with the accused murderer.
Zina can’t speak for herself. She can’t clear her own name. All she can do is wait for the world to decide…
IS SHE A VICTIM? OR IS SHE A KILLER?
A compelling historical crime novel set in the Greek diaspora of 1950s London – that’s inspired by a true story – The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is perfect for fans of Erin Kelly, Sara Collins, and Jessie Burton.
Pre-order here*
Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes Book 2)
Published November 9th by Tor
Fantasty Fiction, Romance Novel, Romantic Fantasy, Gaslamp Fantasy, Cosy Fantasy, Lesbian Literature, Book Series
SYNOPSIS:
A standalone cosy fantasy about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way from the bestselling author of BookTok sensation Legends & Lattes.
First loves. Second-hand books. Epic adventures.
Viv’s career with the renowned mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk – so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it. What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly what she needs. Still, adventure isn’t far away. A suspicious traveller in grey, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.
Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together . . .
Pre-order here*
Joe Nuthin’s Guide To Life by Helen Fisher
Published November 9th by Simon & Schuster UK
Humorous Fiction, Disability Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Joe loves predictability. But his life is about to become a surprising adventure.
Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like his dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules, and he’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.
Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing notebooks full of advice about the things she hasn’t told Joe yet, things he might forget and answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.
Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.
Pre-order here*
Irresistable: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World by Joshua Paul Dale
Published November 9th by Profile Books
Evolutionary Psychology, History of Japan
SYNOPSIS:
Why are some things cute, and others not? What happens to our brains when we see something cute? And how did cuteness go global, from Hello Kitty to Disney characters?
Cuteness is an area where culture and biology get tangled up. Seeing a cute animal triggers some of the most powerful psychological instincts we have – the ones that elicit our care and protection – but there is a deeper story behind the broad appeal of Japanese cats and saccharine greetings cards.
Joshua Paul Dale, a pioneer in the burgeoning field of cuteness studies, explains how the cute aesthetic spread around the globe, from pop brands to Lolita fashion, kids’ cartoons and the unstoppable rise of Hello Kitty. Irresistible delves into the surprisingly ancient origins of Japan’s kawaii culture, and uncovers the cross-cultural pollination of the globalised world. If adorable things really do rewire our brains, it can help answer some of the biggest questions we have about our evolutionary history and the mysterious origins of animal domestication.
This is the fascinating cultural history of cuteness, and a revealing look at how our most powerful psychological impulses have remade global style and culture.
Pre-order here*
What The River Knows by Isabel Ibanez (Secrets of the Nile Duology)
Published November 14th by Hodderscape
Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
SYNOPSIS:
A divine exploration. A deadly secret. A desire she can’t escape.
‘Expertly plotted, explosively adventurous, and burning with romance’ STEPHANIE GARBER
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in 19th century Egypt, filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns for the most: her globetrotting parents – who frequently leave her behind when they venture off on their exploring adventures.
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archaeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.
With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance-or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
Pre-order here*
The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
Published November 14th by Sphere
Historical Fiction, Religious Fiction, Jewish Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
A moving new novel from the beloved author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven
When the Nazis invade Salonika, Greece, eleven-year-old Nico Crispi is offered a chance to save his family. He is instructed to convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading towards the east, where they are promised jobs and safety. He dutifully goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that the people he loved would never return.
In The Little Liar, Nico’s story is interweaved with other individuals impacted by the occupation: his brother Sebastian, their schoolmate Fanni and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, the consequences of what they endured come to light.
Exploring honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to redeem us.
Pre-order here*
Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson
Published November 23rd by Orenda
Thriller, Suspense, Historical Mystery, Noir Fiction, Hardboiled, Horror Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
An art expert joins a detective to investigate a horrific murder on a Swedish island, leading them to a mystery rooted in Viking rites and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter. The Queen of French Noir returns with a chilling, utterly captivating historical thriller, based on a true story.
Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide?
As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key to the first?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
Pre-order here
Her by Mira V. Shah
Published November 23rd by Hodder & Stoughton
Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS:
YOU WANT TO BE JUST LIKE HER. BUT DO YOU REALLY KNOW HER?
Rani has always felt like an outsider. First growing up among her white, wealthy peers. And now next to her successful, child-free friends. From the tiny rented flat she lives in with her family, she imagines being the kind of woman who owns the beautiful house across the street.
Then Natalie moves in. With her expensive clothes, adoring husband and high-powered job, she has everything Rani wants, and Rani can’t help but be drawn to her new neighbour.
But as the two women strike up a friendship and begin open up, Rani wonders – is Natalie’s perfect-seeming life too good to be true?
Pre-order here*
The Consultant by Im Seong-sun
Published November 23rd by Raven Books
Dark Comedy, Satire, Thriller, Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
‘It’s a clever book … [Im Seong-sun] offers readers his razor-sharp observations on consumerism, capitalism and what it means to feel anonymous’ M.W. Craven
_______________
Sometimes work can be murder…
The Consultant is very good at his job. He creates simple, elegant, effective solutions for. restructuring. Nothing obvious or messy. Certainly nothing anyone would ever suspect as murder.
The ‘natural deaths’ he plans have always gone well: a medicine replaced here, a mechanism jammed there. His performance reviews are excellent. And it’s not as though he knows these people.
Until his next ‘customer’ turns out to be someone he not only knows but cares about, and for the first time, he begins to question the role he plays in the vast, anonymous Company. And as he slowly begins to understand the real scope of their work, he realises just how easy it would be for the Company to arrange one more perfect murder…
But how far will he go to escape The Company? And how far will they go to stop him?
The electrifying first novel from award-winning Korean thriller-writer Im Seong-Sun – now in English for the first time – combines the tension of the best crime fiction with searing social criticism to present a searing take-down of global corporate life.
Pre-order here*
Notes on a Muder by B. P. Walter
Published November 23rd by One More Chapter
Mystery, Suspense, Psychlogical Thriller, Crime Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS:
‘The Talented Mr Ripley meets The White Lotus. Unpredictable, whip smart, utterly absorbing. I ADORED that ending!’ John Marrs
‘One of the most unsettling novels of recent years. It’s also one of the most compelling’ John Boyne
***
Everyone is capable of murder. Are you?
It started with an invitation to dinner. An evening of good food and good company at a luxury villa. But as the night progresses, the party takes a dark turn.
The host makes you an offer, a party favour he calls it: another guest has committed a heinous crime, you can end their life, stop their terror. He tells you there will be no consequences; do you believe him?
Your decision will change your life. Choose carefully.
***
You’ve read The Talented Mr Ripley, you’ve devoured American Psycho, get ready for your next dark obsession! The unrelenting new thriller from Sunday Times bestseller B P Walter is back and available to pre-order now!
Pre-order here*
Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell (A Kay Scarpetta Novel)
Published November 23rd by Sphere
Mystery, Thriller, Pscyhological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Medical Thriller, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS:
THE BREATHTAKING NEW KAY SCARPETTA THRILLER FROM THE 120-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER
Two mauled bodies in the woods. Two top secret autopsies. The most chilling case of Scarpetta’s career . . .
In this thrilling new instalment of the #1 bestselling series, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement.
The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint.
After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this brutal, and why.
‘A chilling, thrilling, macabre masterpiece. Unnatural Death is Patricia Cornwell at her mesmerising finest. The best just got better’
CHRIS WHITAKER, author of WE BEGIN AT THE END
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One Hundred Days by Alice Pung
Published November 23rd by Harper Via
Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
From one of Australia’s most celebrated authors comes a powerful mother-daughter drama that explores the fault lines between love and control, pairing the claustrophobic intensity of Room and My Year of Rest and Relaxation with the youthful angst of Freshwater.
Sixteen and pregnant, Karuna finds herself trapped in her mother’s Melbourne public housing apartment for one hundred days awaiting the birth of her child—and her mother’s next move in a shocking power struggle over who will raise the baby. To fill the seemingly endless hours of her imprisonment, she writes to her unborn child, determined that her baby will know the truth, no matter what happens.
Karuna’s pregnancy is the result of a heady act of independence, lust, and defiance that happened in a moment of freedom from her overprotective mother. In reaction to her daughter’s recklessness, Karuna’s mother locks her inside their apartment to her to make sure she can’t get into any more trouble. While postpartum confinement is a tradition in many cultures, is Karuna’s an act of love—or emotional abuse? As the birth approaches, Karuna and her mother repeatedly trip the fault lines between love and control. And somehow, despite their battles, Karuna recognizes her mother’s love in even the strangest of behaviors.
At times tense and unnerving, One Hundred Days illuminates the pain, confusion, and thrill of growing up and the overwhelming desire of adults to protect the children they
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A Quiet Contagion by Jane Jesmond
Published November 28th by Verve Books
Historical Mystery, Medical Thriller, Mystery, Historical Thriller
SYNOPSIS:
A disquieting contemporary mystery with a historical twist and fast-paced plot, from the author of the Jen Shaw series.
Six decades. Seven people. One unspeakable secret.
1957. A catastrophe occurs at the pharmaceutical lab in Coventry where sixteen-year-old Wilf is working for the summer. A catastrophe that needs to be covered up at all costs.2017. Phiney is shocked by the death of her grandfather, Wilf, who has jumped from a railway bridge at a Coventry station. Journalist Mat Torrington is the only witness.
Left in utter disbelief, with a swarm of unanswered questions, Phiney, Mat and Wilf’s wife, Dora, begin their own enquiries into Wilf’s death. It is soon clear that these two events, sixty years apart, are connected – and that Wilf is not the only casualty.
But what is the link? And can they find out before any more lives are lost?
Pre-order here*
The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
Published November 30th by Bantam Press
Fantasy Fiction, Fairy Tale
SYNOPSIS:
Light and dark – this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed on them by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favourite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister’s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has returned and brought with him the Nutcracker, an enchanted present which offers entry to a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.
In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also a giver of gifts . . . and a maker of dread-filled bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical . . . and decide to which world she truly belongs.
Pre-order here*
A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley
Published November 30th by Gollancz
Romantic Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Fiction, Romance Novel
SYNOPSIS:
Welcome back to Glimmer Falls!
Calladia Cunnington knows she’s rough around the edges and her hot temper can get
the best of her. So when she stops a demon attack one night, she’s horrified to realize the man she saved is none other than the cold-hearted Astaroth.
Astaroth is a legendary member of the demon high council – or at least he was. Suffering from amnesia after being stripped of his immortality and banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn’t know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch hates him so much.
Calladia grudgingly agrees to help Astaroth find the witch who might be able to restore his memory, vowing that once Astaroth is cured, she’ll kick his ass. But the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth… and maybe she doesn’t want him to recover his memories after all.
Pre-order here*
Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright
Published November 30th by Simon & Schuster UK
Literary Fiction, Lesbian Literature
SYNOPSIS:
A hypnotic, sexy, and incisive debut adult novel following one woman’s affair with her daughter’s best friend that tests the limits of love and ambition from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Riding Hood.
It’s opening night, but Alice’s performance in the local Bay Area production of The Winter’s Tale is far from glamorous. She doesn’t have dreams of stardom, but the basement theater in a wildfire-choked town isn’t exactly what she envisioned for her career back home in Los Angeles. To make matters worse, her best friend Sadie is not even coming.
Pragmatic, serious Sadie and flighty, creative Alice have been best friends since high school–really one another’s only friends–but now that they are through with college (which they attended together) and living on opposite ends of California, Alice would at least expect her friend’s support. Sadie, determined not to cancel her plans with her boyfriend, ends up enlisting the help of her mother, Celine.
A professor of women’s and gender studies at UC Berkeley, Celine’s landmark treatise on sex and identity made her notorious, but she’s struggling to write her new book in a post-second-wave feminist world. So, when Sadie begs her to attend Alice’s play, she relents, if only to escape writer’s block. But in a turn of perplexing events, Celine becomes entranced by Alice’s performance and realizes that her daughter’s once lanky, slightly annoying best friend is now an irresistible young woman.
Set over the course of decades–from Alice and Sadie’s early friendship days and Celine’s decision to leave her husband to the radical movements of 1990s Berkeley and navigating contemporary Hollywood–Alice and Celine’s affair will test the limits of their love for Sadie and their own beliefs of power, agency, and feminism. Witty and relatable, sexy and surprising, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright’s debut adult novel is a mesmerizing portrait of the inner lives of three very different women.
Pre-order here*
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Are any of these on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below.
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