Published November 20th, 2025 by Orenda Books Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Hardboiled, Police Procedural, Crime Fiction, Crime Series
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
When two teenagers are found brutally murdered on the island of Lidingö, dressed in white tunics and wearing crowns of candles, former French police officer Maïa Rehn joins local Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery with a shockingly dark heart. The highly anticipated sequel to the international bestselling gothic mystery, Yule Island.
‘A horrific, baffling crime startles a small Swedish community. This is perfect Scandi Noir, dripping with atmosphere. The writing shines, and the story is impossible to resist. Gustawsson is a master’ Shari Lapena
‘A gripping mystery simmering with social outrage – this is what crime fiction should be’ Alexandra Sokoloff
‘Johana Gustawsson is an extraordinarily talented storyteller, with a beautiful, eloquent writing style. Scars of Silence unfolds at a breathless pace, and the climax is devastating’ Kate Rhodes
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Twenty-three years ago, a young woman was murdered on the Swedish island of Lidingö. The island has kept its silence.
Until now…
As autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into chaos: in the space of a week, two teenaged boys are murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles on their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.
Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö after a family tragedy. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery as chilling as the Nordic winter.
As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman.
But what if the victims weren’t who they seemed? What if those long silenced have finally found a way to strike back?
How far would they go to make their tormentors pay?
Happy book birthday to this heart-pounding slice of Scandi-Noir!
The small Swedish community of Lidingo is left reeling when the body of a boy who has been brutally murdered is discovered. He is found dressed as St Lucia: wearing a white tunic with a crown of candles on his damaged skull. Parallels are immediately drawn with another brutal murder 24 years earlier. Aleksander Storm and Maia Rehn work together to try and solve the crime and search for links to the historic murder. When another boy is found killed and dressed in the same way, they start to wonder if they have a serial killer on their hands. And, as they dig deeper, they unearth scandalous secrets that point towards a killer out for revenge after being silenced for too long…
Dark, powerful, atmospheric and heart-poundingly tense, the second book in the Lidingo mysteries packs a punch from the start. Johana Gustawsson has become one of my favourite thriller writers in recent years. A sinister storytelling powerhouse, she gets better with each book and has delivered another nerve-shredding whodunnit that simmers with horror whilst also exploring timely and relevant social issues such as consent. Exquisitely written, cleverly choreographed, fast-paced and filled with surprising twists, Gustawsson had me on the edge of my seat from its shocking opening to its devastating conclusion. And that reveal? I never saw it coming! Bravo, Ms. Gustawsson, bravo.
One of the things I love about a series is coming back to the characters, and it was great to be back with Aleks and Maia. They are compelling characters who I enjoy reading, and this time around both of them are going through their share of turmoil alongside their search for a killer. Gustawsson strikes the balance between their stories and the plot perfectly, never allowing the pace to drop for even a moment as she also helps us develop an even stronger bond with our protagonists. I can’t wait to return for book three!
A darkly chilling and addictive Scandi Noir that you don’t want to miss, I highly recommend this book and series.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part in this blog tour and Orenda Books for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France and is the first in a new series. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Published March 27th, 2025 by Orenda Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Nordic Noir, Hardboiled Mystery, Women Sleuths, Crime Series, Police Procedurals
Welcome to my review for this sensational first installment in an exciting new series. Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Psychologist and expert on body language and memory, Kari Voss investigates the murder of two teenaged girls in the small Norwegian town of Son, as suspicion is cast on multiple suspects. A mesmerisingly dark, twisty start to a nerve-shattering new series by two of the world’s finest crime writers…
‘Blown away by this cracking thriller and I was already loving it before they hit me with THAT ending. Bravo!’ Trevor Wood
‘I absolutely loved this. A body language expert with grief of her own, a devastated community full of secrets, and a final sentence that leaves you reeling. Can’t wait for the next in the series’ Sam Holland
‘This is the perfect thriller’ Michael Wood
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Everyone here is lying…
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
For fans of Harlan Coben, Lars Kepler, Jo Nesbo and Jorn Lier Horst … and The Mentalist
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MY REVIEW:
The first in an exciting new series, Son is a nerve-shredding thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. It introduces us to Kari Voss, a psychologist and expert in language and memory who is often referred to as a ‘human lie detector’. By day, Kari consults with the Oslo Police on cases, and by night, she searches for her son who disappeared on his 9th birthday seven years ago. When two teenage girls are brutally murdered and one of their friends is charged with the crime, Kari is pulled into the investigation. And while the police believe the case is closed, Kari believes the boy could be innocent. So, she starts her own investigation, leading her down a dangerous path that ultimately sees her past and present collide in unexpected ways.
Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger are the writing duo I didn’t know I needed. A sinister storytelling dream team, together they have crafted a masterfully written thriller that is psychologically rich, unbearably tense, intricately interwoven and densely plotted. The story explores a number of topics: grief, trauma, secrets, lies, truth, suspicion, memory and true crime. It is meticulously researched and I enjoyed learning more about how our bodies tell the truth even when we don’t, how our memory isn’t as reliable as we’d like to think and the double edged sword that our true crime fascination can be. It’s thought-provoking, action-packed and left me breathless.
Nothing and no-one is what they seem in this book. Everyone has multiple layers and different sides to them and they choose which parts they show to whom. Gustawsson and Enger use this expertly, creating a layered narrative and characters by carefully showing the reader what they want them to see before slowly unveiling the truth piece by piece. It created heart-pounding tension that had me second guessing myself at every step. Even the book’s title has hidden meaning as it relates to both the disappearance of Kari’s son, and is also the name of the town where the teenagers are murdered.
Kari Voss is a compelling new protagonist who I loved reading. She’s intelligent, determined and strong, but also vulnerable, broken and flawed. My heart broke for her losing her husband, and I can’t imagine the pain of not knowing what happened to your child. I had so much admiration for how she got through each day and appreciated that the authors showed us her flaws too, allowing me to connect with her on a human level. The other characters were equally as well-written and I liked that we could never be completely sure who the bad guy was and there were many suspects for the crime. It kept the tension high while also keeping you guessing right up until the big reveal, which I was NOT ready for.
Dark, suspenseful, hard-hitting and totally addictive, this is a sensational start to a series that every thriller lover should have on their shelves. And that ending! I’m going to need book two ASAP.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
French Johana Gustawsson and Norwegian Thomas Enger are the international bestselling authors of the Roy & Castells and Henning Juul crime series respectively, published in more than 50 countries worldwide. SON, which kickstarts their new series set in Norway, is the first collaboration of the two former journalists. It stars social psychologist Dr. Kari Voss, a world-renowned expert in memory and body language, commonly known as ‘The human lie detector’.
Published March 4th by Thomas & Mercer Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Suspense
BOOK DESCRIPTION: “Electrifying and page-turning, John Marrs is not to be missed.”―#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden
“This is trademark John Marrs and then some.”―Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Mara
Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?
It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?
Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.
As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?
Published March 4th by Del Rey Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, Lesbian Literature, Science Ficiton, Dystopian Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF LADY MACBETH AND A STUDY IN DROWNING
‘There’s one thing about Ava Reid; she doesn’t miss.’ Sasha Peyton Smith ‘You’ll start saving space on your shelf for Ava Reid.’ Kendare Blake
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The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in this stand-alone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.
By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.
Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt―enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.
When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs―the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, she might stand a chance of staying alive.
For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.
As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.
And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.
Published March 4th by John Murray Historical Fiction, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Romance Novel
BOOK DESCRIPTION: IT WAS A SECRET AFFAIR. UNTIL IT WAS A PUBLIC SCANDAL. ‘Lyrical, brutal and passionate. I devoured it’ MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace
‘Evocative, sensitive and compelling . . . Fires directly at the heart and hits the mark’ DELIA OWENS, author of Where the Crawdads Sing
‘Broke my heart then mended it again. An epic, tortured love story. Bring tissues’ JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things
Everyone in the village said nothing good would come of Gabriel’s return. And as Beth looks at the man she loves on trial for murder, she can’t help thinking they were right.
Beth was seventeen when she first met Gabriel. Over that heady, intense summer, he made her think and feel and see differently. She thought it was the start of her great love story. When Gabriel left to become the person his mother expected him to be, she was broken.
It was Frank who picked up the pieces and together they built a home very different from the one she’d imagined with Gabriel. Watching her husband and son, she remembered feeling so sure that, after everything, this was the life she was supposed to be leading.
But when Gabriel comes back, all Beth’s certainty about who she is and what she wants crumbles. Even after ten years, their connection is instant. She knows it’s wrong and she knows people could get hurt. But how can she resist a second chance at first love?
A love story with the pulse of a thriller, Broken Country is a heart-pounding novel of impossible choices and devastating consequences.
Published March 6th by Doubleday UK Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Biographical Fiction
BOOK DESCRPTION: This is the story of three women – one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her mother and a father she adores.
Amelie is first drawn to Henri Matisse as a way of escaping the conventional life expected of her. A free spirit, she sees in this budding young artist a glorious future for them both. Ambitious and driven, she gives everything for her husband’s art, ploughing her own desires, her time, her money into sustaining them both, even through years of struggle and disappointment.
Lydia Delectorskaya is a young Russian emigree, who fled her homeland following the death of her mother. After a fractured childhood, she is trying to make a place for herself on France’s golden Riviera, amid the artists, film stars and dazzling elite. Eventually she finds employment with the Matisse family. From this point on, their lives are set on a collision course….
Marguerite is Matisse’s eldest daughter. When the life of her family implodes, she must find her own way to make her mark and to navigate divided loyalties.
Based on a true story, Madame Matisse is a stunning novel about drama and betrayal; emotion and sex; glamour and tragedy, all set in the hotbed of the 1930s art movement in France. In art, as in life, this a time when the rules were made to be broken…
Published March 6th by Viper Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Legal Thriller, Political Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A trial is rather like a play. We wear our costumes. We perform to the audience. And on a good day no-one gets murdered.
Six nights a week the cast of the smash-hit play Daughter of the Revolution performs to a sold-out audience. A thrilling story of forbidden marriage and a secret love child, the critics say it’ll run for years. That is until one night the third act ends not in applause but in death, when leading lady Alexandra Dyce is beheaded live on stage.
Every cast member has a motive, but it is the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – Hollywood legend Leo Lusk who is charged with the crime. When defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in last minute, he knows this ought to be the case of a lifetime. But Charles would rather be on his holiday trekking up K2, and he isn’t interested in celebrities, especially ones that seem to be mysteriously trying to derail their own defence. But as he and his co-counsel New York lawyer Yara Ortiz sift through the evidence, it becomes clear that clues may lie in the play itself. And that Charles’s only chance of victory is to identify the real murderer…
A delightfully clever legal mystery with as many layers as an onion. Perfect for readers of Janice Hallett, Tom Hindle, Rob Rinder and Richard Osman.
Published March 6th by Corvus Thriller, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you. Not right away of course, because where’s the fun in that?
When an empty passenger plane mysteriously crashes in the Lake District, journalist Carly Atherton is determined to get to the truth of what happened – the love of her life was one of the two pilots on board.
But when she contacts the family of the other pilot, the conflicting memories of his wife and his sister draw her into a story far darker than she could possibly have imagined.
As Carly delves into the dynamics of a seemingly ordinary family, she realises that the bonds that shape us can also tear us apart – and that sometimes there are monsters living among us, hiding in plain sight…
Published March 6th by Harvill Secker Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The sea stole him from her. Could it bring him back?
Winter, 1900. A little boy washes up on the beach of a small fishing village in Scotland, barely alive. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy’s son, lost to the sea many years before.
When the village is snowed in, Dorothy agrees to look after the child until he can be returned home. But, as the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets in this tight-knit community start to come to light. And Dorothy finds herself thrown together again with the reclusive fisherman Joseph, after years of keeping their distance.
Bursting with tension and tenderness, this is an exquisite love story that delves into the griefs and hopes that can lie behind village gossip.
Published March 6th by Penguin UK Literary Fiction, Translated Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A must-read debut. Funny and frank, this book lingers in the mind long after you turn the final page’ BBC Books of 2025
Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka Isawa has severe spine curvature and uses an electric wheelchair and ventilator. Within the limits of her care home, her life is lived online: she studies, she tweets indignantly, she posts outrageous stories on an erotica website. One day, a new male carer reveals he has read it all – the sex, the provocation, the dirt. Her response? An indecent proposal…
Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award and acclaimed instantly as one of the most important Japanese novels of the 21st century, Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.
PublishedMarch 11th by Bloomsbury Publishing Historical Fiction, War Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms ___________________________________
Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone.
Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann.
But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world – where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival.
With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.
Published March 13th by Bloomsbury Publishing Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the bestselling author of The Miniaturist. Jessie Burton’s Hidden Treasure is the phenomenal page-turning story of two children whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure with the power to return to them the most precious thing they have ever lost
For the people who live on the banks of the Thames, the river is a living, breathing thing. It can take your treasures. It can hide your treasures. And, sometimes, it can give them back.
Bo and Billy are two children who have never met. Billy is an orphan. Bo’s dad died when she was small and now her brother is off to war. Both children are poor, but they have each found half of a priceless treasure, given up by the river. A treasure which – when the pieces are reunited – holds the power to give back to one of them the most precious thing they have ever lost.
But should the treasure be put back together again? And why has the river given it up now?
For fans of Katherine Rundell and Philip Pullman’s The Ruby in the Smoke, Hidden Treasure is a classic in the making, with a rip-roaring plot, spine-tingling twists and an unforgettable cast of characters.
Published March 13th by Orenda Books Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Nordic Noir, Police Procedural, Hardboiled Mystery, Women Sleuths
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Everyone here is lying…
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
For fans of Harlan Coben, Lars Kepler, Jo Nesbo and Jorn Lier Horst … and The Mentalist
It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.
As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
Published March 13tb by The Borough Press Dystopian Fiction, Humorous Science Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Annie is nine months pregnant.
She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA.
That’s when the massive earthquake hits.
There’s nothing to do but walk.
Annie is 37 weeks pregnant, standing in IKEA, finally about to take home the crib she should have bought months ago. That’s when it happens – the long-anticipated Cascadia Earthquake, dismantling Portland and the entire Pacific Northwest in a matter of minutes.
Propulsive, disruptive, funny, terrifying, Tilt is a novel about how the foundations of our lives are built and shaken. About a woman trying to walk back to the husband she’s long been pushing away. About put-off dreams and inevitability and what makes us keep moving forward.
Published March 13th by Faber & Faber Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A MUST-READ NOVEL OF 2025 IN THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, GQ, ELLE, WATERSTONES AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, AMONG OTHERS ‘Brave, wry, cool, and thrilling.’ Andrew O’Hagan ‘Original, vital, and unputdownable.’ Tess Gunty ‘Breathtaking … a precise dissection of class, wealth and power.’ Elizabeth Day
In the new novel from the author of Assembly, a viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers.
Remember – words are your weapons, they’re your tools, your currency.
Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar.
A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers.
Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean. The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown’s Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away.
Published March 13th by Serpent’s Tail Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A BOOK TO WATCH IN 2025 IN THE GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, ROLLING STONES AND THE BBC
‘As innovative, insightful, funny, and confronting as we’ve come to expect from Peters’ work’ Independent, Best Books to Look Out for in 2025
‘A shining talent’ Stylist Best Books of 2025 ‘Hot, heartbreaking and thrillingly victorious’ MIRANDA JULY ‘Potent and surprising and takes no prisoners’ CARMEN MARIA MACHADO ‘Spellbinding. With pathos and wit, Peters explores characters on the brink of self-discovery’ BRIT BENNETT
Deep in the forest, a group of restless lumberjacks working an illegal logging outfit plan a winter dance that some will volunteer to attend as women; the broadest, strongest axeman finds himself caught in a rivalry with a pretty, young jack that culminates in jealousy, betrayal and an astonishing spectacle of transition. Meanwhile, in other times and places, the gender apocalypse is brought about by an unstable ex-girlfriend; an illicit boarding-school romance surfaces intrigue and cruelty; and a Las Vegas party weekend turns dark when a young crossdresser must choose between a thrilling mystery man or a veteran trans woman offering unglamorous sisterhood.
In this quartet of tales, Torrey Peters’ keen eye for the rough edges of desire reveals fresh possibilities. Acidly funny, boldly inventive and breathtaking in scope, Stag Dance provokes and unsettles, inspires and delights.
Published March 13th by The Borough Press Literary Fiction, Contemporary Ficiton
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The first time Joe plays Percy one of his songs in his college room in 2000, she instantly realises three things:
One, she is watching a star in the making.
Two, she can shape his music into something extraordinary.
Three, she will always be on the sidelines.
She swallows her jealousy and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques.
But there’s an undercurrent to the music they’re making – something undeniably electric, hurtling towards love. And then, almost inevitably, towards heartbreak.
As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence?
And can he exist there without her?
Deep Cuts is an irresistible novel about passion and obsession, love and longing and, above all, our need to be heard.
Published March 13th by Bloomsbury Publishing Thriller, Suspense
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘With biting, mordant humor, Chilton sends readers on a serial killer hunt for our disassociated, true-crime-obsessed social media age.’ ASHLEY WINSTEAD, bestselling author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife
Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything: – Her crumbling flat in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its award-winning sausage rolls and a second-rate serial killer from the 90s). – Her dead-end job. – Her sleazy landlord. – Her slobbish housemates. – And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.
Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up:
Everyone in the group chat will die.
It’s the first text her ex-flatmate and social-media sleuth Esme has sent for ages, but that’s not the really weird thing.
The really weird thing is, Esme died twelve months ago.
Don’t miss the new laugh-out-loud thriller from L.M. Chilton, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies – a murder mystery that fuses the flatmate comedy of Friends with the serial-killer thrills of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Published March 13th by Faber & Faber Mystery, Cosy Mystery, Thriller, Women Sleuths
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The first in a sparkling new 1950s seaside mystery series, featuring sharp-eyed former nun Nora Breen.
In a house like Gulls Nest, curiosity might prove fatal . . .
After thirty years in a convent, Nora Breen has thrown off her habit and set her sights on the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. Her fellow sister Frieda has gone missing and it’s up to Nora to find her.
Nora’s only clue is that Frieda was last seen at Gulls Nest boarding House. So she travels down, takes a room and settles in to watch and listen. Over dubious – and sometimes downright inedible – dinners, Nora gathers evidence about the other lodgers and what they knew about Frieda.
At long last, Nora has found the perfect outlet for her powers of observation and, well, nosiness. When one of the lodgers is found dead, Nora decides she must find the murderer. Not least because she suspects the victim knew Frieda. Could solving this mystery help her to understand what has happened to her friend?
Published March 13th by Cornerstone Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A story of obsession, love and murder – and not the one you’re expecting. . . Discover a gripping new thriller with a killer twist at its core.
When Claire surprises her fiancé, Noah, at work for their anniversary, she’s the one who ends up being shocked to her core …
Because Noah left the company nine months ago, and she had no idea. How can she not have known?
Now he isn’t answering her calls. He won’t respond to her messages. He’s disappeared.
As Claire desperately tries to find her fiancé, her world begins to shatter as the truth about who Noah really is starts to emerge.
And things are about to spiral dangerously out of control . . .
Published March 13th by Hodder & Stoughton Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Adventure Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Celebrated writer and historian Maria Graham must make the treacherous voyage from Brazil to London to deliver her latest book to her publisher. Having come to terms with the loss of her beloved husband, Maria is now determined to live her life as she pleases, free from the smothering constraints of Georgian society.
For a woman travelling alone it’s a journey fraught with danger, and as civil war rages around her, the only ship prepared to take Maria belongs to roguish smuggler Captain James Henderson. Onboard, all is well until Maria makes two shocking discoveries – the first a deadly secret, the second an irresistible attraction to the enigmatic captain.
With Henderson on a journey of his own and determined to finally put his life of crime behind him, he and Maria grow ever closer. But can Henderson escape his illicit past or will the scandalous secret he’s hiding ruin them both?
Published March 13th by Harper Voyager Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fairy Tale, High Fantasy, Romance Novel, Fantasy Comedy
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Howl’s Moving Castle meets The House in the Cerulean Sea in Andrea Eames’ debut cosy fantasy: a cheeky butcher’s daughter, a befuddlingly handsome sorcerer, and his clever talking cat unlock magical secrets in the dark heart of their kingdom –and just might discover the meaning of true love.
Everyone in Foss Butcher’s village knows what happens when the magic-workers come; they harvest human hearts to use in their spells. That’s just how life in her kingdom works. But Foss, plain, clumsy, and practical as a boot, never expected anyone would want hers.
When a sorcerer snags a piece of Foss’s heart without meaning to, she is furious. For once a heart is snagged, the experience is … well, unpleasant. So, Foss finds herself stomping toward the grand City to keep his enchanted House and demands that he fixes her before she keels over and dies, or whatever happens when hearts are Snagged.
But the sorcerer, Sylvester, is not what she expected. Petulant, idle, and new to his powers, Sylvester has no clue how to undo the heart-taking, or how to do much of anything really, apart from sulk. Foss’s only friend is a talking cat and the walls themselves have moods.
As Foss searches for a cure, she accidentally uncovers that there is much more to the heart-taking – and to the magic-workers themselves – than she could have ever imagined…
Published March 13th by Pushkin Press Dystopian Fiction, Horror Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A fearsomely dark, incantatory new dystopia set in a post-apocalyptic convent from the author of viral sensation Tender is the Flesh
‘Barbaric, brutal and utterly beautiful. The Unworthy is a searing haunt of a novel that I will never forget’ LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB
In the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, the unworthy live in fear of the Superior Sister’s whip. Seething with resentment, they plot against each other and await who will ascend to the level of the Enlightened – and who will suffer the next exemplary punishment.
Risking her life, one of the unworthy keeps a diary in secret. Slowly, memories surface from a time before the world collapsed, before the Sacred Sisterhood became the only refuge.
Then Lucía arrives. She, too, is unworthy – but she is different. And her presence brings a single spark of hope to a world of darkness.
Published March 20th by Picador Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A woman determined to make her mark. A journey that will change everything.
‘Ratchets up the pace until it’s hurtling along as fast as the train itself’ – Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Room and The Pull of The Stars, Emma Donoghue takes readers on a thrilling ride through a simmering turn-of-the-century Paris on the edge of a dazzling future.
Autumn, 1895. Paris is as chaotic as it is glamorous, with industry and invention creating huge wealth and terrible poverty. One morning, an anarchist boards the ill-fated Granville to Paris express train, determined to make her mark on history.
Aboard the train are others from across the globe: the railway crew who have built a life together away from their wives, a little boy travelling alone for the first time, an artist far from home, a wealthy statesman and his invalid wife, and a young woman with a secret.
Truths are revealed and relationships forged as the train speeds towards the City of Light and a future that will change everything . . .
Published March 20th by W&N Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Satire, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Decisions were made: I made them. Violence was done: I did it. Crime scenes were fled: I fled them. People were hurt: I hurt them. Someone was loved: I loved them. Not everything I did was bad. Just most of it. A scholarship kid with straight As and massive potential, Evie Gordon always thought she was special, that she’d be someone.
But after graduating from an elite university, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as a private tutor to the children of Los Angeles’s super-rich.
Everything changes when Evie arrives at the Victor family’s lavish mansion for her weekly lesson to discover, not the bored teenager she excepted, but pure carnage: the bloody remains of Mr and Mrs Victor sullying their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help from within the walls of the house.
Within moments, Evie and the woman go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives.
Suddenly at the heart of a nation-wide manhunt, Evie finds that her mysterious companion, who refuses to speak, has quickly become the most important person in her upside-down life. Meanwhile, the press runs wild with Evie’s story – anointing her the new Charles Manson, a blood thirsty ninety-nine percenter looking to start a class war.
Evie is – finally and disastrously – someone.
Droll, dark and deeply insightful, Killer Potential is an edge-of-your-seat break-neck ride, a queer love story, and a darkly funny critique of the horrors of late capitalism and how the stories we’re sold about our potential can shape the course of our lives.
I Want To Go Home But I’m Already There by Roisin Lanigan
Published March 20th by Fig Tree Psychological Fiction, Horror Fiction, Urban Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Renting is a nightmare…
Áine should be feeling happy with her life. She’s just moved in with Elliot. Their new flat is in an affluent neighbourhood, surrounded by bakeries, yoga studios and organic vegetable shops. They even have a garden. And yet, from the moment they move in, Áine can’t shake the sense that there’s something not quite right about the place…
It’s not just the humourless estate agent and nameless landlord: it’s the chill that seeps through the draughty windows; the damp spreading from the cellar door; the way the organic fruit and veg never lasts as long as it should. And most of all, it’s the upstairs neighbours, whose very presence makes peaceful coexistence very difficult indeed.
The longer Áine spends inside the flat – pretending to work from home; dissecting messages from the friends whose lives seem to have moved on without her – the less it feels like home. And as Áine fixates on the cracks in the ceiling, it becomes harder to ignore the cracks in her relationship with Elliott…
Brilliantly observed and darkly funny, I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There is a ghost story set in the rental crisis. A wonderfully clear-eyed portrait of loneliness, loss and belonging, it examines what it means to feel at home.
Published March 20th by Bantam Historical Fiction, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery
BOOK DESCRIPTION: INTRODUCING ROSE BURNHAM: DESIGNER, DRESSMAKER . . . DETECTIVE?
South-east London, 1925.
Talented, ambitious designer-dressmaker Rose Burnham knows well both the strains of her profession and the secrets it can yield. Newly established in her own business, she and her sisters are privy to the hushed conversations that unspool behind the fitting room’s closed doors.
So when a major client finds herself the victim of a deception, it is Rose she tells. Driven by the shortage of men following the Great War, Miss Holmes had engaged the services of a matrimonial agency, only to be cheated out of her inheritance by a fake suitor.
Rose is determined to bring the swindler to justice. To begin with, playing the detective is a grand adventure, but as pressures mount and an old friend receives a troubling string of poison-pen letters, Rose discovers there is more to investigating – and these investigations – than she’d bargained for.
Rose had the sense of a thread being pulled. One tug and everything could unravel . . .
Published March 20th by Tor Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Lesbian Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A wedding should be fun . . . right?
The Princess Bride meets Travis Baldree in Tea You at the Altar, the third cosy fantasy in Rebecca Thorne’s bestselling Tomes & Tea series. Our sapphic adventurers must navigate the ultimate maelstrom – their own wedding!
Kianthe and Reyna are finally ready to walk down the aisle. This feels so right, but their plans are going all wrong. Pirates crowd the town, Kianthe’s estranged parents invited themselves, the baby dragons are causing mayhem – and they might run out of tea. Yet the truth overshadows everything . . . for their wedding has nothing to do with marriage, and everything to do with overthrowing the vicious Queen Tilaine.
But the Queendom’s secret heir would rather manage a hive of bees or study city planning than take the throne. As the big day nears and the coup unravels, Kianthe and Reyna must rely on each other and their friends to survive the experience. Six days until they say ‘I do’. Six days until the Realm changes for ever.
Published March 27th by Bantam Press Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY BY LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN, STARRING JACK REACHER AND THE ENIGMATIC MAGGIE BIRD. . .
The Summer Guests is the exhilarating and gripping new thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast.
THE MARTINI CLUB ISN’T OPEN TO EVERYONE . . .
Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching.
But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive.
For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft. And now, a missing teenager down by the lake.
When their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl’s disappearance, Maggie and her Martini Club must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves. Leaving Jo to deal with not only a powerful family desperate for answers, but a meddlesome group of retirees.
Can Jo and the Martini Club find a way to work together, as they uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen?
Published March 27th by Quercus Mystery, Crime Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The much-anticipated sequel to How To Solve Your Own Murder
Annie thought the murders were over. She was wrong.
It is autumn in Castle Knoll and Annie Adams is busy settling into her new home. She doesn’t find Gravesdown Hall particularly cosy, especially since she found two dead bodies there over the summer. What’s more, ever since she arrived in the village, Annie has had the creeping sense she’s being watched.
Lonely, and desperate for some company, Annie starts talking to a stranger she meets in the grounds of the estate. The striking old woman introduces herself as Peony Lane, the fortune-teller who predicted Great Aunt Frances’ murder all those years ago. And now she has a fortune to tell Annie.
Desperate not to fall into the same trap as Frances, Annie flees Peony Lane, refusing to hear any of her grim predictions. But she can’t outrun Peony for long, as hours later she finds her, dead on the floor of Gravesdown Hall, a ruby-hilted dagger plunged into her back.
But who killed the mysterious fortune teller and why? And can Frances’ library of evidence help Annie solve the case?
Published March 27th by Michael Joseph Mystery, Crime Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller, Regency Romance, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: “Who are you, Miss Austen, but a young lady of little experience and no consequence?”
Welcome to Kent, 1797. Following many years apart, Jane Austen is set to spend the summer with her estranged brother, Neddy. As heir to wealthy widow Mrs Knight’s fortune, it is imperative that Neddy stays in his benefactor’s good graces. The financial security of Jane’s entire family depend on him.
But upon arrival at Godmersham Park, Jane quickly realises Neddy is in dire need of her help. For a mysterious young woman currently resides with Mrs Knight – a stranger who threatens to swindle the inheritance for herself.
Jane must uncover who this imposter is, to protect the fortunes – and fate – of her family. But when her investigation takes a dark and dangerous turn, can she solve the mystery – and save herself?
Published March 27th byBantam Press Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Supernatural Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the bestselling author of The Cloisters comes this electrifying thriller about an affluent family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces . . . think The Talented Mr Ripley meets Succession meets The White Lotus . . .
On the glittering island of Capri, anything can be a mirage. But one thing is true: there’s nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose . . .
The world was shocked by playwright Sarah Lingate’s death thirty years ago at an opulent, white-washed villa on the island of Capri. Absolved of the crime, the Lingate family maintains that what happened that night was a tragic accident. And every July they return to Capri to prove it’s true.
This time, Helen Lingate – sole heir to the family fortune – has a plan. Tightly controlled by her father, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to free herself from her family’s stranglehold on her life. And yet, behind closed doors, the legendary Lingate family unity is at breaking point. Upon arrival at the villa in Capri, an anonymous gift awaits them: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.
In the aftermath, the paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel. As the investigation into her mother’s death is reopened, Helen begins to lose trust in everyone around her: her controlling father Richard, drug-addled aunt Naomi, aloof uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past she realizes is frustratingly opaque. And as the family fractures, the long-hidden truth about that night and the secrets they’ve kept from one another boil to the surface – and they might not leave the island alive.
Published March 27th by Hodder & Stoughton Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: What would you do if your childhood sweetheart was accused of murder?
Justine Stone left her hometown in Essex eighteen years ago, and she hasn’t looked back since. Married to Noah, with a beautiful house and a high-flying career as a barrister, she rarely thinks about her ex-boyfriend, Jake.
Until she’s given her first murder case, and sees his face staring up at her, charged with a horrific double murder.
The Jake that Justine loved would never have hurt anyone. But as evidence begins to come to light, Justine has to face up to the fact that perhaps she never really knew Jake at all. And as the past begins to merge with the present, Justine’s life that she’s worked so hard to create begins to fall apart.
You can run from your secrets. But they’ll always catch up with you.
Published March 27th by Head of Zeus Mystery, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: DON’T MISS THE NEXT ADDICTIVE THRILLER FROM TIKTOK SENSATION AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR ASHLEY WINSTEAD.
It’s the most famous crime in modern history. But only she knows the true story.
After her father dies suddenly, Jane Sharp finds a strange comfort in TheRealCrimeNetwork.com, where she befriends four amateur sleuths from across the country.
The group dives into its research dutifully, but when three college students are viciously stabbed to death, seemingly at random, the entire online-sleuth community is set ablaze. Jane and her team decide to take their investigation into the real world, travelling to small-town Idaho to find answers – only to discover the truth is more shocking than any of their previous cases.
Told one year after the astounding events that left the world reeling, Jane tells the true story of the Delphine Massacres.
And what she has to confess will shock even the most seasoned true-crime fans…
A poignant commentary on the consumerization of true crime, an exploration of society’s fascination with murder, a moving meditation on grief, and a brutally satisfying murder mystery with a shocking twist ending, This Book Will Bury Me is Ashley Winstead at her best. Perfect for readers of All Good People Here and Bright Young Women.
Published March 27th by Hodder & Stoughton Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Religious Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Ninth-century Mainz, in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire.
Agnes is the motherless child of an English priest – a wild and brilliant girl with a deep, visceral love of God. But when tragedy strikes, she is suddenly forced to choose between what is expected of her and the life she has always dreamed of. Determined to find her own freedom, she disguises herself as a man, securing a place at the revered Fulda monastery and forever altering the course of her existence.
Thus begins the life of John the Englishman: a matchless scholar and scribe of Fulda, then a charismatic heretic in an Athens commune and, by her middle years, a celebrated teacher in Rome. There, she dazzles the Church hierarchy with her knowledge of the old and new languages of Europe, theology and Church law, and finds herself at the heart of political intrigue in a city where gossip is a powerful – and deadly – currency.
And when the only person who knows her identity arrives in Rome, she will risk everything to once again feel what it is to be known – and loved.
Published March 27th by Mountain Leopard Press Historical Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: DARKNESS LIES IN THE SHADOWS OF VICTORIAN LONDON
Opium, treachery, murder . . .
Pearl Fitzgerald arrives in Limehouse – London’s very first Chinatown – to settle her late father’s affairs and claim her inheritance. But when she unwittingly finds herself at the scene of a murder, her plans are thrown off course. Even more so by the alluring Mei, sister to the dead man. Utterly infatuated, Pearl promises Mei that she will bring her brother’s killer to justice, and she dives into the East End’s criminal underworld.
But in the city of smoke and silk, where cultures clash and the hangman’s noose is always waiting, the truth comes at a cost. With each step of the investigation Pearl risks her livelihood, her relationship with Mei, and her life. Because the killer will strike again, and they’re already hunting for the next victim . . .
Opium smuggling, murder and unexpected romance meet in this historical thriller for fans of Leonora Nattrass, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Sarah Waters.
Published March 27th by HarperNorth Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Would it kill you to smile, darling? Perhaps…
A men-only charity dinner. A clutch of young waitresses.
The jokes are uncomfortable. The hands linger. The collars loosen.
Behind closed doors, the wine flows.
The night is dark. The faces blur. The memories warp.
Behind closed doors, the money flows.
But revenge is sweet and justice is a burning flame.
Behind closed doors, the blood flows…
A fierce and addictive read about lust and power, the love we want versus the love we take, and the tinderbox secrets that hide so well in the heart of families, this is the searing new novel from the author of Spilt Milk.
Published March 27th by Hodder & Stoughton Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Sometimes all it takes is one long summer weekend for the person you thought you hated to become something more...
After a disastrous first meeting, Cassie and Marc become arch nemeses. He might have great cheekbones and a sexy French accent but he’s a terrible person who did a terrible thing. Too bad that Cassie’s best friends Lucy and Russell think he’s wonderful.
But years later, when an unexpected tragedy strikes their friendship group, Cassie and Marc team up to give Lucy and Russell the best weekend ever so they can make new memories with all of their favourite people. Which means convincing everyone that Cassie and Marc are head over heels in love.
After hating him for so long, it takes four bittersweet days for Cassie to wonder if she got Marc all wrong. Can they let go of their troubled past and together, face whatever the future is going to throw at them?
Published March 27th by Doubleday UK True Crime, Biography
BOOK DESCRIPTION: No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim’s story …
On 1 February, 1910, vivacious musichall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild who demanded an immediate investigation.
They could not have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret, followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen.
Hiding in the shadows of this evergreen tale is Crippen’s typist and lover, Ethel Le Neve – was she really just ‘an innocent young girl’ in thrall to a powerful older man as so many people have since reported?
In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, prizewinning social historian Hallie Rubenhold gives voice to those who have never properly been heard – the women.
Featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, glamorous lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, STORY OF A MURDER is meticulously researched and multi-layered, offering the reader an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era.
Today I’m sharing my list of thrillers I’m most anticipating this year. There’s so many good ones that it was hard to narrow them down!
The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club Pick The Last Thing He Told Me comes a riveting mystery wrapped in an epic love story . . . _________
One beautiful Californian evening, a wealthy businessman falls to his death from his secluded cliff-top house onto the rocks below.
A tragic accident? Or murder?
Nora and her half-brother Sam suspect it may be the latter, and team up to uncover the truth of what really happened that night.
But their relationship has never been easy, and it is about to be tested to the limit as they start to question how well either of them really knew their elusive father.
Unravelling his mysterious past takes them back to a world they knew nothing about, to a tangled love affair and a web of relationships that other people would far rather stay buried…
Filled with passion, intrigue, lies, and dark, dark family secrets, The Night We Lost Him is a page turning mystery you won’t ever want to put down.
A Serial Killer’s Guide To Marriage by Asia Mackay
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A couple that kills together stays together. DISCOVER THE ADDICTIVE THRILLER READERS CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT
Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they’re ex-serial killers.
They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder.
Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.
But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox’s back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family.
This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.
Published January 14th by Wildfire Pre-order here*
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The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French
BOOK DESCRIPTION: She thinks it was murder. But if she can’t trust herself, can anyone else?
Nancy North and her boyfriend Felix are making the move across London to Harlesden. A new flat, a new area, a new start. Because while Nancy is fine now, she wasn’t fine before. But settling into the new flat and meeting the new neighbours isn’t helped by Felix’s hovering concern. She is all right. She is sticking to her breathing exercises and doctor-prescribed help.
So, when their new neighbour Kira Mullan is found dead by suicide, Felix is understandably worried about Nancy’s frame of mind. But Nancy saw Kira the day before she died and she didn’t strike her as someone who was suicidal – she was upset and angry, yes, but was she upset and angry enough to take her own life?
Nancy is the only one convinced that there’s more to Kira’s death than has been discovered. But all the police and the neighbours see is a vulnerable woman who isn’t sure of what she saw, and might even be imagining things . . .
Is Nancy imagining things, or are there more questions that should be asked about the last days of Kira Mullan?
Published January 16th by Simon & Schuster UK Pre-order here*
****
Death in the Arctic by Tom Hindle
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A frozen wilderness.
A killer in the skies.
When aspiring travel writer Chloé Campbell is invited aboard a luxury airship flying to the North Pole, she thinks she’s bagged the opportunity of a lifetime.
But she hasn’t had long to admire the dazzling icy views before a fellow passenger is found dead in their cabin.
Trapped at the top of the world, the group agrees a tragic accident has occurred. But as the hours tick by, fear turns to doubt.
It seems everyone’s a suspect.
And it isn’t long before the passengers begin to turn on each other . . .
BOOK DESCRIPTION: It’s not dust she’s looking for. It’s dirt.
Esmie is supposed to be invisible. Just a cleaner with a foreign accent that no one quite has time to place. Her uniform of leggings and a duster allows her to explore the homes of the wealthy, unseen; an outsider creeping around the edges of privilege.
But as she sweeps through the exclusive Woodlands gated neighbourhood, cleaning is the last thing on her mind. Treading silently over the polished wooden floorboards and cloud-soft carpets, Esmie gathers up the mess of broken marriages, quiet deceptions and careless failures. She tucks away their fragments, keeping them safe. For now.
Because one of the residents took from her the person she loves most. She’s not here to clean; she’s here for revenge – and she’ll get it using the weapons her employers unwittingly handed her along with the keys to their homes: their own secrets…
This beautifully sinister, propulsive page-turner that explores themes of identity and privilege is perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce and Lisa Jewell.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A twisted Southern Gothic horror from Grady Hendrix, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group.
‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’
They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.
Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to keep her baby and escape to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.
Every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: In this mesmerising thriller from the bestselling author of Keep Her Secret, a family’s fresh start is just the beginning of their nightmare…
Ethan Dove’s family has moved to a new home in a safe community, and it’s exactly the fresh start they need. Not only is his marriage to Emma hanging by a thread, but his son, Dylan, and twelve-year-old daughter, Rose, deserve to have a happy childhood.
After Rose is bullied by the boys across the road, Ethan is relieved when the woman who lives next door steps in. Fiona Smith has come into their lives at just the right moment, and when she offers to look after Rose during the school holidays, Ethan and Emma can’t believe their luck.
Which is exactly what Fiona wants. Because, far from being the perfect neighbour, Fiona is the last person you should trust with your child. With a vicious plot for revenge, Fiona is happy to train Rose to be her accomplice, especially when she begins to suspect that Rose might not be as innocent as she appears…
The Psychopath Next Door is a gripping and twisted psychological suspense thriller set in the terrifying world of Mark Edwards’s bestselling The Magpies universe.
Published January 28th by Thomas & Mercer Pre-order here*
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Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.
Published January 30th by Pan Macmillan Pre-order here*
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Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
BOOK DESCRIPTION: It’s Camilla’s first day back at work, her daughter’s first day at nursery. But husband Luke is nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him is an unfinished note. Camilla tries to put it out of her mind; there must be a rational explanation. At work, there are welcomes back, and too many distractions.
Then it starts.
Breaking news: there’s a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive: Luke is caught up in it.
But he isn’t a hostage. Luke – doting father, successful writer, enthusiastic runner and eternal optimist – is the gunman.
What Camilla does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind says, and the clues it might hold . . .
Published January 30th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
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I Bet You’d Look Good in a Coffin by Katy Brent
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Your favourite anti-heroine, Kitty Collins, is back! Expect more wit, sass, and, of course, murder…
***********
My name is Kitty Collins and I’m a serial killer.
I don’t want to kill. It’s just so hard to resist. Some men really, really deserve it.
Men like Blaze Bundy, an anonymous influencer spreading misogyny online. He’s making it very hard for me to control my murderous urges.
Meanwhile I’m in the South of France to watch my mother marry a man I’ve never met. I should be drinking cocktails and focusing on my tan, not plotting a murder.
But a woman’s work is never done. Surely one more teensy little kill wouldn’t hurt, would it?
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.
Published February 13th by Headline Pre-order here*
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The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
BOOK DESCRIPTION: SOME MURDERS CAN’T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.
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.
Published February 13th by Quercus Pre-order here*
****
Dirty Money by Charlotte Philby
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.
Published February 13th by Baskerville Pre-order here*
****
Other People’s Houses (DC Morgan, 3) by Clare Mackintosh
BOOK DESCRIPTION: 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 . . .
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?
Published February 27th by Headline Pre-order here*
****
Small Fires by Ronnie Turner
BOOK DESCRIPTON: 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.
Published February 27th by Orenda Books Pre-order here
****
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
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 skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?
It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?
Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.
As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?
Published March 4th by Thomas & Mercer Pre-order here*
****
A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A trial is rather like a play. We wear our costumes. We perform to the audience. And on a good day no-one gets murdered.
Six nights a week the cast of the smash-hit play Daughter of the Revolution performs to a sold-out audience. A thrilling story of forbidden marriage and a secret love child, the critics say it’ll run for years. That is until one night the third act ends not in applause but in death, when leading lady Alexandra Dyce is beheaded live on stage.
Every cast member has a motive, but it is the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – Hollywood legend Leo Lusk who is charged with the crime. When defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in last minute, he knows this ought to be the case of a lifetime. But Charles would rather be on his holiday trekking up K2, and he isn’t interested in celebrities, especially ones that seem to be mysteriously trying to derail their own defence. But as he and his co-counsel New York lawyer Yara Ortiz sift through the evidence, it becomes clear that clues may lie in the play itself. And that Charles’s only chance of victory is to identify the real murderer…
A delightfully clever legal mystery with as many layers as an onion. Perfect for readers of Janice Hallett, Tom Hindle, Rob Rinder and Richard Osman.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you. Not right away of course, because where’s the fun in that?
When an empty passenger plane mysteriously crashes in the Lake District, journalist Carly Atherton is determined to get to the truth of what happened – the love of her life was one of the two pilots on board.
But when she contacts the family of the other pilot, the conflicting memories of his wife and his sister draw her into a story far darker than she could possibly have imagined.
As Carly delves into the dynamics of a seemingly ordinary family, she realises that the bonds that shape us can also tear us apart – and that sometimes there are monsters living among us, hiding in plain sight…
Son (Kari Voss Mysteries Volume 1) by Johana Gustawasson and Thomas Enger
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Psychologist and expert on body language and memory, Kari Voss investigates the murder of two teenaged girls in the small Norwegian town of Son, as suspicion is cast on multiple suspects. A mesmerisingly dark, twisty start to a nerve-shattering new series by two of the world’s finest crime writers…
_________________
Everyone here is lying…
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
Published March 13th by Orenda Books Pre-order here
****
Murder at Gull’s Nest (Nora Breen Investigates, Book 1) by Jess Kidd
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The first in a sparkling new 1950s seaside mystery series, featuring sharp-eyed former nun Nora Breen.
In a house like Gulls Nest, curiosity might prove fatal . . .
After thirty years in a convent, Nora Breen has thrown off her habit and set her sights on the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. Her fellow sister Frieda has gone missing and it’s up to Nora to find her.
Nora’s only clue is that Frieda was last seen at Gulls Nest boarding House. So she travels down, takes a room and settles in to watch and listen. Over dubious – and sometimes downright inedible – dinners, Nora gathers evidence about the other lodgers and what they knew about Frieda.
At long last, Nora has found the perfect outlet for her powers of observation and, well, nosiness. When one of the lodgers is found dead, Nora decides she must find the murderer. Not least because she suspects the victim knew Frieda. Could solving this mystery help her to understand what has happened to her friend?
Published March 13th by Faber & Faber Pre-order here*
****
Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L. M. Chilton
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Don’t miss the new laugh-out-loud thriller from L.M. Chilton, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies – a murder mystery that fuses the flatmate comedy of Friends with the serial-killer thrills of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything: – Her crumbling flat in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its award-winning sausage rolls and a second-rate serial killer from the 90s). – Her dead-end job. – Her sleazy landlord. – Her slobbish housemates. – And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.
Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up:
Everyone in the group chat will die.
It’s the first text her ex-flatmate and social-media sleuth Esme has sent for ages, but that’s not the really weird thing.
The really weird thing is, Esme died twelve months ago.
Publihsed March 13th by Bloomsbury Publishing Pre-order here*
****
The Summer Guests (The Martini Club 2) by Tess Gerritsen
BOOK DESCRIPTION: INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY BY LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN, STARRING JACK REACHER AND THE ENIGMATIC MAGGIE BIRD. . .
The Summer Guests is the exhilarating and gripping new thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast.
‘I love this new series . . . The Summer Guests is a cracker of a mystery! I couldn’t put it down.’ SHARI LAPENA
THE MARTINI CLUB ISN’T OPEN TO EVERYONE . . .
Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching.
But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive.
For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft. And now, a missing teenager down by the lake.
When their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl’s disappearance, Maggie and her Martini Club must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves. Leaving Jo to deal with not only a powerful family desperate for answers, but a meddlesome group of retirees.
Can Jo and the Martini Club find a way to work together, as they uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen?
How To Seal Your Own Fate (The Castle Knoll Files, 2) by Kristen Perrin
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Annie thought the murders were over. She was wrong.
It is autumn in Castle Knoll and Annie Adams is busy settling into her new home. She doesn’t find Gravesdown Hall particularly cosy, especially since she found two dead bodies there over the summer. What’s more, ever since she arrived in the village, Annie has had the creeping sense she’s being watched.
Lonely, and desperate for some company, Annie starts talking to a stranger she meets in the grounds of the estate. The striking old woman introduces herself as Peony Lane, the fortune-teller who predicted Great Aunt Frances’ murder all those years ago. And now she has a fortune to tell Annie.
Desperate not to fall into the same trap as Frances, Annie flees Peony Lane, refusing to hear any of her grim predictions. But she can’t outrun Peony for long, as hours later she finds her, dead on the floor of Gravesdown Hall, a ruby-hilted dagger plunged into her back.
But who killed the mysterious fortune teller and why? And can Frances’ library of evidence help Annie solve the case?
A Fortune Most Fatal (Miss Austen Investigates Book 2) by Jessica Bull
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Exceptional – the Austen whodunnit I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for! I loved it’ SOPHIE IRWIN
“Who are you, Miss Austen, but a young lady of little experience and no consequence?”
Welcome to Kent, 1797. Following many years apart, Jane Austen is set to spend the summer with her estranged brother, Neddy. As heir to wealthy widow Mrs Knight’s fortune, it is imperative that Neddy stays in his benefactor’s good graces. The financial security of Jane’s entire family depend on him.
But upon arrival at Godmersham Park, Jane quickly realises Neddy is in dire need of her help. For a mysterious young woman currently resides with Mrs Knight – a stranger who threatens to swindle the inheritance for herself.
Jane must uncover who this imposter is, to protect the fortunes – and fate – of her family. But when her investigation takes a dark and dangerous turn, can she solve the mystery – and save herself?
Published March 27th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
****
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean
BOOK DESCRIPTION: It’s the story everyone wants to hear.
That spring night in South London, when Isabel and Edward’s lives were torn apart.
The night Isabel learned that the worst things wait, just outside the door.
The night Edward learned that he was powerless to stop them.
The night they never talk about.
When their attacker is caught, it’s finally time to tell the story of that night.
Not to the world. Or to the man who did it. But to each other.
This is a story of murder. This is a story of survival. But most of all, this is a story of love.
Published March 27th by Harper Fiction Pre-order here*
****
The Vipers by Katy Hays
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the bestselling author of The Cloisters comes this electrifying thriller about an affluent family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces . . . think The Talented Mr Ripley meets Succession meets The White Lotus . . .
On the glittering island of Capri, anything can be a mirage. But one thing is true: there’s nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose . . .
The world was shocked by playwright Sarah Lingate’s death thirty years ago at an opulent, white-washed villa on the island of Capri. Absolved of the crime, the Lingate family maintains that what happened that night was a tragic accident. And every July they return to Capri to prove it’s true.
This time, Helen Lingate – sole heir to the family fortune – has a plan. Tightly controlled by her father, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to free herself from her family’s stranglehold on her life. And yet, behind closed doors, the legendary Lingate family unity is at breaking point. Upon arrival at the villa in Capri, an anonymous gift awaits them: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.
In the aftermath, the paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel. As the investigation into her mother’s death is reopened, Helen begins to lose trust in everyone around her: her controlling father Richard, drug-addled aunt Naomi, aloof uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past she realizes is frustratingly opaque. And as the family fractures, the long-hidden truth about that night and the secrets they’ve kept from one another boil to the surface – and they might not leave the island alive.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The chance discovery of an injection that wards off age-related disease is hijacked by ruthless men who hunger for immortality, with catastrophic consequences. Two women race against time to stop them, before it’s too late … a chilling, prescient, high-stakes speculative thriller by the bestselling author of One. –––––
Living forever can be lethal…
Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.
Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year wards off age-related diseases, guaranteeing long, healthy life.
But Ruth’s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, and his elderly billionaire backer, who hunger for immortality, and SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are the Supers, and the population begins to rocket.
Then, a perilous side-effect of SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed.
Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.
But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for both of them…
Published April 10th by Orenda Books Pre-order here
****
The Maid’s Secret (Molly the Maid, 3) by Nita Prose
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A hidden treasure. A hotel heist. Only THE MAID can solve the mystery…
*THE SPARKLING NEW MYSTERY FROM THE NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MAID*
–––––
Molly the maid is no stranger to secrets…
She sees everything behind closed doors at the Regency Grand hotel: wiping away the dust and grime of guests passing through.
But one secret lies much closer to home.
An old trinket – a faux Fabergé egg – is revealed to be a precious antique during an appraisal at the hotel, making Molly a rags-to-riches sensation. But no sooner has the egg shown its value than it’s stolen: vanishing without a trace.
Determined to crack the case of the missing Fabergé, Molly begins dusting for clues – uncovering a mystery that stretches deep into the past.
For in the pages of a long-forgotten diary, written by her late gran, lie the secrets that could unlock all others – and only Molly holds the key…
Published April 10th by Harper Fiction Pre-order here*
****
The Liar by Louise Jensen
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The nail-biting new thriller from Louise Jensen that’s impossible to put down…
The Abbotts’ new lodger Luke hasn’t told them much about himself, but they can’t expect to know everything about a stranger who’s just moved in.
But Luke keeps asking about their family photos and looking through their things. Why does he want to know everything about them? And why does daughter Jen think someone is watching her?
Then, suddenly, Mum Mel texts the family to say she needs a break. But Mel has never gone away alone before. And now it’s been days, and no one has heard from her.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘There is nothing like it. The way the world gets real quiet when a gator’s nearby…And then the water, suddenly boiling as that black head surfaces and the ancient reptile erupts into the air hissing like a devil…The way the crack of the rifle seems to come from deep inside Cutter. The way she feels it in her throat; she knows she’s a good killer – and yet. She is stalling…’
The Labasques aren’t like other families. Living in a shack out in the swamps, they scrape a living hunting down alligators and other animals just to get by. To the good people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are trouble-makers, outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn’t want living on your doorstep. So when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care, not even her two rough-cut brothers. The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter’s childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her ageing mother. Loyal left town at the age of 18, having betrayed Cutter. Now there may be no way to find forgiveness, but there may be restitution…
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the author of In the Blink of an Eye, the Sunday Times bestseller, winner of the CWA ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back in a cutting-edge new thriller.
The truth will always come out, but at what cost?
Fresh from successfully closing their first live case, the Future Policing Unit are called in to investigate when a headless, handless body is found on a Warwickshire farm. But as they work to identify the victim and their killer, the discovery of a second body begins to spark fears that The Aston Strangler is back. And as the stakes rise for the team, so do the tensions brewing within it.
When DCS Kat Frank is accused of putting the wrong man behind bars all those years ago, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – pursues the truth about what happened with relentless logic. But Kat is determined to keep the past buried, and when she becomes the target of a shadowy figure looking for revenge, Lock is torn between his evidence-based algorithms and the judgement of his partner, with explosive results.
When everything hangs in the balance, it will all come down to just how much an AI machine can learn, and what happens when they do . . .
Publsihed April 24th by Simon & Schuster UK Pre-order here*
****
The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other . . .’
In January 1989, Birdie wakes to the news she’s been waiting eighteen years to hear. Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister, has been freed from jail.
Birdie leaves for London with a gun and a plan: to find him and make him pay. But this is a story with two sides. For Birdie knew Jimmy a long time ago, in a life she’d sooner forget. Theirs is a past of broken bonds and friendships burned, and a terrible secret kept hidden in the shadows. Did Jimmy kill Birdie’s sister, or is he the only one she can really trust?
As Jimmy travels south to face his past he can sense that something is hunting him. Birdie lingers there in the darkness, watching, as the past and present hurtle toward each other . . .
Full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex is a breathtaking mystery about love and revenge, the many shades of justice and what it means to be free.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Don’t miss the new novel from Eleni Kyriacou, author of BBC Between the Covers pick The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou.
PLAY THEIR GAME Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.
DO WHAT THEY SAY London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.
OR THEY’LL BURY YOU Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.
A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Why hadn’t she said to her daughter I love you beyond reason and none of this matters at all and every day that you breathe is a gift?’
Rafaela Acuña y Daubón remembers everything that matters: her beautiful childhood in San Juan, her marriage to Peter, uprooting their children, Ruth and Benny, to the American Midwest, and losing all sense of her place in the world. So she tells no one when her memory begins to slip.
Her daughter, in New York with a family of her own, wishes she could forget her muddy feelings about where she comes from – the same feelings which motivated her 22-year-old daughter Daisy to reconnect with their past.
Daisy, who has momentarily forgotten everything, hears the word critical in a hospital room in San Juan and remembers, all at once, the car that hurtled towards her, the terrible storm, and something else. What was it?
Now Ruth and Rafaela must return to the city where it all began, to gather by Daisy’s bedside and confront the twists of fate that have caused a growing rift in their family and led them to this moment.
Published May 13th by Tinder Press Pre-order here*
****
Let the Bad Times Roll by Alice Slater
BOOK DESCRIPTION: New Orleans: Then.
Alone in New Orleans, Selina is struggling to fit in. When a charismatic stranger invites her for a drink, she’s grateful for the company – but as their friendship grows, she can’t help but sense a darkness within her new friend. Who is Daniel, and what does he want from her?
London: Now.
Daniel is missing. No one has seen or heard from him in weeks. Beside herself with worry, his sister Caroline hosts an intimate gathering in her beautiful North London home so those closest to Daniel can come together and compare notes.
But all isn’t quite as it seems: Caroline has invited a stranger to the table, an accomplished psychic who claims to have met Daniel four thousand miles away in New Orleans.
As evening turns to night, the dark truth of what really happened in New Orleans begins to emerge…
Published May 15th by Hodder & Stoughton Pre-order here*
****
They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Escape to Bali in this gripping new sunlounger thriller, for fans of Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware.
‘THE NEW QUEEN OF THE GLAMOROUS DESTINATION THRILLER’ ELLERY LLOYD
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .
Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They’ve been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing ’til dawn . . . Even living and working together.
So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.
But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.
Which is hardly surprising; they’ve been lying to each other for years.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?
Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.
Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.
While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.
Published May 29th by Renegade Books Pre-order here*
****
A Sharp Scratch by Heather Darwent
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do To Our Friends, comes a timely, gripping novel about the dark underbelly of wellness culture
‘DARWENT HAS A GREAT CAREER AS A THRILLER WRITER AHEAD OF HER’ SUNDAY TIMES
We can fix you.
It’s a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen.
So far, it’s been a lie.
But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn – a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn’t broken, just special.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: One dead wife is tragic. Two looks like murder… ________
The school gates have never been so dangerous…
When newly divorced Jude arrives in the small town of Lowbridge, she is soon drawn to the enigmatic Will, father to her young daughter’s best friend.
But Will’s devastating past holds questions that nobody knows the answer to – and after two tragedies tore his life apart in just a few short years, gossip and rumours abound about what really happened to the women he loved.
Because whilst one dead wife is tragic, two starts to look like murder…
BOOK DESCRIPTION: First comes gossip … then comes revenge
When single mum Lola Martinez’s son, Luca, starts school, she feels that she’ll never fit in with the yummy mummies in the playground. Confident, married to wealthy men, with ample free time, they are everything she isn’t.
However, Lola is invited into the inner circle, surrounded by seemingly friendly people, even if Lola’s silence about her child’s father puzzles them. Despite herself, Lola quickly becomes involved in playground politics, making as many enemies as friends.
But then Lola is brutally murdered, her death rocking the close-knit community. As the police investigate the case, they discover that Lola was hiding many secrets – as are the mums in her new social circle. But who had the most reason to kill her? And who else might unwittingly hold the answers to what happened that night?
An addictive psychological thriller with an end twist that will make you gasp, for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan and Frieda McFadden. If you loved Big Little Lies, you’ll adore this.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge.
In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.
Under false pretenses, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of authorities waiting at the end of the line. Justice will at last be served.
But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. As the train barrels through the night, it becomes clear that someone else on board is enacting their own form of revenge-and that they won’t stop until everyone else is dead.
With time running out before the train reaches its destination, Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most. In order to destroy her enemies, she must first save them-even though it means putting her own life at risk.
Published June 12th by Hodder & Stoughton Pre-order here*
****
Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The ‘most original writer in Britain’ (Daily Express) returns with a mind-blowing, high-concept new thriller.
‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review ________
The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly.
And it’s coming.
The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its citizens: One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.
Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them… nice.
Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind.
But governments don’t want a population in agreement. They want conflict and outrage and fear. Reasonable people are harder to control.
Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved. Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end.
But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all…
Published June 19th by Orenda Books Pre-order here
****
We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Welcome to North Falls―a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.
Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.
For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help―and now she must bring her home.
But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.
Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?
Published June 19th by Harper Fiction Pre-order here*
****
What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Don’t miss the brand-new gripping thriller and courtroom drama full of twists and turns that will keep you up at night!
* * * *
Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace.
When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about.
And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is strangely calm – and a body lies dead at her feet.
Lily pleads not guilty, and then says nothing more. Driven by her desire to give a voice to all victims, Safa begins her own investigation into what happened that night.
But Safa is not prepared for what her quest for justice will uncover …
Into the Fire (Helen Grace Thriller, 13) by M. J. Arlidge
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Nowhere to hide. No-one to turn to. Nothing to lose.
Helen Grace is sure she made the right decision to quit the force. Until the day she looks out from her window to see a desperate young woman being beaten by two thugs.
Still a force to be reckoned with, Helen races into the night and strikes the men down. For a moment, it feels like she doesn’t need her badge to do good, but as she leads the girl to safety, she’s struck from behind, regaining consciousness just in time to see the victim being dragged into a white van.
Helen’s determined to find the woman and save her, but even begging her former colleagues to help gets her nowhere. It’s clear it’ll be up to her alone to make the rescue.
Taking matters into her own hands, Helen uncovers more women connected to the first who need her help. But fighting crime as a maverick is a dangerous game. One that could cost Helen her life, and the life of those she holds most dear…
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A stingingly brilliant new psychological thriller from the 5 million copy-bestselling author of Here to Stay and The Magpies
“I loved this brilliant, edgy, character driven thriller with a passion. So clever and fresh with a wild and incredibly satisfying twist at the end.” Lisa Jewell
******
Summer 1999. Will joins five other idealistic graduates working for an eccentric psychology professor. They’re going to launch a website to change online dating forever.
No-one expects it to end in tragedy.
Twenty-five years later, Will gets an invitation: a dinner party. A chance to see the old gang again.
But as soon as he arrives, something doesn’t seem right.
There’s an unexpected guest. The hosts are clearly keeping a secret. And on the way in, Will is sure he heard crying.
Everyone has something to hide about what really happened that summer.
But only one of them is willing to kill to find the truth…
Published July 17th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
****
Hidden Requests by Louise Candlish
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A gripping new thriller from the author of Our House, packed full of stunning twists!
One woman’s secret is another’s scandal…
It’s rare for a room in beautiful, iconic Columbia Mansions to be up for grabs and retiree Gwen is thrilled when its new occupant Pixie turns out to be the most delightful neighbour she could have wished for. Before long the two women have formed an unlikely age-gap friendship and Gwen is making herself useful to Pixie in all kinds of ways.
But when a crime comes to light Gwen’s protective instincts go into overdrive, igniting an appetite for revenge that none of the residents are prepared for.
The last thing they need in Columbia Mansions is a scandal.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: When Nina was just five years old, her family’s whole world was torn apart when her seventeen-year-old sister Tamara was found dead in the pool of their Cote d’Azur property. Nina’s evidence led to the conviction of their housekeeper’s daughter and occasional babysitter seventeen-year-old Josie for Tamara’s murder. But when new evidence emerges to suggest that Josie was innocent, Nina is forced to question the accuracy of her memories, her role in one of the most notorious cases of the past twenty years, and what actually happened to her sister on that hot summer day.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: It’s never too late to teach an old woman new murders…a razor-sharp, edge-of-your-seat new thriller from Sunday Times bestseller Samantha Downing, available to pre-order now!
***********
You’d never guess Lottie Jones had skeletons in her closet.
She’s lived in town for decades now. She’s getting older. She lives for the simple pleasures of weekly bingo games at church, and gossiping with her friends about their children’s love lives.
But when investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past, and specifically about her connection to numerous unsolved murders, well, Lottie just can’t have that.
But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realises this crime might just be the death of her…
Published August 28th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
****
The Watcher by Helen Fields
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A face in the crowd. A killer in the shadows…
________
On the dark streets of Edinburgh, a killer is waiting.
When a body is found, it is only the beginning. Soon there will be seven more.
In the city’s hospital, renowned surgeon Beth Waterfall is grieving.
Her beloved only daughter fell prey to a vicious stalker a year previously – and now he’s coming for her too.
Edinburgh’s police are desperate.
After one body comes another, and then another. The brutal deaths are all seemingly unconnected, and yet DS Lively and forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine know they are dealing with a serial killer – they just need to prove it.
But time is running out, and The Watcher is already set on making Beth Waterfall his next victim…
The million-copy international bestseller returns with a gripping serial killer thriller that will have you hooked from the first page to the very last.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Get ready for the sudden-death round…
Mal and Sue Eastwood were once the kindly landlords of a local village pub, The Case is Altered. They ran a weekly pub quiz and were well liked by their customers and colleagues alike, always happy to lend a helping hand. But now The Case stands empty, its windows boarded up. What could have happened to Mal and Sue?
Did The Case close because it was failing? Was it because of the body pulled from the nearby river? Or perhaps it had something to do with the quiz? It had always been a quiet affair, five teams of locals battling it out for a small prize pot. Until one day a mysterious new team of outsiders arrived, and started winning every round…
Only by sifting through the quiz sheets, the WhatsApps, and Mal and Sue’s hidden past may the truth be revealed. Someone’s not playing fair, so get the drinks in and see if you can get a perfect score.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘I love an Erin Kelly book! The worlds she creates are so rich and alive’ JANE FALLON
St Cordula’s Convent, 1487. Sister Matilda is pregnant and has been banished from the convent: the only home she has ever known. Outside, the snow is swirling. She knows she will not survive a night on the Yorkshire moors. In despair, she climbs to the top of the Abbey and writes the words GOD FORGIVE ME in chalk on the wall, then throws herself down the stairs.
In 2024, life within St Cordula’s Boarding School is changing. The oldest convent school in England is about to merge with a local boys’ school and a new deputy head, Fiona Fox, has arrived. The only constant seems to be the building itself, the iconic school uniform – nun-like navy blue hooded capes – and the words GOD FORGIVE ME, re-painted every year first by nuns and then by schoolgirls who believe that the spirit of Sister Matilda will keep the school safe as long as her words are never allowed to fade from the wall.
Only once in the school’s history have the words disappeared, and when they did, students were afflicted by violent attacks of vertigo. Only three people know the full truth of what happened and the scandal that was hushed up.
Fiona has one week left to keep the news of the merger under wraps and then the deal is done – until another outbreak of vertigo drags the past into the light. Old superstitions rear their ugly heads, and the girls take it upon themselves to investigate the previous outbreak, putting the school – and themselves – in terrible danger …
Published September 4th by Hodder & Stoughton Pre-order here*
****
59 Minutes by Holly Seddon
BOOK DESCRIPTION: If you knew you had fifty-nine minutes until everything and everyone you love would be lost forever, what would you do with that time?
It’s an ordinary evening. People are coming home from work, cooking dinner for their children, cuddling on sofas with their lovers. And then the message arrives, shattering everyone’s worlds:
Missiles are set to destroy England in fifty-nine minutes. Everyone should seek immediate shelter.
59 minutes follows the journey of three women trying to make it home to and protect their families. The journeys should be simple, but with a lost schoolchild seeking help, a teenage daughter suddenly going missing, and dangerous criminals on the prowl, there is peril at every corner.
59 Minutes is a gripping, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching thriller perfect for fans of WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME, THE CHAIN and Lisa Jewell.
Published November 21st, 2024 by Orenda Books Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Suspense, Fairy Tale, Historical Mystery
Today is my stop on the blog tour to celebrate the paperback publication of this mesmerising gothic fiction. Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for the proof copy of the book.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
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 gothic thriller, based on a true story. FIRST in the The Lidingö Mysteries series.
‘Scarier than anything … a dark, dark slice of atmospheric Scandi Noir’ Heat Heat magazine *Book of the Month*
‘The pace steadily accelerates as Gustawsson orchestrates her plot with breathless ingenuity. A successful page-turner from a rising star’ Financial Times
‘Gustawsson’s writing is so vivid, it’s electrifying’ Peter James
** Winner of the Livre de Poche Readers Crime of the Year and Cultura Ligue de l’Imaginaire Award**
________
Don’t
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?
Trust
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?
Anyone
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…
********
MY REVIEW:
OMG. My mind is completely blown and I’m still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor after reading this mesmerising gothic thriller. Darkly atmospheric, unsettling and original, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Art expert Emma Lindahl has come to the manor house on the island of Storholmen to appraise the artwork belonging to the Gussman family. But that isn’t all this house is famous for. It is also the place where the infamous hanging girl was found nine years ago. A brutal murder that remains unsolved. And when the body of another young woman is found in the icy waters that surround the island, it looks like Detective Karl Rosen might have found a connection between the crimes. What follows is a breathtaking story of murder, dark secrets and Norse mythology that you won’t be able to put down.
You know when you pick up one of Johana Gustawsson’s books that you should expect the unexpected; a heart-stopping thrill-ride that you can’t put down. Yule Island is all that and more. From the moment I read the author’s note at the start I was in Gustawsson’s thrall, feeling like I’d actually stepped inside the book as I read in breathless anticipation. Expertly written and cleverly plotted, this is a masterclass in storytelling. I was blindsided as she pulled the rug from under me again and again, not giving me time to catch my breath before delivering yet another shocking revelation. As tension builds, Gustawsson intricately interweaves meticulously researched Norse mythology and Swedish history to keep you on the edge of your seat. ‘The Queen of French Noir’ is living up to her title and it’s easy to see why this book has already received so much acclaim.
Gothic fiction is one of my favourite genres and Gustawsson absolutely nailed the dark, gothic vibes of this story from the start: the cold weather, an isolated island shrouded in silence, an old, echoing manor house filled with mysterious residents and the trappings of faded opulence, the screams that can be heard randomly, and the haunting history of the hanging tree. Knowing that Storholmen is a real island and this is all based on a true story adds to the unease that permeates every page. This is one of those books that will have you looking for the monsters that lurk in the shadows and I loved every second.
Told from multiple points of view, the characters are fascinating, relatable and richly drawn. The two protagonists, Emma and Karl, are very different in terms of age, circumstance and perspective. I enjoyed their distinct voices and seeing the investigation from both a professional and lay perspective. But they have similarities too: both are intelligent, determined and have a sober air that surrounds them. I enjoyed how Gustawsson slowly teased their backstories, allowing us to feel invested in their lives and root for them before making us question everything as we wonder if they are unreliable after all. There was a third narrator, Viktoria, who was a housekeeper at the manor. Her chapters gave us a glimpse of life behind the closed doors of the manor and added to the mystery that surrounds it. The background characters are just as well written and I loved the sense of community that existed on the island and how they welcomed Emma into their midst when a lot of small communities will make outsiders feel like just that. But it did make me wonder about the killer as it surely had to be one of the three hundred residents on Storholmen. Could one of them really commit vicious crimes like these while looking their neighbours in the eye? Or was there another explanation?
Claustrophobic, eerie, sinister and unnerving, Yule Island is an absolute must-read. An outstanding Gothic thriller that is perfect for this time of year, I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.
Rating: ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
2023 has been an amazing year for reading. I’ve read a total of 113 books and there were so many that stood out that it was difficult to get my list down to just thirty.
So, here’s my 30 favourite books I’ve read this year. You can find links to my reviews by clicking on the title. Read to the end to find out my overall favourite of the year.
This gothic thriller was a fantastic way to start out my reading year. Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye hoping to leave his past behind him but discovers the past will always catch up to you in this dark, hypnotic and unnerving debut. Published January 19th, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
C. J. Tudor is back with another unmissable heart-pounding thriller. A group of students find themselves stranded in a snowstorm while a killer rages. The start of my review perfectly sums it up: “C. J. Tudor has done it again. Chilling, tense and twisty, this is one f****d-up rollercoaster ride that packs a punch from the first page.” Published January 19th, 2023 by Michael Joseph. Buy here*
Almost a year after reading, just thinking about this book makes me smile. It follows 43-year-old Ted who is happily married to his husband of twenty years, Giles. Or so he thinks until the day Giles announces he’s leaving him and shatters his whole world. Forced to reflect on not only his relationship, but his whole life, Ted decides that maybe now is the time to finally become who he was always meant to me. Joyful, heartwarming and uplifting, this fabulous story reminds us it is never too late to follow our dreams. Published January 19th, 2023 by Headline. Buy here*
Sassy and spirited, this feels like Jane Austen with a modern flare, following Kitty Talbot as she searches for a husband with a fortune to save her family. Perfect for fans of historical fiction and romance, this is a glorious debut. Published May 12th, 2022 by Harper Collins UK. Buy here*
Tokyo, many years in the future, and 17-year-old John, a tech prodigy, meets Neotina at a cafe late one night. The sparks are instant but both are hiding a secret that they are terrified of being discovered. Mesmerising, dreamlike and unforgettable, this is a masterpiece story for all of those who have never fit in. Published March 16th, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
This atmospheric Victorian gothic mystery was our March Squadpod Book Club pick. It follows newly widowed Margaret Lennox as she takes up her new position as governess at Hartwood Hall and discovers a place filled with dark secrets. A phenomenal debut by an author to watch. Published March 30th, 2023 by Michael Joseph. Buy here*
Catriona Ward did it again, scaring me silly and leaving my jaw on the floor. Best read blind, this is another original, terrifying and surprising thriller from one of the most unique voices in fiction. Published April 20th, 2023 by Viper Books. Buy here*
Jennifer Saint tells the heroic story of the only female Argonaut in this lush, atmospheric and enthralling novel, telling us the famous story of Jason and the Argonauts from a new persepective. Unmissable. Published April 13th, 2023 by Wildfire. Buy here*
The Squadpod Book Club pick for April was another deliciously dark debut. Death of a Bookseller tells the story of Roach, a bookseller, loner and true crime obsessive who becomes obsessed with social butterfly Laura when she starts working at the bookshop. Quirky, sinister and addictive, this grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until the last page. Utterly brilliant. Published April 27th, 2023 by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*
Polly Crosby shows why she’s one of my favourite authors with this mesmerising historical thriller. Vita and the Birds tells the story of two women whose lives are inextricably linked by decades-old secrets. Hauntingly atmoshpheric, luminous and unsettling, this story consumed me and was a contender for my book of the year. Published May 25th, 2023 by HQ. Buy here*
A deliciously dark slice of Victiorian gothic, this is a story about life’s outsiders and oddities. Filled with an eclectic cast of memorable characters, it tugged at my heart strings, made me rage and gave me hope. A gorgeous story that all historical fiction fans need to read. Published June 22nd, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
Jack Jordan is one of the best modern thriller writers and Conviction shows us why. Another unbearably tense and addictive thriller, it follows Barrister Neve Harper as she’s faced with an impossible choice: put an innocent man behind bars or everyone she loves will be killed. A nerve-shredding moral dilemma thriller, this is the kind of book you cancel plans to stay home reading. Published June 22nd, 2023 by Simon & Schuster UK. Buy here*
Set in a future where a catastophic climate emergency has left our world in chaos and the UK is now run by the Nazi-esque ONE Party. Everything is heavily monitored, there are consumption quotas in place. Kai Houghton, one of the ‘baby reapers’ in charge of enforcing the ONE Partie’s one child policy, recieves an alert that turns her world upside down and forces her to choose between her family and the policies she believes in. Thought-provoking, gripping and uncompromising, this is one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. Published July 20th, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
I was lucky to be one of the first bloggers to read The Actor, a riveting thriller with a bigger Oscar night controversy than Will Smith and Chris Rock. This is going to be a huge hit when it’s released in 2024. Published January 18th, 2024 by Michael Joseph. Pre-order here*
Antoher Squadpod Book Club hit, The Good Daughter is the second novel from Laure van Rensburg and there’s no sign of sophmore syndrome in sight in this sensational thriller. It’s a story of cuts, indoctrination, dark secrets and trauma that sinks its claws into you at the start and doesn’t let go until it’s jaw-dropping finale. An absolute must-read. Published August 3rd, 2023 by Michael Joseph. Buy here*
This is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. Sassy and unputdownable, it follows Dr. Miriam Price as she tries to solve her own murder from beyond the grave. It’s one of those books I knew I’d love from the first page and reading it was like a big warm hug. I can’t wait to read more from Maz Evans. Published August 3rd, 2023 by Headline. Buy here*
I read this with the Historical Fiction Book Club and what a joy it was. Endurance Proudfoot is an unusual girl with an unusual dream: she wants to be a bonesetter. But that isn’t a job for girls and Durie faces an uphill struggle to prove herself in a man’s world. Thank you Frances Quinn for introducing the world to this original and wonderful heroine. Published July 21st, 2022 by Simon & Schuster UK. Buy here*
This has been a great year for darkly funny books and amazing anti-heros. You’d Look Better As A Ghost is a deliciously unhinged and hilarious thriller about a hammer-wielding murderess who was the best serial killer I’ve read since Rhiannon from the Sweetpea sereis. One of my favourite books this year. Published September 21st, 2023 by Viper Books, Buy here*
Gorgeously gothic and eerie, this was my favourite Squadpod Book Club pick of the year. Emily Blackwood arrives at Castle Parras to begin a new comission cataloguing a collection of creatures for sale. The remote house is inhabited by a perculiar nonagerianan and haunted by the disappearance of a woman fifty years earlier. After she finds a hidden diary, Emily sets out to solve the mystery in its pages. Can she find out the truth before the darkness entraps her? A twisty puzzle that was also a contender for book of the year, this is a must for any gothic lover. Published June 22nd, 2023 by Michael Joseph. Buy here*
I was so mad at myself for letting this book languish on my shelves for so long. A unsettling and sinister story from the modern queen of gothic mysteries, I listened to this on audiobook and was completely enthralled as the lines between what is real, imaginary and supernatural were experly blurred. One of Ms. Purcell’s best books yet. Published September 19th, 2019 by Raven Books. Buy here*
This was book I wish I’d read sooner. Shamefully, it was my first time reading a book by Johana Gustawsson and I am an instant fan. She lives up to her title of ‘Queen of French Noir’ with this cunningly crafted gothic thirller. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Published September 15th, 2022 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
It’s been the year for gorgeous gothic fiction, and Fyneshade was the most huanting and disquieting of all. A story of betrayal, temptation and dark secrets, this is a story where the monsters not only lurk in the shadows, but inside your own mind. Marta is a wonderful protagonist who was nothing like I expected and everything I could have wanted. Filled with mystery and suspense, this is a bewitching novel you won’t want to put down. Published May 18th, 2023 by Viper Books. Buy here*
A haunted house story with a dash of fantasy, Starling House was gorgeously dark sotry filled with magic, monsters and mystery. Dreamlike and bewitching, this is a book that lives up to the hype. Published October 31st, 2023 by Tor. Buy here*
Paul Cleave just keeps getting better. Menacing and mind-blowing, I couldn’t put this book down. I loved that Cleave never did what we expected, giving me book whiplash from the many twists and turns.A must read for any thriller-lover. Published November 9th, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
The Wolf Den Trilogy comes to a bittersweet end in one of my most anticipated books of the year. Will Amara and her friends survive the eruption of Versuvius? You’ll have to read to find out. Published November 9th, 2023 by Head of Zeus. Buy here*
Will Carver delivers another original and deliciously diabolical thriller in this prequel to The Beresford. Just read it. You’ll thank me. Published November 9th, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
I’m ashamed that it has taken me until I’m almost 45 to read this classic, but the advantage of that is I got to read it in a buddy read with author Polly Crosby that was so much fun. I now get the hype. If you haven’t ever read this one, I suggest giving it a try. Published September 27th, 2018 by Chiltern Publishing. Buy here*
Anna O hasn’t opened her eyes since the night four years ago when her two best friends were found brutally murdered and she was discovered in a deep sleep. Anna is the only suspect but ever since the debate has raged: is she innocent or guilty? Doctor Benedict Prince is the man charged with waking her so the world can finally decide. This astonishing debut is best described as Sleeping Beauty meets The Silent Patient and is going to be the thriller everyone is talking about it 2024. This is one you don’t want to miss. Published February 1st, 2024 by Harper Collins UK. Pre-order here*
This heart-pounding thriller was my favourite audiobook this year. A gripping thriller filled with delicious anticipation and sucker-punch twists, it keeps you on your toes from start to finish. Just make sure you’ve got a lot of free time when you pick this up as you’ll not want to put it down until you’re finished. Published July 20th, 2023 by Century. Buy here*
It’s safe to say I’m a certified Johana Gustawsson fan after this year. A story of unsolved murder, dark secrets and Norse mythology, Yule Island is an addictive thriller with a jaw-dropping twist I’m still trying to recover from. A must read for fans of thrillers and gothic fiction, this was a sensational start to a new series. Published November 23rd, 2023 by Orenda Books. Buy here.
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So, what is my favourite book of 2023? Drumroll please….
It’s Fyneshade! This was a hard decision as so many books could have taken the title.
Have you read any of these books? What was your favourite read this year?
Published November 23rd, 2023 by Orenda Books Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Gothic Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Hard-boiled Mystery, Horror Fiction, Occult Horror, Translated Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the unsettling Yule Island. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Karen at Orenda for the proof copy of the book.
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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 gothic thriller, based on a true story. FIRST in a new series.
‘Gustawsson’s writing is so vivid, it’s electrifying’ Peter James
‘Remember her name. Johana Gustawsson has become a leading figure in French crime fiction [and] Yule Island is impossible to put down’ Le Monde
***Winner of the Cultura Ligue de l’Imaginaire Award 2023***
________
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 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 his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
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…
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MY REVIEW:
OMG. My mind is completely blown and I’m still trying to pick my jaw up from the floor after reading this mesmerising gothic thriller. Darkly atmospheric, unsettling and original, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Art expert Emma Lindahl has come to the manor house on the island of Storholmen to appraise the artwork belonging to the Gussman family. But that isn’t all this house is famous for. It is also the place where the infamous hanging girl was found nine years ago. A brutal murder that remains unsolved. And when the body of another young woman is found in the icy waters that surround the island, it looks like Detective Karl Rosen might have found a connection between the crimes. What follows is a breathtaking story of murder, dark secrets and Norse mythology that you won’t be able to put down.
You know when you pick up one of Johana Gustawsson’s books that you should expect the unexpected; a heart-stopping thrill-ride that you can’t put down. Yule Island is all that and more. From the moment I read the author’s note at the start I was in Gustawsson’s thrall, feeling like I’d actually stepped inside the book as I read in breathless anticipation. Expertly written and cleverly plotted, this is a masterclass in storytelling. I was blindsided as she pulled the rug from under me again and again, not giving me time to catch my breath before delivering yet another shocking revelation. As
tension builds, Gustawsson intricately interweaves meticulously researched Norse mythology and Swedish history to keep you on the edge of your seat. ‘The Queen of French Noir’ is living up to her title and it’s easy to see why this book has already received so much acclaim.
Gothic fiction is one of my favourite genres and Gustawsson absolutely nailed the dark, gothic vibes of this story from the start: the cold weather, an isolated island shrouded in silence, an old, echoing manor house filled with mysterious residents and the trappings of faded opulence, the screams that can be heard randomly, and the haunting history of the hanging tree. Knowing that Storholmen is a real island and this is all based on a true story adds to the unease that permeates every page. This is one of those books that will have you looking for the monsters that lurk in the shadows and I loved every second.
Told from multiple points of view, the characters are fascinating, relatable and richly drawn. The two protagonists, Emma and Karl, are very different in terms of age, circumstance and perspective. I enjoyed their distinct voices and seeing the investigation from both a professional and lay perspective. But they have similarities too: both are intelligent, determined and have a sober air that surrounds them. I enjoyed how Gustawsson slowly teased their backstories, allowing us to feel invested in their lives and root for them before making us question everything as we wonder if they are unreliable after all. There was a third narrator, Viktoria, who was a housekeeper at the manor. Her chapters gave us a glimpse of life behind the closed doors of the manor and added to the mystery that surrounds it. The background characters are just as well written and I loved the sense of community that existed on the island and how they welcomed Emma into their midst when a lot of small communities will make outsiders feel like just that. But it did make me wonder about the killer as it surely had to be one of the three hundred residents on Storholmen. Could one of them really commit vicious crimes like these while looking their neighbours in the eye? Or was there another explanation?
Claustrophobic, eerie, sinister and unnerving, Yule Island is an absolute must-read. An outstanding Gothic thriller that is perfect for this time of year, I have no hesitation in highly recommending it.
Rating: ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series (Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song) has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in twenty-three countries. The third in the series, Blood Song, was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband, and three young sons, and is currently working on the book four in the Roy & Castells series.
David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
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…
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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.
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 . . .
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.
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.
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.
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 . . .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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?
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.
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!
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
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
Welcome to the September edition of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures. I’ve gone back and forth trying to narrow this down to the thirty titles I’ve included today. The problem was there were about ten more books I wanted to include but it seemed too much to have more than thirty books on the list.
So after a lot of deliberation, here are the books out next month that I’m most anticipating:
SYNOPSIS: THIS REUNION WILL TEAR A FAMILY APART … Summer, 2021. Nell has come home at her family’s insistence to celebrate an anniversary. Fifty years ago, her father wrote The Golden Bones. Part picture book, part treasure hunt, Sir Frank Churcher created a fairy story about Elinore, a murdered woman whose skeleton was scattered all over England. Clues and puzzles in the pages of TheGolden Bones led readers to seven sites where jewels were buried – gold and precious stones, each a different part of a skeleton. One by one, the tiny golden bones were dug up until only Elinore’s pelvis remained hidden.
The book was a sensation. A community of treasure hunters called the Bonehunters formed, in frenzied competition, obsessed to a dangerous degree. People sold their homes to travel to England and search for Elinore. Marriages broke down as the quest consumed people. A man died. The book made Frank a rich man. Stalked by fans who could not tell fantasy from reality, his daughter, Nell, became a recluse.
But now the Churchers must be reunited. The book is being reissued along with a new treasure hunt and a documentary crew are charting everything that follows. Nell is appalled, and terrified. During the filming, Frank finally reveals the whereabouts of the missing golden bone. And then all hell breaks loose.
From the bestselling author of He Said/She Said and Watch Her Fall, this is a taut, mesmerising novel about a daughter haunted by her father’s legacy . . .
SYNOPSIS: In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque.
Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.
The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?
Beautifully haunting with twists and turns you’ll never see coming, The Last Girl to Die is your next obsession waiting to happen. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride and L.J. Ross.
Published: September 1st Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Legal Story
SYNOPSIS: WHO WILL YOU BELIEVE? PRE-ORDER THIS UNPUTDOWNABLE NEW THRILLER, PERFECT FOR FANS OF ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL
Ava Knight, a brilliant young prosecutor, always follows the rules. Until she meets Lily Hawthorne – a troubled fifteen-year-old, accused of stabbing charismatic hotel magnate Michael Osborne in cold blood.
From the outside, it seems a tragic, hopeless case. But Ava suspects something everyone else does not: MICHAEL OSBORNE IS LYING.
Because eighteen years ago, Ava was brutally assaulted. She identified her attacker; the case went to trial. But the jury let him go. His name? Michael Osborne
Back then, it was Michael’s word against Ava’s.
Now another girl’s future hangs in the balance, how far will Ava go to be believed?
Published: September 1st Publisher: Zephyr Genre: Young Adult Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A second novel from the bestselling author of Branford Boase-shortlisted and Carnegie-nominated Witch. An engrossing story of fathers and sons, death and grief, and unexpected bonds, new and old, forged by dark and benign magic.
When Sam, grieving the death of his father, finds a silver-flecked stone, ice-cold to the touch, strange and eerie things begin to happen. Myth, legend, magic and witchcraft mingle on the ancient hillside where the chalk white horse has galloped for centuries. Ravens wheel. Wolves prowl. As Halloween draws close, witches dance. Odin gathers brave, fallen warriors to his side.
Only the mysterious new girl, Oona, can heal Sam’s heart, revealing tarot secrets with her bewitching ways.
SYNOPSIS: From one of America’s most renowned storytellers comes a novel about love and deceit, and lust and redemption, against a background of child abductions in the affluent suburbs of Detroit.
In the waning days of the turbulent 1970s, in the wake of unsolved killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together, with tragic consequences. There is Hannah, wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on an unexpected mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.
Suspenseful, brilliantly orchestrated and engrossing, Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction.
Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold 3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Published: September 1st Publisher: Picador Genre: Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fiction, Book Series
SYNOPSIS: The third novel in the international bestselling Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, following four new customers in a cafe where customers can travel back in time.
On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.
From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another story of four new customers, each of whom is hoping to take advantage of the cafe’s time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s previous novels, readers will also be introduced to:
A daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphaned A comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreams A younger sister whose grief has become all-consuming A young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late
With his signature heart-warming characters and wistful storytelling, in Before Your Memory Fades, Toshikazu Kawaguchi once again invites the reader to ask themselves: what would you change if you could travel back in time?
Published: September 6th Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Dark Fantasy, Suspense, Thriller
SYNOPSIS: Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher – for their world or ours.
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself – and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her ageing master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.
Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.
King’s storytelling in Fairy Tale soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale about another world than ours, in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy – and his dog – must lead the battle.
Published: September 6th Publisher: Titan Books Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
SYNOPSIS: Discover this sweeping debut steeped in Chinese mythology, the enchanting power of brewing tea, and a magical tournament to decide a country’s fate, sure to thrill fans of Adrienne Young and Leigh Bardugo.
I used to look at my hands with pride. Now all I can think is, These are the hands that buried my mother.
For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her―the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.
When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi–masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making–she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life.
But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.
Published: September 8th Publisher: Orbit Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale
SYNOPSIS: This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women – and their goddesses – that will change the course of the world.
Seventeen years ago, king Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them have returned, and the women have been left behind to run the kingdom.
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. Whilst he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that husband is dead, and suitors are starting to knock at her door . . .
But no one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus’ empty throne – not yet. Between Penelope’s many suitors, a cold war of dubious alliances and hidden knives reigns, as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip one way or another. If Penelope chooses one from amongst them, it will plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning and her spy network of maids can she maintain the delicate balance of power needed for the kingdom to survive.
On Ithaca, everyone watches everyone else, and there is no corner of the palace where intrigue does not reign . . .
From the multi award-winning Claire North comes a daring, exquisite and moving tale that breathes life into ancient myth, and tells of the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It’s time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . .
Published: September 8th Publisher: Viper Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A locked room. A brutal murder. And a killer who can turn back time…
In the former mining town of Black Lake on the west coast of Canada, there is a story about a shipwreck. All those aboard died, except an unnamed man who staggered ashore. His descendants have a unique ability: once in their lives – and only once – they can unwind the events of the previous six hours.
More than two hundred years later, Ella Manning, marine biologist and part-time police constable, is attending a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion of the town’s divisive local billionaire. With a raging storm coming in from the Pacific, she and several other guests find themselves trapped. And when their host is discovered brutally murdered in a locked room, they turn to her to solve the crime.
Against the odds, Ella is sure she has identified the killer… but then time is unwound. With no memory of what she discovered before, her investigation begins again, with very different results. Someone is willing to use their gift to protect a killer, and everyone is a suspect…
Published: September 8th Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
SYNOPSIS: Carrie’s sister is dead. Four months after losing her sister, Becca-a serial killer unknown to everyone else in their town-Carrie Lawrence is finally free of her manipulative clutches. From now on, she’s keeping her hands clean, no more hiding dead bodies in the middle of the night, no more lies.
She’s never been happier. Then she attends a meeting of the Brampton Kill Seekers, a group of amateur local sleuths, and learns that a recent victim left behind a note that incriminates her in their disappearance. All of a sudden, the quiet, law-abiding life she’s been planning starts to unravel.
She’s never had so much to lose. In her frantic quest to keep her secret dead and buried, she discovers someone nefarious lurking in the shadows…someone who’ll go to any lengths to bring her dark truths to light. Now if Carrie wants her secrets to stay hidden, she’ll have to get her hands very, very dirty.
Published: September 13th Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Series
SYNOPSIS: The Ballad of Never After is the fiercely-anticipated sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Once Upon a Broken Heart, starring Evangeline Fox and the Prince of Hearts on a new journey of magic, mystery, and heartbreak.
After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she’ll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.
But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed.Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.
Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can.
Published: September 13th Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Horror Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: PRE-ORDER THE CHILLING SERIAL KILLER THRILLER FROM THE CO-HOST OF CHART-TOPPING PODCAST MORBID
WREN WAS NEVER AFRAID OF THE DARK. UNTIL SHE LEARNT THAT SOME MONSTERS ARE REAL. . .
In deep Louisiana, a serial killer with a taste for medical experimentation is completing his most ambitious project yet. The media call him ‘The Butcher’ – and, so far, he’s proved impossible to catch.
With her encyclopedic knowledge of humanity’s darkest minds, and years of experience examining their victims, forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is. The longer the Butcher’s killing spree continues, the more determined she is to bring him to justice. And yet, he continues to elude her.
As body after body pile up on Wren’s examination table, her obsession grows. Pressure to put an end to the slaughter mounts. And her enemy becomes more brazen.
How far is Wren willing to go to draw the Butcher into the light. . .?
An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.
Published: September 13th Publisher: Titan Books Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A suspenseful small-town horror novel of oppression, heartbreak and buried anguish – Shirley Jackson meets Never Let Me Go with the wild west setting of Westworld.
When Lady Mae turns 18, she’ll inherit her mother’s job as the Butcher: dismembering Settlement Five’s guilty residents as payment for their petty crimes. An index finger taken for spreading salacious gossip, a foot for blasphemy, no one is exempt from punishment.
But one day Winona refuses to butcher a six-year-old boy. So their leaders, known as the Deputies, come to Lady Mae’s house, and, right there in the living room, murder her mother for refusing her duties.
Within twenty-four hours, now alone in the world, Lady Mae begins her new job. But a chance meeting years later puts her face to face with the Deputy that murdered her mother. Now Lady Mae must choose: will she flee, and start another life in the desolate mountains, forever running? Or will she seek vengeance for her mother’s death even if it kills her?
A devastating, alarming page-turner infused with melancholy, humanity – and society’s maddening acceptance in the face of horror.
Published: September 15th Publisher: Mantle Genre: Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Fiction, Greek Mythology, Domestic Fiction,
SYNOPSIS: Natalie Haynes – the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships – brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before . . .
‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.’
Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.
When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness.
Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .
SYNOPSIS: From the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, comes its astonishing and powerful sequel.
Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same mansion block in London for decades. She leads a comfortable, quiet life, despite her dark and disturbing past. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Germany over seventy years before. She doesn’t talk about the post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps.
Then, a young family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a violent argument between Henry’s mother and his domineering father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence.
Gretel is faced with a chance to expiate her guilt, grief and remorse and act to save a young boy – for the second time in her life. But to do so, she will be forced to reveal her true identity to the world. Will she make a different choice this time, whatever the cost to herself?
All the Broken Places is a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her past and a present in which it is never too late for bravery.
Published: September 15th Publisher: HQ Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: They claim they saw nothing. She knows they’re lying.
1996 – Cabramatta, Sydney
‘Just let him go.’
Those are words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny – optimistic, guileless Denny – is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, and an indifferent police force.
Returning home for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by her brother’s case. Even though several people were present at Denny’s murder, each bystander claims to have seen nothing, and they are all staying silent.
Determined to uncover the truth, Ky tracks down and questions the witnesses herself. But what she learns goes beyond what happened that fateful night. The silence has always been there, threaded through the generations, and Ky begins to expose the complex traumas weighing on those present the night Denny died. As she peels back the layers of the place that shaped her, she must confront more than the reasons her brother is dead. And once those truths have finally been spoken, how can any of them move on?
Published: September 15th Publisher: Orenda Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Historical Fiction, Saga, Psychological Fiction, Religious Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with the first in a startling new series – a dark, horrifying, powerful historical thriller with an extraordinary mystery at its heart and three women pushed so far beyond breaking point, they have only one way out…
1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.
1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.
2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.
Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…
Published: September 15th Publisher: Pan Macmillan Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: David Asha wants to tell you a story about three people:
Elliott Asha, his son, broken by a loss that will redeem him.
Ben Elmys, a surrogate father and David’s trusted friend, a man who might also be a murderer.
Harriet Kealty, a retired detective searching for answers to three mysterious deaths, while also investigating a man who might turn out to be the love of her life.
Every word David tells you is true, but you will think it fiction . . .
Bestselling author Adam Hamdy returns with a story of soulmates torn apart by circumstance and three deaths that haunt the past, present and future. The Other Side of Night is a genre-defying book unlike any you’ve ever read and a spellbinding novel about love, sacrifice and endless possibilities.
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (The Thursday Murder Club 3)
Published: September 15th Publisher: Viking Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Mystery Series
SYNOPSIS: A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from record-breaking, bestselling author Richard Osman.
———-
It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal.
Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill. . . or be killed.
As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?
SYNOPSIS: The child you never knew knows all your secrets . . .
Out of the blue, Susie Jukes is contacted on social media by Anna, the girl she gave up for adoption fifteen years ago.
But when they meet, Anna’s home life sounds distinctly strange to Susie and her husband Gabe. And when Anna’s adoptive parents seem to overreact to the fact she contacted them at all, Susie becomes convinced that Anna needs her help.
But is Anna’s own behaviour simply what you’d expect from someone recovering from a traumatic childhood? Or are there other secrets at play here – secrets Susie has also been hiding for the last fifteen years?
SYNOPSIS: The public think Ava’s a monster. Ava thinks she’s blameless.
In prison, they called her Butcher Bird – but Ava’s not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she’s always wanted.
But someone knows who she is. The lies she’s told are about to unravel.
Published: September 15th Publisher: Harper Collins UK Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Anthology
SYNOPSIS: A brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.
This collection of twelve original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery. · Naomi Alderman · Leigh Bardugo · Alyssa Cole · Lucy Foley · Elly Griffiths · Natalie Haynes · Jean Kwok · Val McDermid · Karen M. McManus · Dreda Say Mitchell · Kate Mosse · Ruth Ware
Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.
Published: September 15th Publisher: Harper Muse Genre: Satire, Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A perfect storm of comedic proportions erupts in a DC bookstore over the course of one soggy summer week, punctuated by political turmoil, a celestial event, and a perpetually broken vacuum cleaner.
Independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is burned out on books. Mourning the death of her husband, the loss of her favorite manager, her only child’s lack of aspiration, and the grim state of the world, she fantasizes about going into hiding in the secret back room of her store.
Meanwhile, renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection, and rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour. He intends to set the record straight―with an ultrafine Sharpie―but only one shop still plans to host him: Sophie’s.
Fearful of potential repercussions from angry customers, Sophie asks Clemi―bookstore events coordinator, aspiring novelist, and daughter of a famed literary agent―to cancel Raymond’s appearance. But Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father, and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure.
This big-hearted screwball comedy features an intergenerational cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers―as well as a Russian Tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr.―and captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books.
Published: September 27th Publisher: Doubleday Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction
SYNOPSIS: 1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.
The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.
With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.
Published: September 27th Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Speculative Historical Noir, Young Adult Fiction, Horror Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Assassin. Immortal. Spy.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights comes the first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai.
It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.
Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging – and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption for her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.
Code name: Fortune.
But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.
To reduce suspicion, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong. Although Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanour infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
Published: September 29th Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Ghost Story, Supernatural Fiction, Horror Fiction
SYNOPSIS: PRE-ORDER THE HAUNTING SHORT STORY COLLECTION FROM THE QUEEN OF CHILLERS, C. J. TUDOR . . .
This Halloween prepare to be terrified with C. J. Tudor’s first collection of short stories.
Featuring eleven twisted tales of the macabre, including:
The Lion at the Gate in which a strange piece of graffiti leads to a terrifying encounter for four school friends . . . Butterfly Island which tells the story of a group of survivors who wash up on a deserted island and make a horrifying discovery . . .
Gloria where a cold-hearted killer encounters a strange young girl at a motorway service station with unexpected consequences . . .
SYNOPSIS: A propulsive new thriller set in London featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur from the author of the No 1 bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. A murderer hides in plain sight – in the police.
DS Cassie Fitzgerald has a secret – but it’s one she’s deleted from her memory. In the 1990s when she was at school, she and her friends killed a fellow pupil. Thirty years later, Cassie is happily married and loves her job as a police officer.
One day her husband persuades her to go to a school reunion and another ex-pupil, Garfield Rice, is found dead, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of her old friends has killed again.
Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like the latter and she seems to be succeeding.
Published: September 29th Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
SYNOPSIS: The new must-read thriller from the bestselling author of SOMETHING IN THE WATER
THE RULES
1. Listen carefully 2. Do your research 3. Trust no one 4. Run for your life
Harriet Reed is newly engaged to Edward Holbeck, the heir to an extremely powerful American family. When Edward’s father hands her a tape of a book he’s been working on, she is desperate to listen. But as she presses play, it’s clear that this isn’t a novel. It’s a confession to murder. Feeling isolated and confused, Harriet must work out if this is all part of a plan to test her loyalty. Or something far darker. Because this might be a game to the Holbeck family – but games can still be deadly.
SYNOPSIS: Under the Cretan sun, in the summer of 1936, two young people fall in love…
Eleni has been coming to Crete her entire life, swapping her English home for cherished sun-baked summers with her grandfather, in the shoreside villa her lost mama grew up in. When she arrives in 1936, she believes the long, hot weeks ahead will be no different to so many that have gone before. But someone else is visiting the island that year too: a young German man called Otto. The two of them meet, and – far from the Nazi’s Berlin Olympics, the brewing civil war in Spain – share the happiest time of their lives; a summer of innocence lost, and love discovered; one that is finite, but not the end.
When, in 1941, the island falls to a Nazi invasion, Eleni and Otto meet there once more. It is a different place to the one they knew. Secrets have become currency, traded for lives, and trust is a luxury few can indulge in. Eleni has returned to fight for her home, Otto to occupy it. They are enemies, and their love is not only treacherous, it is dangerous – but will it destroy them, or prove strong enough to overcome the ravages of war?
An epic tale of secrets, love, loyalty, family and how far you’d go to keep those you love safe, The Echoes of Love is an exquisite and deeply moving love letter to Crete – one that will move every reader to tears.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 