Published September 12th, 2024 by Michael Joseph Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
Welcome to my bookish thoughts on Circus of Mirrors, which was the SquadPod Book Club pick this month. Thank you to Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
A Cabaret dancer falls in love as political tensions rise and the city becomes increasingly dangerous not only for herself, but also for her lover . . .
Perfect for fans of Cabaret and The Whalebone Theatre
‘Julie Owen Moylan writes about mid-20th century women like no-one else’ Laura Price
‘Sexy, electrically stylish, and beautiful – a gorgeous story about sisterhood, and a glamorous, evocative passport to a period we all long to get lost in’ Daisy Buchanan
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BERLIN, 1926: After the death of their parents, sisters Leni and Annette only have each other. Desperate, but dreaming of better days, Leni finds work at a notorious cabaret: the Babylon Circus.
From the dancer’s barely-there costumes, to the glimmering mirrors that cover the walls, the Babylon Circus is where reality and fantasy merge. For Leni, it’s an overwhelming new world, and she’s happiest hiding in the shadows.
Until she meets the cabaret’s resident pianist, Paul. And so begins a tentative love affair that will play out over the next forty years.
But, in a city whose divisions will define a century, can a love born within the feverish walls of the Babylon Circus ever survive?
And can the bond between Leni and Annette – tugged in opposite directions of their own – also endure?
In Berlin, two sisters dared to dream of a better life – but where in this dark and dazzling city will they find their true home?
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MY REVIEW:
Sexy, stylish, dazzling and evocative, Circus of Mirrors is Julie Owen Moylan’s best book yet. Set in Berlin, the story begins in 1926 when nineteen-year-old Leni and her younger sister, Annette, are living on the street following the death of their parents. Desperate for a way to put a roof over their head, Leni finds a job at the Babylon Circus, a strange and intense place where fantasy blends with reality. And it is there that Leni meets Paul, the resident pianist, and begins an all-consuming romance. But, the course of true love doesn’t run smooth for these lovebirds, and we follow Leni and Annette as they – and their city – experience some of their most tumultuous years in a story of survival, strength, self-discovery, love, dreams and regret.
I’ve been a fan of Julie’s book ever since her brilliant debut and her books are always a big event on the SquadPod’s calendar. So I was very excited when we were offered the chance to read Circus of Mirrors. Expertly written, intricately woven and perfectly paced, this book is flawlessly crafted and her meticulous research is evident on every page.Babylon Circus and the city of Berlin feel like characters in their own right and are brought to life in vivid technicolour. A city of conflict that is inextricably linked to much of twentieth century history, Berlin is made alive once again on these pages, making me feel like I’d stepped back in time. But that history is a mere backdrop as the lives of the characters take centre stage, Julie breathing life into them so evocatively that it felt like they were in the room with me. I was in her thrall as she wove her magnificent tale around me and I lost myself in it completely.
One of my favourite things about Julie’s books is how she writes women who are flawed, complex, conflicted and nuanced. These women are recognisable and reliable, reflecting parts of ourselves back at us as we read. She makes us understand them and their actions, even when they aren’t likeable, and Annette was a great example of this. Rebellious, selfish and aggrieved at the things she’s lost or doesn’t have, Annette is someone it would be a nightmare to know in real life, but we can understand her feelings and behaviour because of the things she’s gone through. And in an exploration of how people can experience the same thing with different outcomes, Leni is the polar opposite of her sister. While Annette rebels, Leni is dutiful and responsible, giving up her own freedom to raise her young sister when their parents died and continuing a life of servitude over pursuing her own desires. It is these differences that slowly build a wall of resentment and misunderstanding between them that neither one can breach, though at times they do try. It was heartbreaking to read but wonderfully written.
And I can’t review this book without talking about the romance between Leni and Paul. Their love story has to be one of my favourites I’ve ever read, primarily because it was so refreshing to see the good guy get the girl. I loved seeing him as the romantic lead instead of the more typical problematic male. Yes, Leni and Paul had their ups and downs, but the obstacles in their relationship come from outside forces and I was rooting for them at every step.
Enthralling, moving and simply unforgettable, this is a must for all your TBRs.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Julie Owen Moylan is the author of three novels: That Green Eyed Girl, 73 Dove Street and Circus of Mirrors.
Her debut novel That Green Eyed Girl was a Waterstones’ Welsh Book of the Month and the official runner up for the prestigious Paul Torday Memorial Prize. It was also shortlisted for Best Debut at the Fingerprint Awards and featured at the Hay Festival as one of its TEN AT TEN.
73 Dove Street was recently named as one of Waterstones’ Books of 2023 and a Daily Mail Historical Fiction Book of the Year.
As a filmmaker Julie won the Celtic Media Award for her graduation film “BabyCakes” before going on to win Best Short Film at the Swansea Film Festival.
Her writing and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Sunday Express, The Independent, New Welsh Review and Good Housekeeping.
She has a Masters in Filmmaking and an additional qualification in Creative Writing & English Literature. Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy.
Welcome to my list of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures for September. It’s a great month, with books from stone of my favourite authors such as Louise Swanson, M. J. Arlidge, Julie Owen Moylan and Richard Osman.
Here’s what’s on my list:
Lights Out by Louise Swanson
Published September 5th by Hodder & Stoughton Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: When darkness is everywhere, nowhere is safe…
A state of emergency has been declared in the UK. From now on, at 8pm every night, all electricity cuts out. The Government promises it’s a temporary measure. They promise they are always thinking of your safety.
But for Grace, the darkness is anything but safe.
Someone is coming into her house under its cover every night while she lies in bed upstairs, too terrified to sleep. Someone who knows her past, who knows why she has more reason to fear the dark than most…
And every morning she wakes to a new message from the intruder:
I have you in my sights. Love, The Night
But how can Grace escape, when there’s nowhere safe left to hide?
Published September 5th by Orion Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A skull looks up at Jennie from the trench, but it’s not the chalk-white bone and grimacing teeth that send her reeling. It’s the heart-shaped gold pendant, its delicate chain snapped in two. The necklace Hannah never took off. It can’t be Hannah. But it is.
When Jennie Whitmore arrives at her school reunion, she immediately regrets her decision. Why would she choose to surround herself with people who were never nice to her? Who still aren’t, even now she’s a police officer? The only person who truly looked out for her all those years ago was charming, beautiful Hannah.Until the day she disappeared.
Jennie is ready to finally put White Cross Academy behind her, the old school building demolished the morning after the party. But with the demolition comes a call: a teenage girl’s remains have been found on the grounds.
The instant drop in Jennie’s gut tells her that the remains might be Hannah’s, but when she’s called in to examine them, the truth becomes undeniable. Hannah didn’t run away and abandon Jennie thirty years ago; in fact, she never left White Cross at all.
Suddenly, Jennie has a murder to solve. The murder of her best friend. But can she do so before her colleagues discover just how closely connected she is to the victim? Before a mystery stalker makes good on his threats to silence her for good?
The Reunion is a gripping mystery perfect for fans of THE SANATORIUM, Lucy Foley, and Ruth Kelly.
Published September 5th by Oneworld Publications Suspense, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: CLOVE HAS SPENT YEARS BUILDING THE PERFECT LIFE. IT’S ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN.
An unexpected letter from her mother threatens to pull Clove back to a life she’s left behind, in this thrilling novel from an explosive new talent
To the outside world, Clove has it all. Thanks to her lies, she’s landed the life of her dreams, complete with a kind, reliable husband, two adorable children, a stable family home. So what, if silencing the memories of her own abusive childhood means racking up a little credit card debt or obsessing about her wellness routine? Nothing to see here.
But then a letter arrives from a women’s prison in California – a letter that threatens to expose the secrets of a past she has worked so hard to hide. Soon, Clove will become caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the very people she thought she had outrun. No amount of shopping, green juice or meditation can help her avoid the defining day of her life forever.
Brave, hilarious and full of surprising twists, Madwoman is a story about violence, recovery, and Clove’s refusal to be defined by her worst experiences.
‘A truly stunning read – this is my book of the year.’Ella Berman
Published September 5th by Michael Joseph Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Police Procedurals
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Six people land on a desert island ready to make their reality show debut.
The contestants are hungry to prove themselves. The stakes are high and losing is not an option. But three weeks and eighteen episodes later, five of the six contestants sit in a Portuguese police station, and none of them are winners.
Because twelve million people were watching when Rhys Sutton died on camera, and someone must pay for the crime.
The best friend, the rival, the girlfriend, the lover, and the sworn enemy are left standing. And of course, no-one is talking. But how do you keep secrets when the world has been watching?
Especially when, just a day before his murder, Rhys was the most hated man on television.
Published September 5th by Doubleday UK Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Adventure Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: For fans of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES, THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS and SHE AND HER CAT, discover the award-winning bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming celebration of the healing power of cats.
A cat a day keeps the doctor away …
On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few – those who feel genuine emotional pain – can find it.
The mysterious centre offers a unique treatment for its troubled patients: it prescribes cats as medication.
Get ready to fall in love: – Bee, an eight-year-old female, mixed breed helps a disheartened businessman as he finds unexpected joy in physical labour; – Margot, muscly like a lightweight boxer, helps a middle-aged callcentre worker stay relevant; – Koyuki, an exquisite white cat brings closure to a mother troubled by the memory of the rescue kitten she was forced to abandon; – Tank and Tangerine bring peace to a hardened fashion designer, as she learns to be kinder to herself; – Mimita, the Scottish Fold kitten helps a broken-hearted Geisha to stop blaming herself for the cat she once lost.
Brimming with feline comfort and warmth, we see how the company of a wise and satisfied cat never lets us down when we need it most in this irresistible celebration of our furry friends.
Published September 5th by Hodder & Stoughton Romance Novel, Episolatory Novel, Contemporary Romance
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A REASON TO LIVE. Still grieving the death of her best friend, Erin knows she needs to start living – but has no idea how. Then she loses her favourite book, a heavily annotated and containing her friend’s final words to her.
A REASON TO LOVE. When James finds Erin’s note-filled book in his local community library, it sparks a life-changing conversation. He writes his own message back, and soon they are locked in an anonymous book exchange, with no idea who the other person in the margins might be.
A REASON TO FORGIVE? But Erin and James have a shared history that neither of them realise. How will Erin react when she discovers the other writer isn’t a stranger at all – but the person she once swore she’d never forgive?
A story of second chances and new beginnings, this is a love letter to books – and a love letter to love.
Published September 5th by Jonathan Cape Mystery, Thriller, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From Rachel Kushner, Booker Prize finalist and two-time National Book Award finalist, comes a new novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective in France
‘The most exciting writer of her generation’ BRET EASTON ELLIS
‘Reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture’ HERNAN DIAZ
‘Compulsively readable… Kill Bill written by John le Carré’ OBSERVER
Sadie Smith – a thirty-four-year-old American undercover agent of ruthless tactics and bold opinions – is sent by her mysterious but powerful employers to a remote corner of France. Her mission: to infiltrate a commune of radical eco-activists influenced by the beliefs of an enigmatic elder, Bruno Lacombe, who has rejected civilisation, lives in a Neanderthal cave, and believes the path to enlightenment is a return to primitivism.
Sadie casts her cynical eye over this region of ancient farms and sleepy villages, and finds Bruno’s idealism laughable, but just as she is certain she’s the seductress and puppet master of those she surveils, Bruno Lacombe is seducing her with his ingenious counter-histories, his artful laments, his own tragic story.
Beneath this taut, dazzling story about a woman caught in the crossfire between the past and the future lies a profound treatise on human history. Creation Lake is Rachel Kushner’s finest novel yet – a work of high art, high comedy and irresistible pleasure.
Published September 5th by Transworld Gothic Ficiton, Horror Fiction, Southern Gothic, Supernatural Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Discover the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies sold
‘RIVETING, TERRIFYING…JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT’ STEPHEN KING
As the dark and menacing waters of the local river submerge Perdido, a small town in the south of Alabama, the Caskeys – a family of rich landowners – must confront the tide of damage caused by the flood. Led by Mary-Love, the powerful matriarch, and by Oscar, her devoted son, the family must pick itself back up. But what they haven’t anticipated is the sudden appearance of Elinor Dammert – a mysterious but seductive young woman with a troubling past. Her sole ambition appears to be to infiltrate the very heart of the Caskey clan…
Published September 5th by Del Rey Science Fiction, Space Opera, LGBT Literature, Science Ficiton Comedy
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.
When the home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilisations. What befell these worlds is unknown. All they know is that they are the last ones left – and whatever came for the others will one day come for them.
Scout is an Archivist who scours the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals – anything left behind that might be useful to home and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago.
Now Scout, their brother and their sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat, Pumpkin, must race to save what matters most.
Published September 5th by MacLehose Press Short Story, Urban Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Is three days with a cat enough to change your life?
The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems – and they all want to believe that a feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. But there are rules: they must be returned after three days, and they must always sleep in their own familiar blankets.
In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven such customers, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.
But like all their kind, the blanket cats are mysterious creatures with their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn’t what they really need.
Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it might be enough to change how you see it.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Would you know if you lived next door to a serial killer? Based on her smash hit tour, Emma Kenny – psychologist and true crime expert – reveals the chilling true stories of killers who hide in plain sight.
Taking readers on a journey into the dark side of humanity, Emma Kenny explores the ingredient list of experiences that turns regular people into murderous monsters, looking at crimes that shook the world.
From Ted Bundy to Joanna Dennehy, Richard Trenton Chase to Aileen Wuornos and many more besides, Emma explores the crime scenes and criminal minds of some of the most notorious serial killers of our time. She also unveils shocking stories of lesser-known killers that even the most dedicated true crime fan will be surprised by.
What unites all of these killers is the ability to slip into society. They look just like you and me. Some were married or parents, conscientious neighbours, teachers or fixtures of their community. Join Emma in this compelling exposé of their depraved world to understand what motivates them and what they look for in a victim. Then maybe you’ll be able to spot the serial killer next door...
Published September 12th by Michael Joseph Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Sexy, electrically stylish, and beautiful – a gorgeous story about sisterhood, and a glamorous, evocative passport to a period we all long to get lost in’ Daisy Buchanan
‘Julie’s best novel yet’ Georgina Moore _________
BERLIN, 1926: After the death of their parents, sisters Leni and Annette only have each other. Desperate, but dreaming of better days, Leni finds work at a notorious cabaret: the Babylon Circus.
From the dancer’s barely-there costumes, to the glimmering mirrors that cover the walls, the Babylon Circus is where reality and fantasy merge. For Leni, it’s an overwhelming new world, and she’s happiest hiding in the shadows.
Until she meets the cabaret’s resident pianist, Paul. And so begins a tentative love affair that will play out over the next forty years. But, in a city whose divisions will define a century, can a love born within the feverish walls of the Babylon Circus ever survive? And can the bond between Leni and Annette – tugged in opposite directions of their own – also endure?
In Berlin, two sisters dared to dream of a better life – but where in this dark and dazzling city will they find their true home?
The Torments (The Annie Jackson Mysteries, Book 2) by Michael J. Malone
Published September 12th by Orenda Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary Horror, Horror Thrillers, Hard-boiled Mystery, Book Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A tense, creepy page-turner’ Ian Rankin, New Statesman
Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.
While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.
Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home.
Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…
The second book in the critically acclaimed Annie Jackson Mysteries series, The Torments is both a contemporary gothic thriller and a spellbinding mystery that deeps deep into a past that should, perhaps, remain undisturbed…
Published September 12th by Viking Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime Series, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
A brand new series.
An iconic new detective duo.
And a thrilling new murder to solve . . .
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Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.
Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job . . .
Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?
Published September 12th by The Borough Press Mystery, Crime Fiction, Humorous Ficiton, Urban Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Delicious’ JOJO MOYES
‘Very funny… I inhaled it’ JOE LYCETT
‘Taut, pacy, seamless… a huge pleasure to read’ MARIAN KEYES
‘I was immensely grateful that despite the gruesome way my husband died, he’d done it with his clothes on.’
Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick.
Unfortunately for him, he’s also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion.
And that’s when everything comes crashing down…
‘Still not over Succession? A dysfunctional family with four inheritance-obsessed children gives the Roy clan a run for its money, with a murderous twist’ SUNDAY TIMES STYLE
Living is a Problem (The Skelfs, 6) by Doug Johnstone
Published September 12th by Orenda Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Crime Series, Humorous Fiction, Women Sleuths
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Drones, gangland vendettas, a missing choir singer, disturbances in the cemetery, PTSD, panpsychism, and secrets from the past … This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as nail-biting, tense and warmly funny as ever!
‘Hurroo! The Skelfs — Edinburgh funeral directors and part-time private eyes — are back … the persistence of love in the Skelf household, no matter what fate flings at it, is reassuring and life-affirming’ The Times Book of the Month
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The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they’ve been through. But when a funeral they’re conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they’re in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta.
At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy’s band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory.
And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son.
Everything is changing for the Skelfs … Dorothy’s boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah’s case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger … while ghosts from the family’s past return to threaten their very lives.
Funny, shocking and profound, Living Is A Problem is the highly anticipated sixth instalment of the unforgettable Skelfs series – shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year – where life and death become intertwined more than ever before…
Published September 12th by Renegade Books Historical Fiction, Mythology
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A beautiful weave of history, myth and storytelling by one of our most exciting new classicists’ DAN SNOW Steeped in ancient magic, dark divinity and wild ways, Goddess with a Thousand Faces takes you on a historical journey like no other…
Blending mythological retellings with historical research, Goddess with a Thousand Faces traverses the world and transports through time to bring ten formidable and inspiring ancient goddesses to life. Meet Artemis, the Greek goddess of the wilderness, never without her bow and arrow; Sedna, Inuit goddess of the ocean, guarding the icy waters and all its creatures; Isis, Egyptian goddess of healing, who dwells by the River Nile, just to name a few…
Jasmine Elmer explores these goddesses of our past, uncovering their truths, their rebellion and their freedom. For too long, they have been written out of history; lost to the sands of time and stamped into silence. Goddess with a Thousand Faces restores these women to their glory.
Pour over this treasure trove of myths, legends and mighty goddesses. Hear the messages echoing through the ages and see yourself in the faces of these icons. For while their stories might ancient, today they are more important – and more powerful – than ever.
A treasure trove of beautiful storytelling and ancient wisdom, perfect for fans of Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola and Storyland by Amy Jeffs.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, 2) by T. J. Klune
Published September 12th by Tor Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, Contemporary Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Gay Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.
This is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, a cosy-fantasy triumph and a New York Times bestseller.
Arthur Parnassus has built a good life on the ashes of a bad one. He’s headmaster at an orphanage for magical children, on a peculiar island, assisted by love-of-his-life Linus Baker. And together, they’ll do anything to protect their extraordinary and powerful charges.
However, when Arthur is forced to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself fighting for those under his care. It’s also a fight for the better future that all magical people deserve. Then when a new magical child joins their island home, Arthur knows they’ve reached breaking point. The child finds power in calling himself a monster, a name Arthur has tried so hard to banish to protect his children. Challenged from within and without, their volatile family might grow stronger. Or everything Arthur loves could fall apart.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.
Published September 12th by Wildfire Gothic Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Folklore
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Spring, 1985. Twelve year old Phoebe MacDonald’s world is falling apart.
She has just buried her parents, a fire at their family home claiming both in a freak accident. Now she must leave Scotland, the only place she has ever known, and go to live with her uncle Louis and aunt Maude in their home in the Welsh woods.
As spring turns to summer, Phoebe falls slowly into the rhythm of life with her eccentric guardians in their curious home. But there is no one her age in the nearby village, and she is lonely until she meets a strange girl, Gwyneth, who wanders the surrounding forest barefoot and alone.
Outsiders both, the two girls form a strong bond, though nobody else seems to believe that Gwyneth is real. Phoebe knows better, and soon with her new friend’s help, she begins to see the woods for what they truly are – a place of magic and wonder, where the line between life and death is blurred. Where spirits roam and secrets fester.
Something happened here, a lifetime ago. A wrong that yearns to be put right. The answer is within Phoebe’s grasp, but will revealing it put her in grave danger?
For the woods hold a dark truth, and some will do anything to keep it in the shadows.
Published September 12th by One More Chapter Historical Ficiton, Historical Romance, Romance Novel, War Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Kehinde must put everything on the line to find herself during a time of war.
Lagos, 1939
With the announcement of World War Two and a change that sends shockwaves through her family, Kehinde is forced to put aside her dreams of writing and become the third wife of Mr Ogunjobi.
Kehinde makes her peace by selling snacks at a small market. When she gets the chance to assist the leader of the Lagos Women’s Market Association, fighting for the rights the British are trying to take away, Kehinde finally feels useful again.
But if her husband finds out he’ll abandon her.
Can Kehinde find the courage to fight for herself and the other women of Lagos? Or will she remain a caged bird, a parlour wife, forever.
A poignant story of a young Nigerian woman, living with the consequences of a war her country didn’t choose.
Published September 12th by Black & White Publishing Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Merry lives a simple life. For work, she writes cryptic crossword puzzles. For pleasure, she swims in the icy cold sea. And in between she keeps a careful eye on her neighbour, Lucas Manning, the son of her late best friend Julia.
One day Lucas’s wife reports him missing. Merry has known Lucas his whole life; he would never walk out like this. Bad things have always hovered around the Manning family. Lucas’s abusive criminal father disappeared decades ago, and his brother Sean is in jail. But Lucas is different. A good man. He was the one who turned Sean in to the police, after all. Although Sean has spent every day since professing his innocence.
As she begins to dig into Lucas’s life, Merry forms an uneasy alliance with a private investigator doing the same. Gareth was hired by Lucas’s employers, who are also desperate to locate him – and the sensitive work project he has absconded with. Merry might be a cryptic crossword mastermind, but reading people is hard. Was she wrong about Lucas? Did the wrong brother go down all those years ago? This is no straightforward disappearing act: something much more sinister is at play. But as she get closer to the truth, Merry must confront her own dark past with the Manning family, which she has fought so long to keep buried. Who can she trust with her secrets?
Published September 12th by Harper Collins UK Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Fairy Tale,Horror Fiction, Supernatural Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Chilling and uncanny folk suspense in a novel of twisted sisterhood and dark secrets.
Some places are cursed.
An isolated village
A twisted sisterhood
A dark secret that festers in silence
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1978. When teenager Rina Pine is abandoned by her hippy mother in the isolated village of Sorrow Spring and forced to live with her elderly aunt, she quickly realises no one is coming to rescue her.
Rina finds herself trapped amidst a community of women beholden to the past, who believe in the protective powers of the local spring. When a child goes missing and a young mother is killed, she is drawn into the dark and sinister truth flowing through the sacred waters that give the village its name.
Rina is about to learn what it truly means to be a daughter of Sorrow Spring…
Published September 12th by Avon Cozy Mystery, Fantasy Fiction, Magical Realism, Romantic Fantasy, Supernatural Fiction, Contemporary Horror, Horror Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: One new owner. One hot barista. And one seriously weird coffee shop…
Adele is down on her luck. She’s just failed her last musical theatre, and it now looks like the bright lights of Broadway are behind her for good. So, when the opportunity comes up to take over a Brooklyn coffee shop, finally it feels like at last things are going her way.
The only issue is the coffee shop comes with strings attached in the form of one very grumpy (but roasting hot) barista, Ben. He’s worked there for years and he’s not about to move on just because there’s a new owner in town.
But soon it’s not only Ben who’s smouldering, because strange things are happening with the old coffee roasting machine in the basement, with roaring flames and weird noises that seem to come from nowhere. She’d ask Ben for help, but he never seems to be around when there’s a problem to fix. And to add to it all, now some of the regular customers are nowhere to be seen…
Trouble is brewing for Adele and, before she knows it, she’s in a whole latte trouble…
Published September 12th by Bedford Square Publishers Domestic Ficiton
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A gorgeous and funny story about family and acceptance’ Nina Pottell (Prima) ‘Laugh out loud funny yet poignant at heart’ Frances Quinn, author of That Bonesetter Woman __________
Twenty-nine-year-old teacher Emily needs her father to believe her life is a success. He may have walked out on the family when she was a child and let her down when she needed him most, but her life is perfect despite him.
Or it was until last Friday, when her fiancé dumped her. Now she’s facing a frighteningly empty future, and she’s unravelling at work. And just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, her father turns up on her doorstep.
Ed knows he’s got it wrong, and he wants to make amends, even if his motives aren’t entirely selfless. What better way to do that than to show Emily how much he cares about her wedding? He’ll even shell out for the dress if that’s what it takes.
Emily can’t bear to tell her father that her life has fallen apart. So she doesn’t. Before she knows it, they’re planning – and booking – a wedding that’s totally perfect.
Published September 17th by Daphne Press Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Folklore, Dark Fantasy, Lesbian Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A sharp-tongued folklorist and her academic rival must solve their mentor’s murder in this lush sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.
Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a mythical spring of untold power. The king wants to harness the fabled water source from which magic flows to secure his reign, and Lorelei is determined to prove herself and to make her dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to faraway lands.
The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader―Lorelei’s beloved mentor―is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again―and a coup begins in earnest.
But other dangers lurk in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood. As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth―and resist their growing feelings for each other―they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all.
The Butcher Game (Dr Wren Muller Book 2) by Alaina Urquhart
Published September 17th by Zando Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction. Crime Ficiton, Police Procedural, Horror Ficiton, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the New York Times bestselling author and cohost of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid comes the thrilling book two in her national bestselling series, told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and a medical examiner seeking justice.
Destruction follows the ruthless serial killer, Jeremy Rose, the Bayou Butcher, as he heads north to evade capture for his horrific crimes. As he seeks safe harbor with a former friend, he remains focused on unfinished business with forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller, the only target who’s ever escaped him–twice. But not this time. He’s determined to make Wren suffer, and he’s promised to make her play by his own twisted rules.
Still in shock over the harrowing encounter with her old nemesis, Wren is on forced medical leave in New Orleans, attempting to mend the deep scars of her traumatic past. But with growing evidence that Jeremy is leaving a fresh trail of mutilated victims across Massachusetts, Wren realizes the best way to heal is to renew her pursuit of this vicious killer. She sets her sights on Jeremy, only to discover that she may have walked directly into his trap. As their twisted cat-and-mouse game rachets up to a violent clash of good versus evil, Wren prepares to sacrifice everything to bring Jeremy to justice.
With intense true-to-life details from autopsy technician and Morbid podcast cohost, Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher Game is a gripping addition to the New York Times bestselling Dr. Wren Muller series.
Published September 19th by Michael Joseph Mystery, Fantasy Fiction, Horror Fantasy, Horror Ficiton, Supernatural Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Dark academia meets horror in this gripping fantasy series which is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s NINTH HOUSE.
‘All the Devils is eerie, intense, and mysteriouswith immersive world building and mythology. The fast pace kept me turning pages, and I’d follow Jae pretty much anywhere’ Stacia Stark, bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series — HELL IS EMPTY AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE AT RAVENSWOOD ACADEMY . . .
Mourning the sudden death of her sister, Andy Emmerson knows she must come to terms with a life without Violet. But on the day of the funeral Andy is shocked to discover one thing: the person in that casket is not her sister.
Violet is alive.
Convinced her sister’s elite boarding school is covering up the truth, Andy enrols at Ravenswood Academy to discover what really happened and find Violet.
The school is as beautiful and haunting as the students within it and Andy learns that it’s not just good grades that drives these pupils. Something much darker is at play.
After discovering a cryptic note from her sister, Andy must follow a set of clues to unlock the truth. This will bring her into contact with secret societies, ancient magic, demons and monsters. And a charming senior named Jae Han who has his own reasons for finding out what happened to Violet . . .
Soon Andy realizes the price she must pay to bring her sister home is darker and more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.
Published September 19th by Viking Drama, Soap Opera, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A hopeful, healing novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Booker-shortlisted author
It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer, Lucy Barton, who lives nearby in a house next to the sea. Together, Lucy and Bob talk about their lives, their hopes and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, befriends one of Crosby’s longest inhabitants, Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known – “unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them – reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.
Brimming with empathy and pathos, TELL ME EVERYTHING is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.”
Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, 5) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Published September 19th by Picador Time Travel, Contemporary Fantasy, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The million-copy bestselling series.
In the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious Tokyo café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:
– The father who could not allow his daughter to get married – A woman who couldn’t give Valentine’s Day chocolates to her loved one – A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents – A wife holding a child with no name . . .
They must follow the café’s strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold.
Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to find closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.
Catch up on the rest of the series with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades and Before We Say Goodbye.
Published September 19th by Pan Macmillan Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
BOOK DESCRIPTION: It’s time to rediscover her magic . . .
With found family, a dash of romance and an uplifting message about self-love, Rewitched is a cosy autumnal fantasy that will leave readers spellbound.
Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, but she hasn’t seen it in a while either. Balancing work at her beloved London bookshop, Lunar Books, with handling her toxic boss and concealing her witchcraft from those around her – Belle is burnt out. Perfecting the potential of her magic is the last thing on her mind.
But, when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle risks losing her magic for ever. With the month of October to fix things and signs that dark forces may be working against her, Belle will need all the help she can get – from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an (infuriating) coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her . . .
‘I was completely charmed by this delightful and endearing novel about rediscovering your spark’ – Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Spellshop
Published September 19th by Constable Mystery, Crime Fiction, Thriller, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A twisty and wickedly funny murder mystery
Welcome to Aberfal Boys High School. Independent jewel of academic and sporting excellence in the South-west — until the headmaster is murdered in his study. And now the Year Seven School Mums’ WhatsApp Group really do have something to talk about…
Clare Withoutani: OMG have you heard about Newhall?!!! Becky Rupertsmum: Helen-Louise just texted. Can’t believe it. Asha: Not heard anything. What’s happened? Pam Geoffreysmum: What’s he done this time? They’re going co-ed, aren’t they? I knew this would happen. Clare Withoutani: Can’t believe it, Becky. I’m in shock. Pam Geoffreysmum: Are we going co-ed? Becky Rupertsmum: No, Pam. Newhall died. Pam Geoffreysmum: Oh GOD. Seriously??!! Can’t believe it. So sad. He’ll be such a loss to the school. The boys will be devastated. Will the school be offering grief counselling? Rose Oliversmum: Anyone know what pages they’re meant to do for chemistry? Ollie’s homework diary says ‘do questions 1-4’ but no page numbers!
As the resulting police investigation reveals more and more of Aberfal’s long-hidden secrets the list of suspects who wanted the headmaster dead grows by the day. And far from being a glittering jewel of exclusivity and excellence, it would appear Aberfal Boys High School is rotten to its core…
Published September 26th by Magpie Gothic Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Coming-of;Age
BOOK DESCRIPTION: YOU’LL WANT TO BE ONE. UNTIL YOU KNOW THEIR SECRETS.
After sixteen-year-old Emily’s father tragically dies, she is forced to live with the only family she has left, an aunt and grandmother in the heart of Savannah, Georgia in a house as beautiful as it is mysterious.
But all is not what it seems with the Bell family; they’re hiding a magical secret.
When Emily meets the alluring Wyn, she forms a connection that feels like it was always meant to be. As the spark between them grows more powerful, her life takes an exhilarating and terrifying turn; but every step closer to him, takes her a step further away from her family.
Emily will find out that blood is always thicker than water…
Published September 26th by Oneworld Publications Fantasty Fiction, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Dark Fantasy
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the author of House of Salt and Sorrows comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for
When death calls, she must answer.
Hazel has always known she was different from her siblings. A thirteenth child, she was promised at birth to Merrick, the god of death.
Under his care, Hazel learns the art – and magic – of healing. Word of her extraordinary gift spreads throughout the kingdom. But all gifts come with a price. When Death claims a soul for himself, it is Hazel who must end their suffering… permanently.
Soon, destiny brings her to the royal court where she meets Leopold, an infuriatingly alluring prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. Here, Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet: to carry out her duties or follow the urges of her own heart. Can she go against the will of Death himself to save someone who is marked to die?
Published September 26th by Black & White Publishing Historical Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Medical Thriller, Medical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Inside the grand walls of Edinburgh’s nineteenth-century scientific institutions, anatomists began to map the secrets of the human body in order to discover new medical innovations.
But to the horror of the local population, a shortage of bodies soon led to the gruesome act of graveyard bodysnatching, a heartless crime that would soon spread like a disease throughout the city. And when stealing cadavers turns to murder, Burke & Hare became two of the most notorious serial killers of their time.
This is the story of those grim events, told for the first time through the eyes of Susan and Helen (Nelly), two women caught up in those horrific matters.
Published September 26th by Michael Joseph Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: We’re all so busy, caught up in life’s moments, big and small . . .
The flight attendant working a shift on her birthday. The mother struggling alone with two young children. The newlyweds excited about their tropical honeymoon . The overworked father missing his kid’s big show. The young man returning from his best friend’s funeral. The ER nurse wondering what retirement will bring.
All strangers. All unsuspecting. Each with a life heading in a particular direction – or so they imagine.
Because an elderly woman is about to step into each of their paths. In just a few words, she will make a prediction, tying herself to all of them. And, in being bound to her, these disparate strangers will all face similar existential dilemmas. .
Who is this woman? Is she a genuine clairvoyant? A charlatan? The answer to prayers, or a harbinger of nightmares?
What she will prove to be is an agent of chaos, fraying relationships, putting entire futures into doubt and causing the most ordered of lives to unravel in the most unexpected of ways . . .
Published September 26th by Michael Joseph Greek Mythology, Folklore
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Pre-order the final book in Stephen Fry’s acclaimed internationally bestselling Greek myths series telling the story of The Odyssey – can a hero find his way home?
Sometimes the hardest journey is the way back home . . .
Wily Odysseus, King of Ithaca, has won Troy for the Greeks – after a decade of brutal, bloody warfare. But now this warrior remembers he is a husband and father – and his gaze turns longingly towards home.
Setting sail with a small fleet, Odysseus dreams of soon lying in the arms of his beloved wife Penelope, and of teaching his son Telemachus the ways of a warrior. However, the gods laugh at the foolish hopes of mortals. Angered by this upstart, Poseidon – God of the ocean realms – curses our hero to wander the seas for ten long years.
Encountering one-eyed giants, six-headed monsters, terrible storms, titanic whirlpools, hypnotic sirens, seductive witches and jealous goddesses, Odysseus is tempted and tormented beyond any man’s endurance.
Yet he is no mere mortal – and the lure of his wife and son draws him, step by step, stroke by stroke, ever closer to home and his ultimate destiny . . .
A tale of love and longing, return and redemption, home and hope, Stephen Fry’s Odyssey weaves the final threads of the story begun in the worldwide bestseller, Mythos, into an astonishing and mesmerising tapestry for the ages.
Published September 26th by Verve Books Contemporary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: An unflinching and emotionally insightful debut about cultural identity, homesickness, love and loss.
In the five years following his brother’s death, Aaron has built himself a life of solitary routines. After moving from Dublin to Boston, and illegally overstaying her visa, Róisín has done the same.
When the two meet on a night out, they each find in the other something missing in their lives. A semblance of home.
Their relationship is complicated by their disparate religious backgrounds – Aaron is Jewish; Roísín is atheist – and by the harsh realities of everyday life. Just as they’re pushed to their breaking point, Roísín realises she is pregnant.
Placeholders is a poignant story of loneliness corrected and the transformative power of love. The next fix for fans of Sally Rooney, Nick Hornby, David Nicholls, Louise Kennedy and Coco Mellors.
Published July 20th, 2023 by Michael Joseph Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, RomanceFiction
Welcome to my review of the stylish, soulful and compelling, 73 Dove Street. This was our Squadpod Book Club pick for July. Thank you to Michael Joseph for the gifted proof.
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SYNOPSIS:
The page-turning and evocative new novel set in 1950s London from the author of That Green Eyed Girl
‘An incredibly vivid rendering of post-war London and the complicated lives of three woman whose fates intersect at a boarding house . . . emotional, immersive and utterly absorbing’ JENNIFER SAINT ‘The sense of time and place is beautifully evocative. It’s about pride and shame and love and loss and ultimately hope’ LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON ‘Once again, Julie Owen Moylan has created a world that feels completely real and vivid’ JODIE CHAPMAN ‘From the Rivoli Ballroom to the seedy nightlife of Soho, the characters leap off the page in this compelling mystery’ WOMAN & HOME ___________ When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it’s clear she’s hiding a terrible secret. And she’s not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . . Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife – and a man she can’t quit. Phyllis, 73 Dove Street’s formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband’s belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal – yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn’t want to talk about. At first, the three women keep to themselves. But as Edie’s past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies – forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . . .
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MY REVIEW:
73 Dove Street is a story of secrets, lies, heartbreak, trauma, and fear told through the eyes of three women: Edie, Tommie, and Phyllis. To keep their secrets, the women keep to themselves, leaving them feeling isolated, lonely, and without anyone to turn to or confide in. But when Tommie gets tangled in Edie’s web of lies the women are forced to make decisions that will alter the course of their lives forever…
My love for Julie Owen Moyan’s writing is sealed after reading this book, which was the Squadpod Book Club pick for July (yes, I’m a bit behind). Beautifully written and compelling, she knows how to captivate her audience, drawing you into the story and the lives of her characters. She transports you to 1950s London with descriptions that are so vivid you can not only see it in front of you, but you can hear and smell it, too. A tense, claustrophobic atmosphere leapt from the pages, and there’s a quiet intensity to it that tells you something is simmering beneath the surface just waiting to boil over. I lived every moment alongside the characters as I read this heartbreaking and hopeful story.
The characters are key to this story, giving it its beating heart. Edie, Tommie and Phyllis live in a time where women are subservient to men, often abused, and have few options for an independent life. The story seamlessly shifts between dual timelines to tell their stories, illuminating the lives of these ordinary women who were ignored by a misogynistic society. They spend their lives swimming in guilt, trauma, and fear, but it was powerful to watch as they discovered their own strength and resilience, refusing to be cowed by society and finding the courage to live life on their own terms. I loved these strong, inspirational women and was rooting for them every step of the way.
Stylish, soulful, and deeply human, 73 Dove Street is a gripping novel from a rising star in literary fiction and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Julie Owen Moylan is a writer whose short stories and articles have appeared in New Welsh Review, The Independent, Sunday Express, and My Weekly.
She has also written and directed several short films as part of her MA in Film. Her graduation short film called ‘BabyCakes’ scooped Best Film awards at the Swansea Film Festival, Ffresh, and the Celtic Media Awards. She also has an MA in Creative Writing, and is an alumna of the Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel course.
Julie has written two novels, THAT GREEN EYED GIRL ( May 2022) and 73 DOVE STREET ( July 2023 ) Both novels are published by Penguin Michael Joseph.
Just before head into July I’m sharing the books out next month that I’m most anticipating. There’s a whopping 45 books in this list, including some exciting debuts such as The Housekeepers, Talking At Night, The Revels, and My Husband, as well as some new releases from some of my must read authors such as The Song of Me and You by Mike Gayle, None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell,One by Eve Smith, The Whispers by Ashley Audrain, Eye For An Eye by M. J. Arlidge, and A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh.
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The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Published July 4th by Hodder & Stoughton Gothic Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS: Everyone believes that Lenora Hope is a mass murderer.
When the Hope family was massacred decades ago, she was the only one left after that tragic night.
Mute, paralysed and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora has never been able to tell her side of the story.
Until her new live-in caregiver Kit brings her a typewriter.
And with one working finger Lenora begins to type:
Published July 4th by Quercus Historical Fiction, LGBT Literature
SYNOPSIS: In Paris 1870, three wandering souls find themselves in a city set to descend into war.
‘Exquisite, relevant and immersive’ ANNA MAZZOLA
‘Hypnotically readable . . . Stef Penney is a mesmerising storyteller’ AMANDA CRAIG
Anne is a former patient from a women’s asylum trying to carve out a new life for herself in a world that doesn’t understand her. Newcomer Lawrence is desperate to develop his talent as a photographer and escape the restrictions of his puritanical upbringing. Ellis, an army surgeon, has lived through the trauma of one civil war and will do anything to avoid another bloodbath.
Each keeps company with the restless beasts of Paris’ Menagerie, where they meet, fight their demons, lose their hearts, and rebel in a city under siege.
A dazzling historical epic of love andsurvival, Stef Penney carries the reader captivated through war-torn Paris.
Published July 6th by Wildfire Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
SYNOPSIS: ‘Flawless, lawless fun’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave, bestselling author of The Mercies
‘Prepare to grow hungrier for justice with every page you turn’ Nina de Gramont, bestselling author of The Christie Affair
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UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON. DOWNSTAIRS, THE SERVANTS ARE PLOTTING THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY.
When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal service, she knows just who to recruit to help her take revenge.
A black-market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs King’s predecessor, who has been keeping the dark secrets of Park Lane far too long.
Mrs King has an audacious plan in mind, one that will reunite her women in the depths of the house on the night of a magnificent ball – and play out right under the noses of her former employers…
THEY COME FROM NOTHING. BUT THEY’LL LEAVE WITH EVERYTHING.
Published July 6th by Hodder & Stoughton Romance Novel, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Mike Gayle: emotions you’ll never forget, stories you’ll want to share.
Helen and Ben parted as heartbroken 18-year-olds and went their very separate ways.
Twenty years later, mother-of-two-teenagers Helen is still in Manchester, a part-time primary teacher, stunned by the behaviour of her love-rat husband. In an old T shirt and scruffy jeans, she feels at the lowest point in her life.
And suddenly, impossibly, Ben is standing on her doorstep. Tired maybe, lonely even, but clearly still the world-famous, LA-based multi-millionaire rockstar he has become.
Can you ever go back?
For Helen and Ben, so much has happened in the years between. But just to sit in the kitchen for a while and talk – that would be nice.
Before the world comes crashing in.
Friendship, love, heartache and hope collide in this unforgettable emotional journey, from the author of Half A World Away.
Published July 6th by Chatto & Windus Historical Fiction, Literary Ficion, War Story
SYNOPSIS: The captivating new novel from the internationally-bestselling author of The Dictionary of Lost Words – A Reese’s Book Club Pick
‘Vivid and moving … I absolutely loved it!’ Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost Things ‘Charming, original and beautifully researched’ Rachel Hore, author of A Beautiful Spy
‘Your job is to bind the books, not read them.’
When the men of Oxford University Press leave for the Western Front, Peggy, her twin sister Maude and their friends in the bookbindery must shoulder the burden at home. As Peggy moves between her narrowboat full of memories and the demands of the Press, her dreams of studying feel ever more remote. She must know her place, fold her pages and never stop to savour the precious words in front of her.
From volunteer nurses to refugees fleeing the horrors of occupation, the war brings women together from all walks of life, and with them some difficult choices for Peggy. New friends and lovers offer new opportunities, but they also make new demands – and Peggy must write her own story.
‘Afresh, exciting new voice in historical fiction’ Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife ‘A compelling homage to the transformational power of books‘ Daisy Wood, author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris
Published July 6th by Century Fantasty Fiction, Magical Realism, Contemporary Fantasy, Horror Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery
SYNOPSIS: Not all books should be opened.
A spellbinding, edge-of your seat thriller, Ink Blood Sister Scribe follows a family tasked with guarding a trove of magical but deadly books, and the shadowy organisation that will do anything to get them back . . . even murder.
‘Follow where this novel leads and you will be lost in a bewitching spell, a book of magic about books of magic, and the people who reel from reading them. Go beyond the magic and you’re left with a heartbreaking tale of family where truth blurs with lies, and blood isn’t thick enough. A bold, new novel from an extraordinary new voice.’ Marlon James, New York Times bestselling author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf ____________
Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.
Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness.
But when she finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base, she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection are in danger.
If they are to survive, she and Joanna must unravel the secrets their parents kept hidden from them – secrets that span centuries and continents, and could cost them their lives …
Published July 6th by Tinder Press Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: ‘Sharp as a skewer about the devices and desires in many modern marriages. I loved it’ Amanda Craig ‘Charming, very touching and very funny. Taut and full of surprises’ Tessa Hadley
I shall explain about our marriage. We have a modern version of a long-distance relationship. We share a house, but live in different historical eras…
What happens in a relationship when your partner only has eyes for their new phone?
What happens when you lose a treasured possession – a hoard of love letters documenting a relationship that never really ended – and this loss becomes an obsession?
Speak to Me is the story of a woman’s quest, in a world ruled by screens and devices, for a conversation that will unlock who she once was, and what she really wants now. Keenly observed, tender and sharply funny, this is a book about all the ways we say, and don’t say, the things in our hearts.
Published July 6th by Headline Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: FOURTEEN DAYS, THREE SISTERS AND THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES
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Reeva Mehta is thriving. Consumed in her career as one of London’s top divorce lawyers, she doesn’t bat an eyelid when her mum calls to tell her that her dad is dead. Because he’s been dead since she was five . . . hasn’t he?
If finding out her dad was alive – until last week – wasn’t bad enough, his last request was for his daughters to spend fourteen days in mourning at his house. Which means Reeva must spend a fortnight stuck with the people who betrayed her when she needed them the most – her sisters.
Navigating her absent Bollywood megastar mother, newly dead father and scheming sisters with only a temperamental boyfriend – and even more temperamental cat – by her side, it’s no wonder Reeva’s hair is falling out. Could confronting the truth help the Mehtas put aside their differences, or will attending a funeral be the death of this family?
A fresh, funny and oh-so-relatable novel about trying to be the grown up when your magnificently messy family seems set to sabotage everything. Get ready to laugh, cry and fall in love with this addictive read.
Published July 6th by HQ Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Fiction, LGBT Literature, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: She’s stayed quiet for too long. Now it’s time to speak her truth.
Until twenty-four hours ago, Mickey Hayward was living the life she’d always dreamed of:
– Working as a full-time writer for a trendy media company (tick) – In a committed, loving relationship (tick)
Now she’s fired, tossed aside for a younger, more ‘agreeable’ Black writer. Sick of always being overlooked and undervalued, she responds with an online letter detailing the racism she’s faced within the industry. But when it’s met with overwhelming silence, and her girlfriend suggests they go on a break, Mickey’s carefully crafted life starts to fall apart.
As Mickey flees to her hometown, the simplicity of her old life – and the arms of an old flame – are all too tempting. But her life in New York refuses to be forgotten. And when a media scandal turns Mickey’s post into a viral sensation, suddenly everyone wants to hear what she has to say.
It’s what Mickey’s always wanted – isn’t it?
Intimate, witty, and deeply sexy, Homebodies is a testament to those trying to be heard and loved in a world that refuses to make space for them.
Published July 6th byAtlantic Books Crime Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: ‘A gritty heartbreaker of a thriller… Part heartfelt coming-of-age tale, part brutal Irish noir, this is a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans’ Kirkus
In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They – Helen, Joe and Mush – were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group’s white-hot centre. Soon after that summer’s peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.
Now it’s fifteen years later: Helen has reluctantly returned to Ireland for her father’s wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician, newly back in town; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother’s café. But human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. And as past and present begin to collide, the estranged friends are forced to confront their own complicity in the events that led to Kala’s disappearance, and to try to stop Kinlough’s violent patterns repeating themselves once again…
Against the backdrop of a town suffocating on its own secrets, in a story that builds from a smoulder to a stunning climax, Kala brilliantly examines the sometimes brutal costs of belonging, as well as the battle in the human heart between vengeance and forgiveness, despair and redemption.
You Can’t See Me (Forbidden Iceland 4) by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir
Published July 6th by Orenda Books Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction, Icelandic Noir, Holiday Fiction, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: A wealthy Icelandic family is investigated and dark secrets are exposed when a body is found on the lava fields outside the hotel where they’ve gathered for a reunion … the chilling, gripping prequel to the addictive Forbidden Iceland series
The wealthy, powerful Snæberg clan has gathered for a family reunion at a futuristic hotel set amongst the dark lava flows of Iceland’s remote Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Petra Snæberg, a successful interior designer, is anxious about the event, and her troubled teenage daughter, Lea, whose social-media presence has attracted the wrong kind of followers. Ageing carpenter Tryggvi is an outsider, only tolerated because he’s the boyfriend of Petra’s aunt, but he’s struggling to avoid alcohol because he knows what happens when he drinks … Humble hotel employee, Irma, is excited to meet this rich and famous family and observe them at close quarters … perhaps too close…
As the weather deteriorates and the alcohol flows, one of the guests disappears, and it becomes clear that there is a prowler lurking in the dark.
But is the real danger inside … within the family itself?
Masterfully cranking up the suspense, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir draws us into an isolated, frozen setting, where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted, as the dark secrets and painful pasts of the Snæberg family are uncovered … and the shocking truth revealed.
A Golden Age mystery for the 21st Century, with a shocking twist.
Published July 6th by Bantam Press Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS: Welcome to Stanhope – a safe neighbourhood. A place for families.
William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.
Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing.
Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbours become increasingly unhinged.
Published July 6th by Phoenix Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: THERE IS POWER IN SILENCE
East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant, has lived for more than four decades in her beloved coastal village of Cleftwater. Everyone knows Martha, but no one has ever heard her speak.
One Autumn morning, the peaceful atmosphere of Cleftwater is shattered by a sinister arrival and Martha becomes a silent witness to a witch-hunt. As a trusted member of the community, she is enlisted to search the bodies of the accused women. But whilst Martha wants to help her friends, she also harbours a dark secret that could cost her own freedom. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . .
An immersive and deeply moving novel inspired by true events, The Witching Tide breathes new life into history whilst holding up a mirror to the world we live in now. A story of loyalty and betrayal, fear and obsession, the impact of misogyny and the power of resistance, it is a magnificent debut from a striking new literary voice.
Published July 6th by Michael Joseph Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance
SYNOPSIS: Will and Rosie meet as teenagers.
They’re opposites in every way. She overthinks everything; he is her twin brother’s wild and unpredictable friend. But over secret walks home and late-night phone calls, they become closer – destined to be one another’s great love story.
Until, one day, tragedy strikes, and their future together is shattered.
But as the years roll on, Will and Rosie can’t help but find their way back to each other. Time and again, they come close to rekindling what might have been.
What do you do when the one person you should forget is the one you just can’t let go?
Published July 6th by Electric Monkey Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Romantic Mystery, Coming-of-Age Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Sex Education meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in this darkly hilarious YA murder mystery by Comedy Women in Print Prize and Carnegie Medal nominated author, Kate Weston.
Fiercely funny, feminist and FUN! I bloody loved it’ M.A. KUZNIAR
There’s never a good time to find a dead body. But finding a dead body while you’re trying to kiss your crush?
Dead awkward.
All Kerry wants to do is stay at home with her rom-coms and strict retainer schedule. Instead, her BFF Annie has roped her into going to their first sixth-form party to investigate who’s cyberbullying Heather, the most popular girl in school.
On the cusp of kissing her dreamy crush, Scott, Kerry discovers the body of Heather’s second in command – suffocated with a menstrual cup. Within days, another student turns up dead, this time with a sanitary pad across the eyes. Now Annie and Kerry are officially on the case to stop the menstrual murderer . . . period.
Published July 6th by Pushkin Press Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A spellbinding, darkly poetic literary novel that plunges us into the inner life of America’s first female serial killer
‘This fascinating, off-kilter novel about a female serial killer is an unexpectedly thrilling read’ Karl Ove Knausgaard
Seventeen-year-old Brynhild is in a fever – she can’t quiet the screaming world inside her. When an intense affair ends brutally, she flees Norway for America at the end of the nineteenth century in search of a new life. Changing her name first to Bella, later to Belle, she is driven from any potential refuge by an unbearable tension that won’t let her keep still. As Belle seeks release in a series of men, her yearning for an all-consuming love erupts into violence.
In this breathtaking novel, Victoria Kielland imagines her way into the tumultuous inner life of the Norwegian woman who became Belle Gunness – America’s first known female serial killer. Written in prose of wild, visceral beauty, My Men is a radically empathetic and disquieting portrait of a woman capable of ecstatic love and gruesome cruelty.
Beyond the Story: 10 Year Record of BTS by BTS and Myeongseok Kang
Published July 9th by Pan Macmillan Music Biography
SYNOPSIS: THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK― Published in celebration of BTS’s 10th Anniversary, stories that go beyond what you already know about BTS, including unreleased photos, QR codes of videos, and all album information.
After taking their first step into the world on June 13, 2013, BTS will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut in June 2023. They have risen to the peak as an iconic global artist and during this meaningful time, they look back on their footsteps in the first official book. In doing so, BTS nurtures the power to build brighter days and they choose to take another step on a road that no one has gone before.
BTS shares personal, behind-the-scenes stories of their journey so far through interviews and more than three years of in-depth coverage by Myeongseok Kang, who has written about K-pop and other Korean pop culture in various media. Presented chronologically in seven chapters from before the debut of BTS to the present, their vivid voices and opinions harmonize to tell a sincere, lively, and deep story. In individual interviews that have been conducted without a camera or makeup, they illuminate their musical journey from multiple angles and discuss its significance.
In addition, portrait photos that show BTS as individuals and artists open the book, and throughout there are concept photos, tracklists of all previous albums, and over 330 QR codes. As digital artists, BTS has been communicating with the world through the internet and this book allows readers to immediately access trailers, music videos, and more online to have a rich understanding of all the key moments in BTS history. Complete with a timeline of all major milestones, BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive―truly everything about BTS in one volume.
Published July 11th by Headline Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
SYNOPSIS: As the bombs began to fall, the book club kept their hopes alive…
The most emotional, uplifting and captivating story of wartime London and the extraordinary power of books to shine a light and draw people together in the darkest of days, inspired by true events.
London, 1938. Bookseller Gertie Bingham is facing difficult times, having just lost her beloved husband, Harry, and with a lingering sadness at never having been able to have a child of her own. Struggling to face running the bookshop she and Harry opened together, Gertie is preparing to sell up and move away when she is asked if she would be willing to take in a young Jewish refugee from Germany. Gertie is unsure and when sullen teenager Hedy Fischer arrives, Gertie fears she has nothing left to give the troubled girl.
But when the German bombers come and the lights go out over London, Gertie and Hedy realise that joining forces will make them stronger, and that books have the power to bring young and old together and unite a community in need in its darkest hour…
*Annie Lyons was shortlisted for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award*
Published July 13th by Michael Joseph Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: There are two sides to every story – and every marriage in crisis . . .
Malcolm, bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance.
His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of trying for a baby, she’s struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage. The bar is Malcolm’s dream, and as she feels her youth start to fade, she wonders how to reshape her own life.
When a blizzard hits their upstate New York town on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess, and a regular at the bar goes missing, everyone is frozen in place for a single, pivotal week, forcing Malcolm and Jess to confront their uncertain future.
The Half Moon carefully explores a marriage in crisis, what it takes to make a life with another person, and the true meaning of family.
Published July 13th by Pan Macmillan Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psyhological Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Sarah Hilary, Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year winner and author of Fragile, returns with Black Thorn, another compulsive psychological thriller that questions how much you know about the people who live next to you . . .
‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ Marian Keyes
Blackthorn Ashes was meant to be their forever home. For the first six families moving into the exclusive new housing development, it was a chance to live a peaceful life on the cliffs overlooking the Cornish sea, safe in the knowledge that it had been created just for them.
But six weeks later, paradise is lost. Six people are dead. And Blackthorn Ashes is left abandoned and unfinished, its dark shadows hiding all manner of secrets.
One of its surviving residents, Agnes Gale, is determined to find out the truth about what happened. Even if that truth is deadlier than she could have ever believed possible . . .
Published July 13th by Viking Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A rich, compassionate tale of four sisters and the love affair that fractures their family
Best friends and sisters, the four Padavano girls are seen as inseparable by everyone in their close-knit Italian-American neighbourhood. Julia, the eldest, is the ‘rocket’ of the family – she always has a destination in mind and clear plans for how to get there. Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book, dreaming of the kind of love you only read about in literature. Cecelia and Emmeline, the twins, are the artist and the caregiver. From childhood, the four sisters complete each other.
When Julia falls in love with William Waters, a history student and college sports star, she’s delighted by the way her plans for adulthood are coming to fruition: a husband, a house, a family of her own. But when darkness from William’s past begins to block the light of his future, it is Sylvie, not Julia, who becomes his closest confidante – and the ensuing betrayal tears the sisters apart.
Heart-breaking and heart-mending, HELLO BEAUTIFUL paints a vivid portrait of the unique bond and devastating betrayals of sisterhood.
Published July 20th by Michael Joseph Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: The second novel from the author of THE PUSH, 2021’s most explosive Sunday Times bestseller!
‘Spellbinding, a shimmering, visceral ride through the dark side of family, of community, of womanhood and mothering.Nobody delves as deep into the guts of motherhood as Ashley Audrain, she really is in a league of her own’ Lisa Jewell
‘Deeply thrilling and provocative . . a truly masterful novel’ Nita Prose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Maid
***
The whispers started long before the accident on Harlow Street . . .
Was it at the party, when Whitney screamed blue murder at her son?
Or after neighbour Blair started prowling Whitney’s house, uninvited?
Or once Rebecca and Ben’s childlessness finally puts a crack in their marriage?
But on the terrible night of the accident, the whispers grow louder, more insistent.
Neighbours gather round. Questions are asked. Secrets are spilled. And the gloss on everything begins to rub off. Everyone is drawn into the darkness.
Because there’s no smoke without fire. No friendship without envy. And no lie that does not conceal a devastating truth . . .
The Whispers is a darkly psychological portrait of couples in crisis and families in free fall.
Published July 20th by Century Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact birthday twins.
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for Alix’s series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Alix agrees to a trial interview. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep digging.
Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.
Soon she begins to wonder who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
Published July 20th by Orenda Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Science Fiction, Political Fiction, Dystopian Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A powerful, prescient speculative thriller: a woman’s job of enforcing climate-emergency Britain’s one-child policy is compromised when she discovers a personal link to an illegal sibling on the ministry hit-list, leading to a shocking discovery that changes everything…
One law. One child. Seven million crimes…
A cataclysmic climate emergency has spawned a one-child policy in the UK, ruthlessly enforced by a totalitarian regime. Compulsory abortion of ‘excess’ pregnancies and mandatory contraceptive implants are now the norm, and families must adhere to strict consumption quotas as the world descends into chaos.
Kai is a 25-year-old ‘baby reaper’, working for the Ministry of Population and Family Planning. If any of her assigned families attempt to exceed their child quota, she ensures they pay the price.
Until, one morning, she discovers that an illegal sibling on her Ministry hit-list is hers. And to protect her parents from severe penalties, she must secretly investigate before anyone else finds out.
Kai’s hunt for her forbidden sister unearths much more than a dark family secret. As she stumbles across a series of heinous crimes perpetrated by the people she trusted most, she makes a catastrophic discovery that could bring down the government … and tear her family apart.
Published July 20th by Orion Crime Fiction, Legal Thriller
SYNOPSIS: RIGHT OR WRONG? Only nine criminals in the UK have been granted lifelong anonymity. Their crimes so heinous that their identities are permanently changed for their own safety.
CRIMINAL OR VICTIM? Upon release, they’re given a second chance: new identities and new homes with new neighbours who have no idea. Because, by law, they cannot be named as who they are – or were…
REDEMPTION OR REVENGE? But what if someone started systematically exposing their true identities? Not to the press, or the public, but to the families of their victims.
A Game of Lies (DC Ffion Morgan 2) by Clare Mackintosh
Published July 20th by Sphere Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Police Procedural, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: They say the camera never lies. But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.
Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for.
Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.
The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them.
And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.
All Of Us Are Broken (Detective Saul Anguish 2) by Fiona Cummins
Published July 20th by Pan Macmillan Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: The electrifying new crime novel from the award winning author, Fiona Cummins, author of Into the Dark and Rattle.
It’s been a long time since the Hardwicke family has been on holiday. But thirteen-year-old Galen has wanted to see the wild dolphins at Scotland’s Chanonry Point for as long as she can remember, and her mother Christine – a lone parent since her beloved husband left – is determined she gets her wish. But their serene trip is about to be interrupted.
When DC Saul Anguish is called to investigate the shooting of an ex-police officer in Midtown-on-Sea, Essex, he quickly discovers that this is the first in a string of killings by Missy and Fox, a damaged young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood. In pursuit, Saul follows their trail north.
The paths of the Hardwickes’ and the deadly couple are about to collide. When Saul and his forensic linguist partner, Blue, arrive on the scene, they witness the unthinkable: a mother forced to make an impossible choice.
Saul must uncover the truth about the couple. But can he find the strength to lay the ghosts of his past to rest before they break him?
Published July 20th by Zaffre Mystery, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Satire, Psychological Fiction, Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance
SYNOPSIS: WHEN IT COMES TO BAD MEN, THERE’S ONLY EVER ONE CHOICE . . .
‘I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a thriller this much’ – ERIN KELLY
Saffy has a secret. A secret that she is deeply ashamed of. It’s not the fact that she’s a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she’s quite proud of that. After all she’s only killing the bad men. She is making the world a better place.
No, her secret is far worse than that. Saffy has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So while she’s busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend.
But if there’s one thing Saffy knows, it’s how to get her man . . .
Published July 20th by Penguin Fantasy Fiction, Greek Mythology, fFantasy Romance,Coming-of-Age Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: To hell with love, this goddess has other plans…
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.
But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell . . .
A fierce, fresh and enormously fun YA fantasy re-imagining from a growing TikTok superstar.
“Bring[s] to life timeless gods, the complex intimacy of family bonds, a fierce protagonist, and a passionate slow-burn romance.” Sue Lynn Tan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.
Published July 20th by Fourth Estate Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Political Fiction
SYNOPSIS: *SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES*
‘Topical, heartfelt, provocative and wise’ Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other
‘The perfect summer read: intelligent, funny, topical and impossible to put down’ Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
‘Phenomenal. Brilliantly written and incredibly clever’ Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice
From award-winning journalist and bestselling co-author of Slay in Your Lane, Yomi Adegoke, comes The List, a sensational, page-turning debut novel about secrets, lies and our lives online.
Ola Olajide, a high-profile journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is marrying the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, successful – she and her fiancé Michael are the ‘couple goals’ of their social networks and seem to have it all.
That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message:
‘Oh my god, have you seen The List?’
It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list―she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.
Compulsively page-turning, wildly entertaining and piercing with fearless insight, The List is perfect for fans of Such A Fun Age, My Dark Vanessa and Magpie. The List by Yomi Adegoke is set to be the most hotly debated debut novel of 2023.
Published July 20th by HQ Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Supernatural Fiction, Horror Fiction
SYNOPSIS: The stage is set and the witch-hunt is about to begin…
‘I am no witch. I have not sold my soul to the devil for powers. What I am has never openly been whispered of, yet it is enough that people would hang for it.’
England, 1645. After his half-brother dies, aspiring playwright Nicholas Pearce is apprenticed to Judge William Percival, an infamous former witch-hunter who is under pressure to resume his old profession.
In a country torn apart by civil war, with escalating tensions between Catholics and Protestants, Royalists and Roundheads, and rumours of witchcraft, Nicholas hides a secret: the dead sing. He hears their secrets, but will he find the courage to speak up to save innocent lives, even if it means putting himself in great danger?
A spellbinding debut novel perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins.
Published July 20th by Michael Joseph Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Historical Mystery
SYNOPSIS: ‘An incredibly vivid rendering of post-war London and the complicated lives of three woman whose fates intersect at a boarding house . . . emotional, immersive and utterly absorbing’ Jennifer Saint
‘Once again, Julie Owen Moylan has created a world that feels completely real and vivid. A hugely enjoyable book’ Jodie Chapman
When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it’s clear she’s hiding a terrible secret. And she’s not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . .
Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife – and a man she can’t quit.
Phyllis, 73 Dove Street’s formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband’s belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal – yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn’t want to talk about.
At first, the three women keep to themselves. But as Edie’s past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies – forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . . .
Published July 20th by Viking Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Holiday Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Six friends. The holiday of their dreams. One night that changed it all . . .
1989: The tunes are loud and the clothes are louder when a group of friends arrives in Mallorca for a post-graduation holiday of decadence and debauchery at a luxury villa.
A beach party marks the pinnacle of their fun, until it isn’t fun any longer. Because amidst the wild partying – sand flying from dancing feet and revellers leaping from yachts – an accident happens. Suddenly, the night of a lifetime becomes a living nightmare.
Now: The truth about that summer has been collectively buried. But someone knows what happened that night.
And they want the friends to pay for what they did.
Published July 20th by Bantam Press Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction
SYNOPSIS: Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay…
‘It really is The Beach for a new generation – a hot contender for best travel thriller of 2023.’ Janice Hallett
‘The Dive turns paradise into a nightmare… and I loved every minute of it.’ Amy McCulloch
‘Utterly compelling.’ Lucy Clarke
Escape to paradise. Scuba diving instructor Cass leads her students out for their first dive off the beautiful coast of Koh Sang, Thailand’s world-famous party island. It’s supposed to be a life-changing experience, but things quickly spiral out of control…
Leave your secrets behind. By the time she gets back to the shore, one of her students is dead, another badly injured, and she knows that her idyllic life is about to be smashed to pieces on the rocks.
But don’t get lost for ever… Because this isn’t the first mysterious death on the island, and it won’t be the last. Someone is making sure that backpackers stay in paradise for ever – one murder at a time…
The Clearing (Rees &TannahillBook 2) by Simon Toyne
Published July 20th by Harper Collins UK Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: From the author of the Sanctus series comes a brilliant new serial killer thriller featuring forensic specialist Dr Laughton Rees and Detective Chief Inspector Tannahill Khan
‘The tension is almost unbearable… the ending is genuinely one of the most jaw-dropping ones I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely superb.’ M.W. Craven
Women are going missing Something deadly lurks in the forest around Cinderfield. Locals put the unusually high number of disappearances down to transients or runaways; some even blame the Cinderman, a figure of local legend rumoured to haunt the woods looking for unsuspecting victims.
Vanishing without a trace Forensic specialist Laughton Rees doesn’t believe in monsters. Already investigating the area’s history of missing women, news of the latest ‘runaway’ Maddie Friar brings her to Cinderfield to find out the truth.
No one’s talking But, from the gruff leader of an off-grid commune to the mysterious Earl who presides over the crumbling abbey in the heart of the forest, everyone in Cinderfield has something to hide
But what lies in the shadows? As Laughton searches for answers, with the help of DCI Tannahil Khan back in London, someone is watching – cataloguing her every move, prepared to do anything to keep their dark secrets from coming to light
Published July 20th by Quercus Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: When Finn Hensen gets a call from his sister Jess to say their father has died, neither is heartbroken. Their parents divorced many years ago, after which their father, Jimmy, continued to live a bohemian lifestyle in sun-soaked Mallorca.
Ownership of his beautiful but dilapidated farmhouse in the mountains now passes to Finn and his sister. The only problem is that Jimmy recently remarried and his new wife, Ruensa, is still living there.
The pair agree that Finn should go to Mallorca and tactfully take possession of their inheritance. When he arrives, however, Finn is surprised to find that Finca Siquia has been completely transformed into a chic Mediterranean bolthole by Ruensa and her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Roze. The Spanish police, meanwhile, are asking awkward questions about Jimmy’s death . . .
Are Ruensa and Roze the helpless victims of circumstance? Or will they stop at nothing to get Finca Siquia for themselves?
Published July 20th by HQ Contemporary Romance, Holiday Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: Escape to Italy this summer with The Little Italian Hotel, the uplifting new book from Phaedra Patrick, the bestselling author of The Library of Lost and Found.
‘The perfect book to read when you want to give your heart a holiday’ Sally Page, bestselling author of The Keeper of Stories
Ginny Splinter, acclaimed radio host and relationship expert, prides herself on knowing what’s best for others. So, she’s sure her husband, Adrian, will love the special trip to Italy she’s planned for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. But when Ginny presents the gift, he surprises her with his own very different plan: a divorce.
Beside herself with heartache, Ginny impulsively goes live on air to invite four heartbroken listeners to join her instead. From hiking the hills of Bologna to sharing a gondola in Venice and dancing until dawn, Ginny and her guests embark on a holiday of full of fun, hope and healing.
Sunny, tender and brimming with charm, The Little Italian Hotel explores love, the importance of friendship, and reclaiming the present moment – even if it means leaving the past behind.
You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Published July 20th by HQ Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: ‘Sits squarely at the tender intersection of race, class, and ethics – wrapped in beautiful prose and a killer plot that keeps you turning the pages’ JODI PICOULT
Is the truest family the one we’re born into, or the one we make for ourselves?
Cinnamon Haynes has fought hard for everything she has – her marriage, a stable job as a career counsellor, and home of her own. She’s overcome the difficult circumstances of her childhood to build this life, and yet, she can’t help but wonder . . . is this all there is?
Just nineteen years old, Daisy Dunlap has already faced her share of hardships, but she has big dreams for her future. A future which is threatened when she gets unexpectedly pregnant and, desperate and alone, she makes a drastic decision with devastating consequences.
When Cinnamon finds an abandoned baby in the park, she takes the newborn into her home, not realising the chain reaction this will set off. Cinnamon must deal with the shocking judgements from friends, strangers, even her own husband, about why a Black woman like her would take in this blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby, but all Cinnamon wants is to do right by this innocent child. Then, Cinnamon’s fragile hold over the baby is threatened and she must fight for the family she wants – even if that costs her everything she once held dear . . .
Published July 25th by Daphne Press Fantasty Fiction, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Horror Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: Enter a lush world inspired by the history and mythology of South America, where twisted family politics deceive, dark magics thrive, and fantastical creatures roam.
Reina is desperate.
Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.
Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn―and keep―her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.
Eva Kesare is unwanted.
Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her.
Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.
Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods 1) by Chloe Gong
Published July 25th by Hodder & Stoughton High Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Fantasy Series
SYNOPSIS: ‘Each page is fierce and filled with yearning – I loved it’ Andrea Stewart
The only way to win, is to survive.
Every year, thousands flock to San-Er, the dangerously dense capital twin cities of the kingdom of Talin, where the palace hosts a set of deadly games. Those confident in their ability to jump between bodies can enter a fight to the death – for the chance to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been in hiding for five years, ever since she murdered her parents to free the people of Talin from her tyrannical family. Only one person stands in her way of finishing the job: her reclusive uncle King Kasa. However, she knows he always greets the victor of the games. If she wins, she will finally get the chance to kill him.
Enter Anton Makusa, whose childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace. He’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Which means his last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.
When Anton proposes an unexpected alliance with Calla, they quickly find their partnership spiraling into something all-consuming. But before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for – her lover or her kingdom. For no matter what, only one of them can walk out alive . . .
#1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.
Published July 25th by Dutton Historical Fiction, Greek Mythology, High Fantasy, War Story
SYNOPSIS: Four women. Four threads spinning on a single loom. Can they reweave the tapestry of fate? Troy is not just a legend born of myth and poetry, but a historical place where real people schemed and defended, loved and lost. Unlike other retellings, this novel explores the earlier days of the Trojan war, digging deep into the story of those trapped behind the city’s walls. This Troy is not a playground of gods and goddesses, but a political and physical battleground where ordinary people and strong, yet misunderstood women take center stage: Andromache is cast as the doting wife of Prince Hector, yet her Amazonian name means ‘battler of men.’ When her struggle to produce a male heir endangers Hector’s position as Troy’s future king, she must gather a band of outcasts and become the military commander she was born to be, while protecting the secret life growing within. Rhea is a war refugee and a horse whisperer who finally earns a place, and sense of belonging, in Hector’s stables. When the Greek hordes come banging at the city gates, Rhea must become an unlikely spy, while facing a forbidden love that will test all her loyalties. Helen is blamed by all for starting the Trojan War, but no one knows her real story. To escape her abusive husband and foil a plot to undermine Hector, Helen must risk everything and reveal her true face to the one who despises her most. Cassandra is tormented by the truth about Troy’s fate as she watches helplessly from her tower. All of Troy believes that her prophecies are those of a mad woman, but that is about to change.
The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec
Published July 25th by Titan Fairy Tale, Hisotrical Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: Two stepsisters encounter the gods and giants of Norse mythology, as they face their intertwining destinies and an ominous prophecy in this powerful novel from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart.
Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children, and they could not be more different. Oddny longs for a quiet, peaceful life. Gunnhild, on the other hand, burns for power, secretly longing to harness the magic that flows inside of her, and one day become queen. But after a visiting wise woman makes an ominous prophecy that involves them both, the girls take a blood oath to help each other always.
When Oddny’s mother is killed and her sister kidnapped by Viking raiders, she finds herself set adrift from the life she imagined. Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is on her way to her exalted destiny. When they find each other again, their bond will be tested in ways they could never had imagined in this rich novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.
Published July 27th by Hutchinson Heinmann Psychological Thriller, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER PRIZE WINNER OF FRANCE’S FIRST NOVEL AWARD
‘One of the most daring, provocative, unnervingly intimate thrillers I’ve read in years. Few writers besides Ruth Rendell and Patricia Highsmith can evoke domestic unease with such sangfroid; fewer still can make it such delirious fun‘ A. J. Finn, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
‘What a wonderfully tense, obsessive, enveloping novel – almost like a feminist, introspective spin on Fatal Attraction! Ventura’s deftly spun debut is a sharply observed dissection of marriage that will haunt you for days’ Virgina Feito
‘In this wry, psychologically complex debut, a meticulously manicured wife is obsessed with her husband. For the past 13 years, she’s made a science of meeting his needs, putting them before her own or even their children’s. Her love is a stranglehold; something’s gotta give. The winner of France’s First Novel Prize, this riveting emotional thriller requires serious willpower to not devour in a single sitting’ Oprah Daily
From the outside, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she’s never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated.
Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him – setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met.
Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . .
With the surprise of Gone Girl, the bleakness of The Talented Mr Ripley and the sinister charm of the Netflix thriller You, My Husband is a bold and exhilarating story of passion and the dark secrets that lie beneath a seemingly healthy marriage.
Published July 27th by Michael Joseph Historical Fiction
SYNOPSIS: I’ll show you what a woman can do . . .
‘Artemisia’s life was extraordinary, and so is this book. I was swept away by lush, evocative prose. An unforgettable, moving and important story told with great skill and care’ JENNIFER SAINT
‘Outstanding. A powerful novel about women who are shamed and silenced, and how they learn to survive. A literary knockout’ ANNA MAZZOLA, author of The Clockwork Girl
‘An unforgettable book – visceral and lush and fierce. The last few pages left me gasping. An absolute triumph’ EVE CHASE
Rome 1611.
A jewel-bright place of change, with sumptuous new palaces and lavish wealth on display. A city where women are seen but not heard.
Artemisia Gentileschi dreams of becoming a great artist. Motherless, she grows up among a family of painters – men and boys. She knows she is more talented than her brothers, but she cannot choose her own future. She wants to experience the world, but she belongs to her father and will belong to a husband.
As Artemisia patiently goes from lesson to lesson, perfecting her craft, she also paints in private, recreating the women who inspire her, away from her father’s eyes.
Until a mysterious tutor enters her life. Tassi is a dashing figure, handsome and worldly, and for a moment he represents everything that a life of freedom might offer. But then the unthinkable happens.
In the eyes of her family, Artemisia should accept her fate. In the eyes of the law, she is the villain.
But Artemisia is a survivor. And this is her story to tell.
Published July 27th by Penguin Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Romantic Mystery
SYNOPSIS: *Squid Game at an American High School – the twisty YA thriller that everyone will be talking about in 2023.* Twelve girls. Three rounds. One ultimate prize . . . for the last one left alive.
Edgewater Academy is a school for the very rich and very powerful.
Adina Walker is neither of those things. Alone and outcast, when she gets into a fight with a fellow student (and former friend), her scholarship to a top college is revoked, and her world falls apart.
Until she’s invited to The Finish.
Annual games for the brightest and the best, hosted by power-family The Remingtons, the winning prize for The Finish is everything Adina wants. This is her chance at the life she’s dreamed of.
Then the contestants start to die.
Love, revenge, pride – all are on the line. This isn’t a game any more . . .
Horrific and engrossing in equal measure, THEIR VICIOUS GAMES is also a thoughtful and clever commentary on race and class. Ace of Spades meetsThe Inheritance Games, this is a game you’ll want to see through to the finish.
Historical and gothic fiction is, for me, a joint favourite genre with thrillers. So I’m very excited about the books on today’s list. What do you think of my choices?
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A Marriage of Fortune by Anne O’Brien
SYNOPSIS: England. 1469.
A fortunate marriage will change history. A scandal could destroy everything…
Margaret Paston, matriarch of the Paston family, knows that a favourable match for one of her unruly daughters is the only way to survive the loss of their recently acquired Caister Castle. But as the War of the Roses rages on, dangerous enemies will threaten even her best laid plans.
Margery Paston, her eldest daughter, has always strived to uphold the Paston name and do her mother proud. But when she loses her heart to a man below her station, she must make a terrible choice: will she betray her family and risk everything for a chance at true love?
Anne Haute, first cousin to the Queen, is embroiled in a longstanding betrothal to Sir John Paston, the eldest son and heir to the Paston seat. But despite his promises, Anne can’t help but doubt that he will ever keep his word and make her his wife…
In the midst of civil war, each of these women must decide: Head or heart? Love or duty? Reputation- or scandal?
SYNOPSIS: Be careful what you wish for… it may just come true.
At The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.
It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.
What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it’s as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.
SYNOPSIS: Lena has her life mapped out. While her sister obsesses about fortune-telling gypsies and marriage, Lena studies the way the heart works. She isn’t going to let being a girl stop her from becoming one of Poland’s first female doctors. But the world has other plans for Lena. Instead of university she finds herself a reluctant army wife, lonely and unmoored by the emotions of motherhood. And as she tries to accept a different future from the one she wanted, the threat of global war becomes reality. Lena must face just how unpredictable life can be.
Deemed Enemies of State by the invading Soviets, she and her family are exiled from their Polish village to a work camp in the freezing hell of Siberia. It’s here, despite the hunger and back-breaking work, Lena learns something remarkable; it is possible to fall in love even at the edge of life. And for that love, Lena must make a decision, the consequences of which will haunt her for ever.
Tender, brutal and passionate, The Snow Hare is about living with impossible choices and our incredible ability to cultivate hope in the darkest places.
Published February 2nd by John Murray Press Pre-order here*
A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis (The Bronte Mysteries 4)
SYNOPSIS: Haworth 1847 – Anne and Emily Brontë have had their books accepted for publication, while Charlotte’s has been rejected everywhere, creating a strained atmosphere at the parsonage.
At the same time, a shocking court case has recently concluded, acquitting a workhouse master of murdering his wife by poison. Everyone thinks this famously odious and abusive man is guilty. However, he insists he is many bad things but not a murderer. When an attempt is made on his life, he believes it to be the same person who killed his wife and applies to the detecting sisters for their help.
Despite reservations, they decide that perhaps, as before, it is only they who can get to the truth and prove him innocent – or guilty – without a shadow of doubt.
Published February 9th by Hodder & Stoughton Pre-order here*
The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood
SYNOPSIS: The myth of Perseus, told through the story of the three women who knew him best – his mother Danae, his wife Andromeda, and his victim, Medusa.
History remembers him as a hero. But the women who knew him best remember a different man…
Perseus grows up wanting to be a hero, but he cannot become one if his mother Danae still sees him as a boy. When his stepfather Polydektes casts him away on a voyage across the sea, Perseus is determined to fulfil the great destiny of the son of a god and the grandson of a king. But the line between heroism and monstrosity is thin, and when Perseus attempts to seduce first gentle Medusa and then beautiful Andromeda, before finally reuniting with Danae, they each learn of the dangers of resisting a boy prepared to risk it all for greatness . . .
Published February 21st by Hodder & Stoughton Pre-order here
The Book of Eve by Meg Clothier
SYNOPSIS: In the name of the Father, not a word of this. Her letters are forbidden.
Beatrice is the convent’s librarian. For years, she has shunned the company of her sisters, finding solace only with her manuscripts.
Then, one carnival night, two women, bleeding and stricken, are abandoned outside the convent’s walls. Moments from death, one of them presses something into Beatrice’s hands: a bewitching book whose pages have a dangerous life of their own.
But men of the faith want the book destroyed, and a zealous preacher has tracked it to her door. Her sisters’ lives – or her obsession. Beatrice must decide.
The book’s voice is growing stronger. An ancient power uncoils. Will she dare to listen?
SYNOPSIS: From the author of the intoxicating bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes an entrancing exploration of the blurred lines between truth and illusion and the grave risks women take to avenge the ones they love.
May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium…
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…
Published March 21st by Legend Press Pre-order here*
The Lodger by Helen Scarlett
SYNOPSIS: This second novel from the author of The Deception of Harriet Fleet takes us back to the aftermath of the Great War in another haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale.
London in 1919 was a city of ghosts and absences, haunted by the men who marched away but never came back from ‘the war to end all wars.’
Grace Armstrong believes that she has come to terms with her own loss, the death of her fiancé, the brilliant and dazzling best friend of her brother. He was declared Missing in Action during the Battle of the Somme, but he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams.
Grace is appalled when a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Elizabeth Smith, who has lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing.
Elizabeth had been more than a lodger; she had become a close friend to Grace, who feels compelled to find out what happened. In doing so she is drawn reluctantly into the sordid and dangerous underbelly of London and a scandal that rocked Edwardian society. Soon Grace finds herself under threat, and the only person prepared to listen is the brooding Tom Monaghan. But Tom has dark shadows of his own to navigate before being able to put his past behind him to help Grace in her quest for the truth.
SYNOPSIS: From SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Kate Heartfield comes a glorious, lyrical retelling of one of Norse mythology’s greatest epics
Brynhild is a Valkyrie: shieldmaiden of the Allfather, chooser of the slain. But now she too has fallen, flightless in her exile.
Gudrun is a princess of Burgundy, a daughter of the Rhine, a prize for an invading king – a king whose brother Attila has other plans, and a dragon to call upon.
And in the songs to be sung, there is another hero: Sigurd, a warrior with a sword sharper than the new moon.
As the legends tell, these names are destined to be lovers, fated as enemies. But here on Midgard, legends can be lies…
For not all heroes are heroic, nor all monsters monstrous. And a shieldmaiden may yet find that love is the greatest weapon of all.
Kate Heartfield’s book ‘The Embroidered Book’ was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 14-02-2022.
Published March 30th by HarperVoyager Pre-order here*
The House of Whispers by Anna Mazzola
SYNOPSIS: A creepy, chilling story – another Anna Mazzola triumph!’ JENNIFER SAINT
Sometimes the secrets of the past are more dangerous than the present…
Rome, 1938.
As the world teeters on the brink of war, talented pianist Eva Valenti enters the house of widower Dante Cavallera to become his new wife.
On the outside, the forces of Fascism are accelerating, but in her new home, Eva fears that something else is at work, whispering in the walls and leaving mysterious marks on Dante’s young daughter.
Soon she starts to wonder whether the house itself is trying to give up the secrets of its mysterious past – secrets that Dante seems so determined to keep hidden.
However, Eva must also conceal the truth of her own identity, for if she is discovered, she will be in greater danger than she could ever have imagined…
SYNOPSIS: The mesmerising story of the only female Argonaut, told by Jennifer Saint, the bestselling author of ELEKTRAand ARIADNE .
When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.
Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis.
Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason’s band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?
SYNOPSIS: From the bestselling author of The Clockmaker’s Daughter, Kate Morton, comes a breathtaking mystery of love, lies and a cold case come back to life, told with her trademark intricacy and beauty.
Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959.
At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek in the grounds of a grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tumbilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.
Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.
At a loose end in Nora’s house, Jess does some digging into her past. In Nora’s bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime – a crime that has never been truly solved. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find . . .
An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth.
SYNOPSIS: The gripping and unforgettable new novel from Caroline Lea, based on one of history’s most shocking but largely untold scandals
‘Gorgeous. Prize Women . . . took my breath away. I haven’t stopped thinking about it’ JENNIFER SAINT, bestselling author of ARIADNE
Masterful. Caroline Lea is a superb storyteller, and Prize Women deserves a huge readership. So good, I had to pull myself away’ ELIZABETH MACNEAL, bestselling author of THE DOLL FACTORY ___________
Toronto, Canada, 1926
Best friends Lily di Marco and Mae Thebault were once inseparable. They lived under the same roof and cared for each other’s children. But with mouths to feeds and demanding husbands to keep happy, both women are forced into terrible decisions as the Great Depression tightens its grip.
When lawyer Charles Vance Miller’s will promises a handsome sum of money to the woman who can produce the most babies in the next ten years, it is initially dismissed as a vanity project. But as the Great Depression worsens, and times get increasingly tough across the world, for the most desperate in society this contest known as The Great Stork Derby suddenly seems like a way out.
Ten years later, Lily and Mae couldn’t be further apart. And as The Great Stork Derby continues to make headlines, for all the wrong reasons, both these women must face up to their part in it, and the consequences…
Published April 27th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
The Woman on the Bridge by Sheila O’Flanagan
SYNOPSIS: A stunning historical novel from multi-million-copy bestselling author Sheila O’Flanagan Dublin. The 1920s. As war tears Ireland apart, two young people are caught up in events that will bring love, tragedy – and the hardest of choices.
In a country fighting for freedom, it’s hard to live a normal life. Winnie O’Leary supports the cause, but she doesn’t go looking for trouble. Then rebel Joseph Burke steps into her workplace. Winnie is furious with him about a broken window. She’s not interested in romance. But love comes when you least expect it.
Joseph’s family shelter fugitives and transport weapons. Joseph would never ask Winnie to join the fight; but his mother and sisters demand commitment. Will Winnie choose Joseph, and put her own loved ones in deadly danger? Or wait for a time of peace that may never come?
Ireland’s tumultuous independence struggle is the backdrop for an unforgettable story of courage and heartbreak, in which heroes are made of ordinary people. Inspired by the story of Sheila O’Flanagan’s grandmother, The Woman on the Bridge is the unmissable, compulsive new novel from a bestselling author.
Published April 27th by Headline Review Pre-order here*
A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin
SYNOPSIS: The captivating new historical novel from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
Pre-order the most delightful, escapist historical of the year from the Sunday Times bestselling author!
Recently widowed from her marriage of convenience, Eliza, now Dowager Countess of Somerset, is bequeathed a fortune, hers to keep as long as she can steer clear of scandal.
It should be simple – Eliza has spent a lifetime following the rules – but now that she is rich, titled and independent, misbehaviour is much more tempting…
Published May 11th by Harper Collins Pre-order here*
The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman
SYNOPSIS: TO LOVE IS TO FALL . . .
On a rooftop in Elizabethan London two worlds collide. Shay is a messenger-girl and trainer of hawks who sees the future in the patterns of birds. Nonesuch is the dark star of the city’s fabled child theatre scene, as famous as royalty yet lowly as a beggar.
Together they create The Ghost Theatre: a troupe staging magical plays in London’s hidden corners. As their hallucinatory performances incite rebellion among the city’s outcasts, the pair’s relationship sparks and burns against a backdrop of the plague and a London in flames. Their growing fame sweeps them up into the black web of the Elizabethan court, where Shay and Nonesuch discover that if they fly too high, a fall is sure to come.
Fantastical and captivating, The Ghost Theatre charts the rise and dramatic destruction of a dream born from love and torn apart by betrayal.
SYNOPSIS: A gripping, gut-punch of a novel about a Cherokee child removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school in the 1950s—an ambitious, eye-opening reckoning of history and small-town prejudices from Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble.
Since her mother’s death, Kit Crockett has lived with her grief-stricken father, spending lonely days far out in the country tending the garden, fishing in a local stream, and reading Nancy Drew mysteries from the library bookmobile. One day when Kit discovers a mysterious and beautiful woman has moved in just down the road, she is intrigued.
Kit and her new neighbor Bella become fast friends. Both outsiders, they take comfort in each other’s company. But malice lurks near their quiet bayou and Kit suddenly finds herself at the center of tragic, fatal crime. Soon, Kit is ripped from her home and Cherokee family and sent to Ashley Lordard, a religious boarding school. Along with the other Native students, Kit is stripped of her heritage, force-fed Christian indoctrination, and is sexually abused by the director. But Kit, as strong-willed and shrewd as ever, secretly keeps a journal recounting what she remembers—and revealing just what she has forgotten. Over the course of Stealing, she slowly unravels the truth of how she ended up at the school—and plots a way out.
In swift, sharp, and stunning prose, Margaret Verble spins a powerful coming-of age tale and reaffirms her place as an indelible storyteller and chronicler of history.
Published May 11th by Harper Collins Pre-order here*
Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby
SYNOPSIS: A haunting mystery for fans of Eve Chase, Kate Morton and Kate Mosse.
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. Trapped and isolated on the East Anglian coast, Vita takes solace in watching the birds that fly over the marshes. But then she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney. The two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to escape Aubrey’s grasp and be as free as the birds she loves.
1997: Decades later and in the wake of her mother’s death, Eve Blakeney returns to the coast where she spent childhood summers with her beloved grandmother, Dodie. Eve hopes the visit will help make sense of her grief. The last thing she expects to find is a bundle of letters that hint at the heart-breaking story of Dodie’s relationship with a woman named Vita.
Eve and Vita’s stories are linked by a shattering secret that echoes through the decades, and when Eve discovers the truth, it will overturn everything she thought she knew about her family – and change her life forever.
Mrs Porter Calling by AJ Pearce (The Emmy Lake Chronicles)
SYNOPSIS: The heartwarming, moving and uplifting new story of friendship, love and finding courage when all seems lost from AJ Pearce, TheSunday Times bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird and Yours Cheerfully.
London, April 1943.
Emmy Lake is an agony aunt at Woman’s Friend magazine, doing all she can to help readers as they face the challenges of wartime life. With her column thriving and a team of women behind her, Emmy finally feels she is Doing Her Bit.
But when the glamourous new owner arrives, everything changes. Charming her way around editor Guy Collins, Emmy quickly realises the Honourable Mrs Cressida Porter plans to destroy everything readers love about the magazine.
With her best friends by her side, Emmy must work out how she can bring everyone together and save Woman’s Friend before it’s too late.
SYNOPSIS: A grand hotel, a famous opera star and a psychoanalyst with a hidden agenda. Kate Mascarenhas’s third novel offers her readers a glamorous, thrilling ride through murder, madness and the darkest recesses of the mind.
February, 1929. The Regent Hotel in Birmingham is a place of deception and glamour. Behind its six-storeyed façade, guests sip absinthe cocktails on velvet banquettes, while the hotel’s red-jacketed staff scurry through its lavish corridors to ensure the finest service is always at hand.
In the early evening, a psychoanalyst checks in under a pseudonym: Nora Dickinson. Nora is young, diligent and ambitious. Though she doesn’t see herself as a liar, she is travelling with an agenda. Having followed the famous opera singer, Berenice Oxbow, from Zurich to Birmingham, she’s determined not to let her out of her sight.
But when a terrible snow storm isolates the hotel – and its guests – from the outside world, the lines between nightmare and reality begin to blur…
SYNOPSIS: From the author of stunning historical fiction books comes a new story of crime, deceit, and murder, set in the early 1920s…
In the hot summer of 1914 a boy vanishes, never to be seen again.
Now, in 1920, the once esteemed Stilwell family of Darkacre Hall find their already troubled lives thrown into disarray when new evidence leads to the boy’s case being reopened – and this time they themselves are under police scrutiny.
As the dead return to haunt the living, old resentments resurface and loyalties are tested, while secrets risk being unearthed that could destroy them all.
SYNOPSIS: Exploring universal themes of love and loss, the power of redemption and what it means to be unique,The Fascination is an evocative,glittering and bewitching gothic novel that brings alive Victorian London and darkness and deception that lies beneath…
Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions…
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father’s quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’.
Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities … particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother’s death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his name.
Unable to train to be a doctor as he’d hoped, Theo finds employment in Dr Summerwell’s Museum of Anatomy in London, and here he meets Captain and his theatrical ‘family’ of performers, freaks and outcasts.
But it is Theo’s fascination with Tilly and Keziah that will lead all of them into a web of dark deceits, exposing the darkest secrets and threatening everything they know…
Exploring universal themes of love and loss, the power of redemption and what it means to be unique, The Fascination is an evocative, glittering and bewitching gothic novel that brings alive Victorian London and darkness and deception that lies beneath…
Published June 22nd by Orenda Books Pre-order here*
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
SYNOPSIS: ‘The queen of the historical crime novel’ – CJ Tudor
‘My father had spelt it out to me. Choice was a luxury I couldn’t afford. This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .’
A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar.
Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling is a delight to high society, but she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?
The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholemew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads into her grave danger . . .
Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s The Square of Sevens is an epic and sweeping novel set in Georgian high society, a dazzling story offering up mystery, intrigue, heartbreak, and audacious twists.
SYNOPSIS: A mystery lies hidden within an old book… Unlock the secrets of The Birdcage Library.
‘Gothic, gorgeous and vividly atmospheric; an immersive literary page-turner to be swept up in’ Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author _________
A rich, beguiling story of long-buried secrets and dark obsession, The Birdcage Library is the dazzling new novel from Freya Berry, author of The Dictator’s Wife, as seen on BBC2 Between the Covers.
Dear Reader, the man I love is trying to kill me…
Emily Blackwood, adventuress and plant hunter, travels north for a curious new commission. A gentleman has written to request she catalogue his vast collection of taxidermied creatures before sale.
On arrival, Emily finds a ruined castle, its owner haunted by a woman who vanished years before. And when she discovers the ripped pages of a diary, crammed into the walls, she realises dark secrets lie here, waiting to entrap her too….
Discover a mystery within a mystery in The Birdcage Library, a novel that will hold you in its spell until the final page.
SYNOPSIS: At a time of extraordinary change, two women must harness their talents to take control of their own destiny . . .
Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden’s life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands?
Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously in a male-dominated world, and a brilliant young magician, George Perris, begins to see the potential in moving pictures. George believes that if he can harness this new technology, it will revolutionise the world of magic forever – but in order to achieve his dreams, he must first win over Miss Carleton . . .
As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, Cec, Eadie and George’s worlds collide. But as Cec falls in love with the bustling realm of theatre and magic, she faces the fight of her life to save the performance from sabotage and harness the element of real magic held deep within her.
THE ILLUSIONS is the captivating new novel from the much-lauded author of THE GIFTS. Inspired by real-life illusionists and early film pioneers, this astonishing story of women and talent, magic and power, sweeps you into a world where anything is possible and nothing is quite as it seems . . .
Published June 22nd by Manilla Press Pre-order here*
73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan
SYNOPSIS: When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it’s clear she’s hiding a terrible secret. And she’s not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . .
Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife – and a man she can’t quit.
Phyllis, 73 Dove Street’s formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband’s belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal – yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn’t want to talk about.
At first, the three women keep to themselves. But as Edie’s past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies – forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . . .
Published July 20th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
SYNOPSIS: Bestselling author Riley Sager returns with a Gothic chiller about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a Lizzie Borden-like massacre decades earlier.
At seventeen, Lenora Hope Hung her sister with a rope
Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.
Stabbed her father with a knife Took her mother’s happy life
It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer–I want to tell you everything.
SYNOPSIS: BEFORE ROMEO LOVED JULIET, HE LOVED FAIR ROSALINE . . .
Was the greatest ever love story really a lie?
Romeo Montague is handsome and charming and the first time he sees young Rosaline Capulet, who has secretly snuck into his family’s masquerade summer ball, he falls instantly in love.
At first Rosaline is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join the nunnery, Romeo offers her the chance of a different life. Gradually he convinces her that only true love could make him feel this way, that he is enraptured by her beauty. Indeed, he cannot live without her!
And so begins the story of Romeo and Rosaline. These star-crossed lovers must keep everything hidden from Rosaline’s family, at least until they are wed. But when a destitute young girl appears, claiming to be carrying Romeo’s child, Rosaline starts to doubt all that she has been told. And as whispers of more girls reach her ears, what once felt like a courtship begins to feel more like a pursuit.
As Rosaline recognises Romeo for the villain he truly is, his gaze turns suddenly towards Rosaline’s adored and beautiful cousin, thirteen-year old Juliet.
Can Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way . . ?
Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa in this fierce, feminist, intensely gripping, unmissable novel; captivating and chillingly relevant, FAIR ROSALINE takes everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet and turns it on its head . . .
Published August 3rd by Manilla Press Pre-order here*
House of Odysseus by Claire North
SYNOPSIS: ‘CLAIRE NORTH BRINGS A POWERFUL, FRESH AND UNFLINCHING VOICE TO ANCIENT MYTH’ Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne
Following the critically acclaimed Ithaca comes House of Odysseus, the second novel in Claire North’s Songs of Penelope trilogy – anexquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before.
On the island of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never returned. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace – but this is shattered with the arrival of Orestes, King of Mycenae.
Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is mad. Wracked with guilt for putting his own mother to death, he grows ever more unhinged. But a king cannot be seen to be weak. To keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae, his sister Elektra brings him to Ithaca to recover under the protection of Penelope. But no sooner has Orestes arrived then his uncle Menelaus, the blood-soaked king of Sparta, comes looking for him. Menelaus hungers for Orestes’ throne – and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.
Caught between Sparta and Mycenae, Penelope must protect Ithaca from two mad kings on the edge of war. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. Each woman has a secret, and their secrets will shape the world . . .
SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the real-life diaries of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister – ‘the first modern lesbian,’ also known as Gentleman Jack – Donoghue’s mesmerising historical novel is a tour de force of rich characterisation and period detail.
Published August 24th by Pan Macmillan Pre-order here*
The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley
SYNOPSIS: PRE ORDER THE NEXT CHILLING AND TWISTY GHOST STORY FROM THE AUTHOR OFTHE WHISTLING
Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . .
When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her.
She is mistaken.
Edward’s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers – claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited.
At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.
What exactly happened to Edward’s first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed?
And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead – or is she the one being watched?
SET ON THE YORKSHIRE MOORS IN THE 1800S, THE BLACK FEATHERS IS A GHOSTLY TALE OF MAGIC AND WICKEDNESS.
Published October 12th by Michael Joseph Pre-order here*
The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper (The Wolf Den Triolgy 3)
SYNOPSIS: The final instalment in Elodie Harper’s Sunday Times bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy
‘Beautiful, moving, captivating.’ Jennifer Saint ‘Vivid, unsentimental and compelling.’ The Times
Amara’s journey has taken her far; from a slave in Pompeii’s wolf den to a high-powered courtesan in Rome… though her story is not over yet.
While Amara plays for power in Rome’s imperial palace, those dearest to her remain in Pompeii. But it is AD 79, and mighty Mount Vesuvius is about to make itself known…
Published: May 12th 2022 Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Romance Novel, Lesbian Literature, LGBT Literature Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my review for this outstanding debut. Thank you to Jen at Michael Joseph for the gifted ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
1955: In an apartment on the Lower East Side, school teachers Dovie and Gillian live as lodgers. Dancing behind closed curtains, mixing cocktails for two, they guard their private lives fiercely. Until someone guesses the truth . . .
1975: Twenty years later in the same apartment, Ava Winters is keeping her own secret. Her mother has become erratic, haunted by something Ava doesn’t understand – until one sweltering July morning, she disappears.
Soon after her mother’s departure, Ava receives a parcel. Addressed simply to ‘Apartment 3B’, it contains a photo of a woman with the word ‘LIAR’ scrawled across it. Ava does not know what it means or who sent it. But if she can find out then perhaps she’ll discover the answers she is seeking – and meet the woman at the heart of it all . . .
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MY REVIEW:
That Green-Eyed Girl was not only the Squadpod Book Club pick for May, but one of my most anticipated debuts of 2022. A dual timeslip novel, it moves between 1955 and 1975 to tell an unforgettable story that deals with difficult topics such as homophobia, racism, mental illness and neglect alongside everyday issues such as teenage crushes.
Atmospheric, immersive and utterly compelling, I am in awe that this is a debut. Julie Owen Moylan is a skilled storyteller whose vivid prose brings the story and characters to life, transporting me to the streets of New York so clearly it was as if I could feel the oppressive summer heat on my skin, hear the noise from the traffic and smell the smoke in the jazz bars. She moves seamlessly between timelines as she slowly converges the two storylines, beginning the connection with the mysterious package and thenintricately weaving them together until the full picture emerges.
The book is filled with richly drawn, fascinating characters, including our two narrators: Dovie in 1955 and Ava in 1975. The author creates a strong connection between them and the reader, allowing us to explore their innermost thoughts, feelings and fears. I had a particularly strong maternal connection to Ava and longed to jump into the book and be the parent she desperately needed and wanted. Despite their many differences, Ava and Dovie are actually very similar. Both are imprisoned in their own ways; caught in a web of shameful secrets and lies that hold them captive and paralysed by the fear of discovery. An oppressive and claustrophobic air of anguish, humiliation and dread permeates each page, and there is a bite of loneliness and regret that runs through the story as societal values and expectations force Dovie and Ava to live these half-lives in order to conform. It is heartbreaking, powerful and perfectly written.
Hauntingly beautiful, poignant and bittersweet, this book was both nothing like I expected and everything I wanted. It is a truly astonishing debut from an author I predict big things from in the future. This is one not to be missed.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Julie Owen Moylan is a writer whose short stories and articles have appeared in New Welsh Review, Horizon Literary Review, and The Voice of Women in Wales Anthology
She has also written and directed several short films as part of her MA in Film. Her graduation short film called ‘BabyCakes’ scooped Best Film awards at the Swansea Film Festival, Ffresh, and the Celtic Media Awards. She also has an MA in Creative Writing, and is an alumna of the Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel course.
Her debut novel THAT GREEN-EYED GIRL will be published by Penguin Michael Joseph on May 12th 2022.
May is shaping up to be another fabulous month for new releases in 2022. There are a plethora of exciting new releases, including many debuts, and it was a hard challenge to get this list down to the twenty-nine on this list.
Here are the books on my list of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures for May:
The Book of Night by Holly Black
Published: May 3rd Publisher: Del Rey Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Thriller, Supernatural Fiction
SYNOPSIS: #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black makes her stunning adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies.
Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make. She’s spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie.
Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but going straight isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that her shadowless and possibly soulless boyfriend has been keeping secrets from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends back into a maelstrom of murder and lies. Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgängers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world – all trying to steal a secret that will allow them control of the shadow world and more.
Published: May 3rd Publisher: Hot Key Books Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, Dystopian Fiction
SYNOPSIS: In a world where girls and women are taught to be quiet, the dragons inside them are about to be set free …
In this timely and timeless speculative novel, set in 1950s America, Kelly Barnhill exposes a world that wants to keep girls and women small – and examines what happens when they rise up.
Alex Green is four years old when she first sees a dragon. In her next-door neighbour’s garden, in the spot where the old lady usually sits, is a huge dragon, an astonished expression on its face before it opens its wings and soars away across the rooftops.
And Alex doesn’t see the little old lady after that. No one mentions her. It’s as if she’s never existed.
Then Alex’s mother disappears, and reappears a week later, one quiet Tuesday, with no explanation whatsoever as to where she has been. But she is a ghostly shadow of her former self, and with scars across her body – wide, deep burns, as though she had been attacked by a monster who breathed fire.
Alex, growing from young girl to fiercely independent teenager, is desperate for answers, but doesn’t get any.
Whether anyone likes it or not, the Mass Dragoning is coming. And nothing will be the same after that. Everything is about to change, forever.
And when it does, this, too, will be unmentionable…
SYNOPSIS: A family with a secret. A past about to catch up with them.
At thirty, Hanna has finally decided she’s better off without her family. They hold her responsible for the incident that ruined their lives fourteen years ago and they’ve barely spoken since.
But then, whilst browsing a true crime website, she sees her family home listed as the site of a brutal murder. Number of victims: three. Date of crime: today. When the police investigate, they find no bodies, but the house is abandoned. Hanna’s family have disappeared.
To find them, Hanna will have to confront what happened all those years ago.
And the person determined to make her pay for it . . .
SYNOPSIS: FOUR FRIENDS. ONE MURDER. A GAME THEY CAN’T ESCAPE
‘It was only a game.’
Until a boy went missing.
‘No one was meant to get hurt.’
But a body has been found.
‘Just some innocent fun.’
Except one of them is a killer.
Ready or not, here I come.
It’s time to play hide and seek again.
THE WHISPER MAN meets THE GUEST LIST in this gripping story; DI Fleet is up against some of the most powerful people in the country as he attempts to discover the truth about what happened on the day of the game…
SYNOPSIS: Isobel lives an isolated life in North London, working at a nearby library. She feels safe if she keeps to her routines and doesn’t let her thoughts stray too far into the past. But a newspaper photograph of a missing local schoolgirl and a letter from her old teacher are all it takes for her ordinary, careful armour to become overwhelmed and the trauma of what happened when she was a pupil at The Schoolhouse to return.
The Schoolhouse was different – one of the 1970s experimental schools that were a reaction to the formal methods of the past. The usual rules did not apply, and life there was a dark interplay of freedom and violence, adventure and fear. Only her teenage diary recorded what happened, but the truth is coming for her and everything she has tried to protect is put at risk.
Set between the past and the present, The Schoolhouse is a masterful and gripping novel about childhood, secrets and trust.
SYNOPSIS: London. Nine million people. Two hundred and seventy tube stations. Every day, thousands of chance encounters, first dates, goodbyes and happy ever afters.
And for twenty years it’s been where one man and one woman can never get their timing right.
Jennifer and Nick meet as teenagers and over the next two decades, they fall in and out of love with each other. Sometimes they start kissing. Sometimes they’re just friends. Sometimes they stop speaking, but they always find their way back to each other.
But after all this time, are they destined to be together or have they finally reached the end of the line?
The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper (The Wolf Den Trilogy Book 2)
Published: May 12th Publisher: Apollo Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance Novel
SYNOPSIS: ‘Beautiful, moving, captivating… A brilliant sequel to The Wolf Den‘ Jennifer Saint
Freed from Pompeii’s brothel. Owned as a courtesan. Determined to have revenge. Her name is Amara. What will she risk for power?
Amara has escaped her life as a slave in Pompeii’s most notorious brothel. She now has a house, fine clothes, servants – but all of these are gifts from her patron, hers for as long as she keeps her place in his affections.
As she adjusts to this new life, Amara is still haunted by her past. At night she dreams of the wolf den, and the women she left behind. By day, she is pursued by her former slavemaster. In order to be truly free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.
Amara knows she can draw strength from Venus, the goddess of love. Yet falling in love herself may prove to be her downfall.
The House with the Golden Door is the stunning second novel in Elodie Harper’s celebrated Wolf Den Trilogy, which reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Harper Collins UK Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Humorous Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, Regency Romance
SYNOPSIS: The season is about to begin – and there’s not a minute to lose…
Kitty Talbot needs a fortune.
Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. This is 1818 after all, and only men have the privilege of seeking their own riches.
With just twelve weeks until Kitty and her sisters are made homeless, launching herself into London society is the only avenue open to her. And Kitty must use every ounce of cunning and ingenuity she possesses to climb the ranks.
The only one to see through her plans is the worldly Lord Radcliffe and he is determined to thwart her at any cost.
Can Kitty secure a fortune and save her sisters from poverty? There is not a day to lose and no one – not even a lord – will stand in her way…
Published: May 12th Publisher: Bantam Press Genre: Urban Fiction, Erotic Literature, Coming-of-Age Story, Religious Fiction
SYNOPSIS: ‘Follow your heart and speak your truth.’
For Samantha Miller’s young fans – her ‘girls’ – she’s everything they want to be. She’s an oracle, telling them how to live their lives, how to be happy, how to find and honour their ‘truth’.
And her career is booming: she’s just hit three million followers, her new book Chaste has gone straight to the top of the bestseller lists and she’s appearing at sell-out events.
Determined to speak her truth and bare all to her adoring fans, she’s written an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager, with her female best friend, Lisa. She’s never told a soul but now she’s telling the world. The essay goes viral.
But then – years since they last spoke – Lisa gets in touch to say that she doesn’t remember it that way at all. Her memory of that night is far darker. It’s Sam’s word against Lisa’s – so who gets to tell the story? Whose ‘truth’ is really a lie?
‘You put yourself on that pedestal, Samantha. You only have yourself to blame.’
Riveting, compulsive and bold, IDOL interrogates our relationship with our heroes and explores the world of online influencers, asking how well we can ever really know those whose carefully curated profiles we follow online. And it asks us to consider how two memories of the same event can differ, and how effortlessly we choose which stories to believe.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Romance Novel, Lesbian Literature, LGBTQ Literature
SYNOPSIS: Pre-order this immersive, emotionally gripping novel about jealousy, loyalty, and the secrets we keep to protect those we love . . .
1955: In an apartment on the Lower East Side, school teachers Dovie and Gillian live as lodgers. Dancing behind closed curtains, mixing cocktails for two, they guard their private lives fiercely. Until someone guesses the truth . . .
1975: Twenty years later in the same apartment, Ava Winters is keeping her own secret. Her mother has become erratic, haunted by something Ava doesn’t understand – until one sweltering July morning, she disappears.
Soon after her mother’s departure, Ava receives a parcel. Addressed simply to ‘Apartment 3B’, it contains a photo of a woman with the word ‘LIAR’ scrawled across it. Ava does not know what it means or who sent it. But if she can find out then perhaps she’ll discover the answers she is seeking – and meet the woman at the heart of it all . . .
Published: May 12th Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Genre: Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Noir Fiction, Gay Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: THE DARKNESS FROM HIS PAST WILL FINALLY COME TO LIGHT
For sixteen years, DS Adam Tyler has been searching for answers to his father, Richard’s, death. Convinced it wasn’t suicide, he has been investigating the case in secret.
When a body is found in a frozen lake, linked to a cold case from 2002, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the death of his father – except Tyler knows Richard was investigating the same case shortly before he died. And Tyler doesn’t believe in coincidences.
As he throws himself into finding out what really happened that day, Tyler uncovers a string of botched investigations, mysterious disappearances and, ultimately, deep-seated police corruption. There are dangerous people who don’t want Tyler asking questions – and the truth always comes at a price.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Phoenix Genre: Historical Fiction
SYNOPSIS: ‘Shot through with spirit and hope, it’s one hell of a book’ Stylist, Books You Can’t Miss in 2022
Montgomery, Alabama. 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference in her community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.
But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a tumbledown cabin, she’s surprised to find that her new patients are just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling their welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her new responsibilities, she takes India and Erica into her heart and comes to care for their family as though they were her own. But one day she arrives at their door to discover the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same.
Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of American history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart. An unforgettable story about love and courage, sisterhood and solidarity, it is also a timely and hopeful reminder that it only takes one person to change the world.
SYNOPSIS: THE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE.
In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She’s safe and employed as the bunker’s pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader.
BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER?
But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan – a tattooed giant of a man who’s purpose in the bunker is a mystery – Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped.
How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive?
Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Coronet Genre: Contemporary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: The wise and gloriously big-hearted debut novel from the much-loved broadcaster, Sara Cox
Becky: a single mum who prides herself on her independence. She knows from painful experience that men are trouble. Louise: a loving husband, gorgeous kids. She ought to feel more grateful. Jameela: all she’s ever done is work hard, and try her best. Why won’t life give her the one thing she really wants? Sheila: the nest is empty, she dreams of escaping to the sun, but her husband seems so distracted.
The inhabitants of the Inventor’s Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly ‘Hellos’ when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number 7’s wheelie bin, but it’s not exactly Ramsay Street.
The dilapidated community centre is no longer the beating heart of the estate that Becky remembers from her childhood. So the new pottery class she’s helped set up feels like a fresh start. And not just for her.
The assorted neighbours come together to try out a new skill, under the watchful eye of their charismatic teacher, Sasha. And as the soft unremarkable lumps of clay are hesitantly, lovingly moulded into delicate vases and majestic pots, so too are the lives of four women. Concealed passions and heartaches are uncovered, relationships shattered and formed, and the possibility for transformation is revealed.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Picador Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Domestic Fiction, LGBT Literature
SYNOPSIS: Strasbourg, 1518. In the midst of a blisteringly hot summer, a lone woman begins to dance in the city square. She dances for days without pause or rest, and as she is joined by hundreds of others, the authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in to play the Devil out of these women.
Just beyond the city’s limits, pregnant Lisbet lives with her mother-in-law and husband, tending the bees that are their livelihood. And then, as the dancing plague gathers momentum, Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from seven years’ penance in the mountains for a crime no one will name.
It is a secret that Lisbet is determined to uncover. As the city buckles under the beat of a thousand feet, she finds herself thrust into a dangerous web of deceit and clandestine passion, but she is dancing to a dangerous tune . . .
Set in an era of superstition, hysteria, and extraordinary change, and inspired by the true events of a doomed summer, The Dance Tree is an impassioned story of family secrets, forbidden love, and women pushed to the edge.
Published: May 12th Publisher: Penguin Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance
SYNOPSIS: Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books.
Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he’s Nora’s work nemesis.
Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the woman men date before they find their happy-ever-after. That’s why Nora’s sister has persuaded her to swap her desk in the city for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. It’s a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into…Charlie.
She’s no heroine. He’s no hero. So can they take a page out of an entirely different book?
Published: May 12th Publisher: Trapeze Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Dark Comedy, Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS: She’s accused of four murders. She’s only guilty of three…
When Ruby was a child growing up in Miami, she saw a boy from her school struggling against the ocean waves while his parents were preoccupied. Instead of helping him, Ruby dove under the water and held his ankle down until he drowned. She waited to feel guilty for it, but she never did.
And, as Ruby will argue in her senior thesis while studying psychology at Yale, guilt is sort of like eating ice cream while on a diet – if you’re already feeling bad, why not eat the whole carton? And so, the bodies start to stack up.
Twenty-five years later, Ruby’s in an interrogation room under suspicion of murder, being shown four photographs. Each is a person she once knew, now deceased. The line-up includes her husband Jason. She is responsible for three of the four deaths… but it might be the crime that she didn’t commit that will finally ensnare her.
From the Emmy nominated Executive Producer of The Bold Type, this darkly funny and compulsively page-turning novel is perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes’ You and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister the Serial Killer.
SYNOPSIS: *FEATURING THE CHARACTERS YOU LOVED IN THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL!*
From the author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill comes a story about friends who become our chosen family, proving that, even as adults, we all need help from time time. . . Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Nina Stibbe.
When Laura Costello arrives in downtown Los Angeles, her life has somewhat fallen apart.
Her apartment building has caught fire, her engagement to her high school sweetheart has been broken off, and she’s just been caught in a rare LA downpour and has no dry clothes.
But when she seeks shelter in Nina Hill‘s local neighbourhood bookshop, she finds herself introduced to the people who will become her new family. And as Laura becomes friends with Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob, things start to look up.
Proving that – even as adults – we all sometimes need a little help assembling and re-assembling our lives. . .
Published: May 24th Publisher: Del Rey Genre: Thriller, Horror Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Suspense, Ghost Story, Paranormal Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: A high-stakes hide-and-seek competition turns deadly in this dark supernatural thriller from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, perfect for fans of Stephen King and SQUID GAME.
The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.
The prize: enough money to change everything.
Even though everyone is desperate to win – to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts – Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that.
It’s the reason she’s alive, and her family isn’t.
But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.
Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run.
Published: May 26th Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Police Procedural, Medical Thriller, Medical Fiction, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: My child has been taken. And I’ve been given a choice… Kill a patient on the operating table. Or never see my son again.
The man lies on the table in front of me. As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him. As a mother, I know I must kill him. You might think that I’m a monster. But there really is only one choice. I must get away with murder. Or I will never see my son again.
I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES. WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?
DON’T MISS THE HEART-STOPPING THRILLER OF 2022 #DONOHARM
Published: May 26th Publisher: Orion Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: ONCE, SHE SAVED HIS LIFE… NOW, HE’LL TAKE HERS.
When a baby is snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames, off-duty police officer Lacey Flint is there to prevent disaster. But who would want to hurt a child?
DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as ‘incels’ or ‘involuntary celibates.’ Joesbury’s team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.
Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorise women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible danger…
SYNOPSIS: When a middle-aged couple downsizes to the countryside for an easier life, their two daughters become isolated, argumentative and violent … A chilling, vicious and darkly funny psychological thriller from bestselling author Helen FitzGerald. ________________________________________
Desperate to enjoy their empty nest, Penny and Andeep downsize to the countryside, to forage, upcycle and fall in love again, only to be joined by their two twenty-something daughters, Asha and Camille.
Living on top of each other in a tiny house, with no way to make money, tensions simmer, and as Penny and Andeep focus increasingly on themselves, the girls become isolated, argumentative and violent.
When Asha injures Camille, a family therapist is called in, but she shrugs off the escalating violence between the sisters as a classic case of sibling rivalry … and the stress of the family move.
But this is not sibling rivalry. The sisters are in far too deep for that.
This is a murder, just waiting to happen…
Chilling, vicious and darkly funny, Keep Her Sweet is not just a tense, sinister psychological thriller, but also a startling look at sister relationships and the bonds they share … or shatter.
SYNOPSIS: Atmospheric historical novel set in 20th-century Suffragette London interweaving fact and fiction from a compelling new voice.
Lotta Rae is a young working-class woman who is viciously attacked by a wealthy gentleman. Lotta’s family are firm believers in justice, so Lotta makes the brave decision to testify in court against her attacker. The guardians of justice support her, or so it seems.
William Linden is a barrister about to lose everything. He is failing to live up to his father’s formidable reputation and if he loses one more case, how will he house, clothe and feed his wife and young son?
Both Lotta and William have decisions to make that will change the course of their lives and the lives of everyone around them for generations to come.
Notorious after her trial and unable to return to the life she had before her attack, Lotta’s quest for her own form of justice takes her from the streets of Spitalfields to a Soho brothel, into the heart of the Suffragette movement, to an unimaginable place. One she could never have foreseen.
Published: May 26th Publisher: Bantam Press Genre: Humorous Fiction, Urban Fiction, Lesbian Literature
SYNOPSIS: Nobody speaks to strangers on the train. But what would happen if they did?
Every day at 8:05, Iona Iverson boards the train to go to work. Every day, she sees the same people and makes assumptions about them, even giving them nicknames. But they never speak. Obviously.
Then, one morning, Smart-but-Sexist-Surbiton chokes on a grape right in front of Iona. Suspiciously-Nice-New Malden steps up to help and saves his life, and this one event sparks a chain reaction.
With nothing in common but their commute, an eclectic group of people learn that their assumptions about each other don’t match reality. But when Iona’s life begins to fall apart, will her new friends be there when she needs them most?
You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Published: May 26th Publisher: Faber & Faber Genre: Contemporary Literature, Contemporary Romance, Romance Novel, LGBTQ Literature
SYNOPSIS: Luxuriate in this INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING novelist’s sizzling hot entrance into the world of romance…
‘Emezi is a dream of a writer. My heart soared and shook and panted.’ Bolu Babalola
It’s the opportunity of a lifetime:
Feyi is about to be given the chance to escape the City’s blistering heat for a dream island holiday: poolside cocktails, beach sunsets, and elaborate meals. And as the sun goes down on her old life our heroine also might just be ready to open her heart to someone new.
The only problem is, she’s falling for the one man she absolutely can’t have.
SYNOPSIS: Pearl Winter hasn’t been outside in forty-three years.
Since she arrived on Dartmoor as a girl, an isolated family cottage has been her whole world. A place of safety. But now fifty-nine-year-old Pearl is utterly alone – except for the postman, the local crows, and memories of the summer of 1976.
Teenager Connor Matthews feels like a stranger in his own home.
Since his mother’s death he’s been adrift from his remaining family, troubled by the reality of moving on, and unable to see a future ahead. But when Connor begins a summer job as Pearl’s gardener, an unexpected friendship opens the door to a fresh start for them both. If only Pearl and Connor can take the first steps . . .
Published: May 26th Publisher: Picador Genre: Literary Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students – a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own . . .
When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.
And so we meet our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose husband, a charismatic professor at the same small liberal arts college, is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder-box world comes dangerously close to exploding.
With her bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured literary debut, Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the strictures of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and surreptitiously moving, Vladimir maps the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the messy contradictions of power and desire.
We aren’t even out of 2021 yet, but 2022 is overflowing with so many exciting books that I have had to create three lists to share the ones I’m most anticipating: Most Anticipated, Most Anticipated Debuts and Next in Series
Following on from my list of most anticipated books, today I’m sharing what debuts I’m particularly looking forward to next year.It feels like each year the debut novels being released just get better and better, forcing me to add yet more authors to my auto-read list.
Here are my most anticipated debuts of 2022:
Wahala by Nikki May
SYNOPSIS: SEX AND THE CITY with a killer edge for fans of QUEENIE, EXPECTATION and MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER
SOON TO BE A MAJOR BBC TV SERIAL
————
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English. Not all of them choose to see it that way.
Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full of fashion career dreams, rolls her eyes as her boss refers to her urban vibe yet again.
When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them.
Cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself.
Explosive, hilarious and wildly entertaining, this razor-sharp tale of love, race and family will have you laughing, crying and gasping in horror. Fearlessly political about class, colourism and clothes, the spellbinding Wahala is for anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms.
SYNOPSIS: POLISHED TO PERFECTION, THE HOTLY-ANTICIPATED DEBUT, COMING JANUARY 2022
I am your maid. I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry. But what do you know about me?
Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?
Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how everyone deserves to be seen. And how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between . . .
Published January 20th by Harper Collins. Buy here*
The Christie Affairr by Nina De Gramont
SYNOPSIS: In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Only I know the truth of her disappearance. I’m no Hercule Poirot. I’m her husband’s mistress.
Agatha Christie’s world is one of glamorous society parties, country house weekends, and growing literary fame.
Nan O’Dea’s world is something very different. Her attempts to escape a tough London upbringing during the Great War led to a life in Ireland marred by a hidden tragedy.
After fighting her way back to England, she’s set her sights on Agatha. Because Agatha Christie has something Nan wants. And it’s not just her husband.
Despite their differences, the two women will become the most unlikely of allies. And during the mysterious eleven days that Agatha goes missing, they will unravel a dark secret that only Nan holds the key to . . .
The Christie Affair is a stunning novel which reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 that captivated the world.
Published January 20th by Mantle. Buy here*
Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Book 1) by Sue Lynn Tan
SYNOPSIS: A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess.
A young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm, setting her on a dangerous path where those she loves are not the only ones at risk…
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the powerful Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when her magic flares and her existence is discovered, Xingyin is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to train in the Crown Prince’s service, learning to master archery and magic, despite the passion which flames between her and the emperor’s son.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies, across the earth and skies.
But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream ―striking a dangerous bargain, where she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice ― where love vies with honour, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.
Published January 20th by Harper Voyager. Buy here*
A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle
SYNOPSIS: November 1924. The Endeavour sets sail to New York with 2,000 passengers – and a killer – on board . . .
When an elderly gentleman is found dead at the foot of a staircase, ship’s officer Timothy Birch is ready to declare it a tragic accident. But James Temple, a strong-minded Scotland Yard inspector, is certain there is more to this misfortune than meets the eye.
Birch agrees to investigate, and the trail quickly leads to the theft of a priceless painting. Its very existence is known only to its owner . . . and the dead man.
With just days remaining until they reach New York, and even Temple’s purpose on board the Endeavour proving increasingly suspicious, Birch’s search for the culprit is fraught with danger.
And all the while, the passengers continue to roam the ship with a killer in their midst . . .
When Megan discovers photographs of her estranged identical twin sister on her husband’s phone, she wants answers.
Leah already has everything Megan has ever wanted. Fame, fortune, freedom to do what she wants. And when Megan confronts Leah, an argument turns to murder.
The only way Megan can get away with killing her twin is to become her.
But then lockdown hits. How can she continue living two lives? And what happens if someone else knows her secret too?
HER PERFECT TWIN IS THE MOST ADDICTIVE, TWISTY THRILLER YOU’LL READ IN 2022. DON’T MISS THIS WILD RIDE OF A NOVEL.
Published January 20th by Hodder & Stoughton. Buy here*
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
SYNOPSIS: ‘Weaves together Ancient Greek myth with suspenseful mystery and beguiling romance…utterly irresistible’ Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
A pure pleasure of a novel set in Georgian London, where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance.
Perfect for readers who loved The Binding and The Essex Serpent.
London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.
Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.
Published January 27th by Harvill Secker. Buy here*
The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews
SYNOPSIS: A beguiling tale of superstition, myth and murder, perfect for fans of The Binding, The Essex Serpent and Once Upon a River.
SHE IS AWAKE…
Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home, his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft.
Thomas prides himself on being a rational, modern man, but as he unravels the mystery of what has happened, he uncovers not a tale of superstition but something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before.
Something has awoken, and now it will not rest.
Richly researched, incredibly atmospheric, and deliciously unsettling, The Leviathan is set in England during a time of political and religious turbulence. It is a tale of family and loyalty, superstition and sacrifice, but most of all it is a spellbinding mystery and a story of impossible things.
SYNOPSIS: An expansive epic spanning the turbulent decades of Korea’s fight for independence, perfect for fans of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko
Beasts take many shapes…
It is 1917, and Korea is yet to be divided into north and south. With the threat of famine looming, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school in cosmopolitan Pyongyang, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social status. But the city’s days as a haven are numbered.
Jade flees to Seoul where she forms a deep friendship with an orphan boy called JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets. As Jade becomes a sought-after performer with unexpected romantic prospects, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence. Soon Jade must decide between following her own ambitions, or risking everything for the one she loves.
From the perfumed chambers of the courtesan school to the glamorous cafes of a modernising Seoul, the unforgettable characters of Beasts of a Little Land unveil a world where friends become enemies and enemies become saviours, where heroes are persecuted and beasts take many shapes.
Published February 3rd by Oneworld Publications. Buy here*
The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
SYNOPSIS: Brimming with romance, betrayal, and enchantment, The Embroidered Book reveals and reimagines a dazzling period of history as you have never seen it before.
‘Power is not something you are given. Power is something you take. When you are a woman, it is a little more difficult, that’s all’
1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister Antoine is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles they rename her Marie Antoinette.
The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells – spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.
In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives.
But every spell requires a sacrifice. And as love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.
Published February 17th by Harper Voyager. Buy here*
A Good Day to Die (Pretty Boy Thriller 1) by Amen Alonge
SYNOPSIS: Meet Pretty Boy. Vengeance is on his mind.
His real name: Unknown
His code of conduct: Don’t be a pawn in someone else’s game. Never underestimate the enemy. Above all, survive. There is no glory in death.
His mission: It’s been ten years since Pretty Boy left the big city – today he’s back. No one knows why, but it’s clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a ‘good day to die’.
Jam-packed with action, an unforgettable cast of characters and peppered with dry humour, A Good Day to Die marks the arrival of a fresh and exciting new voice in thriller writing.
SYNOPSIS: ‘I am not my husband. I am innocent. Do you believe me?’
The beautiful, enigmatic wife of a feared dictator stands trial for her late husband’s crimes against the people. The world will finally know the truth. But whose? __________
WOMAN I learned early in life how to survive. A skill that became vital in my position.
WIFE I was given no power, yet I was expected to hold my own with the most powerful man in the country.
MOTHER OF THE NATION My people were my children. I stood between him and them.
I am not the person they say I am. I am not my husband. I am innocent.
Do you believe me?
Visceral and thought provoking, haunting and heartbreaking, The Dictator’s Wife will hold you in its grip until its powerful conclusion and keep you turning the pages long into the night.
SYNOPSIS: From debut author Carolyn Tara O’Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution.
Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war–the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible–not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna’s offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.
Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now–regardless of her loyalties–Evgenia is too.
Daughters of a Dead Empire is a harrowing historical thriller about dangerous ideals, loyalty, and the price we pay for change. An imaginative retelling of the Anastasia story.
Published February 22nd by Roaring Brook Press. Buy here*
Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook
SYNOPSIS: Fortune favours the brave in Lizzie Pook’s mesmerising debut novel, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter.
1886, BANNIN BAY, AUSTRALIA.
The Brightwell family has sailed from England to make their new home in Western Australia. Ten-year-old Eliza knows little of what awaits them on these shores beyond shining pearls and shells like soup plates – the things her father has promised will make their fortune.
Ten years later and Charles Brightwell, now the bay’s most prolific pearler, goes missing from his ship while out at sea. Whispers from the townsfolk suggest mutiny and murder, but headstrong Eliza, convinced there is more to the story, refuses to believe her father is dead, and it falls to her to ask the questions no one else dares consider.
But in a town teeming with corruption, prejudice and blackmail, Eliza soon learns that the truth can cost more than pearls, and she must decide just how much she is willing to pay – and how far she is willing to go – to find it . . .
SYNOPSIS: Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old female contract killer who is considering retirement. A fighter who has experienced loss and grief early on in life, she lives in a state of self-imposed isolation, with just her dog, Deadweight, for company.
While on an assassination job for the ‘disease control’ company she works for, Hornclaw makes an uncharacteristic error, causing a sequence of events that brings her past well and truly into the present.
Threatened with sabotage by a young male upstart and battling new desires and urges when she least expects them, Hornclaw steels her resolve, demonstrating that no matter their age, the female of the species is always more deadly than the male.
Frida Liu is a struggling mother. She remembers taking Harriet from her cot and changing her nappy. She remembers giving her a morning bottle. They’d been up since four am.
Frida just had to finish the article in front of her. But she’d left a file on her desk at work. What would happen if she retrieved it and came back in an hour? She was so sure it would be okay.
Now, the state has decided that Frida is not fit to care for her daughter. That she must be re-trained. Soon, mothers everywhere will be re-educated. Will their mistakes cost them everything?
The School for Good Mothers is an explosive and thrilling novel about love and the pressures of perfectionism, parenthood and privilege.
SYNOPSIS: Ben Harper’s life changed for ever the day his older brother Nick was murdered by two classmates. It was a crime that shocked the nation and catapulted Ben’s family and their idyllic hometown, Haddley, into the spotlight.
Twenty years on, Ben is one of the best true crime journalists in the country and happily settled back in Haddley, thanks to the support of its close-knit community. But when a fresh murder case shines new light on his brother’s death and throws suspicion on those closest to him, Ben’s world is turned upside down once more.
He’s about to discover that Haddley is a town full of secrets. No one is as they seem. Everyone has something to hide.
And someone will go to any length to keep the truth buried . . .
SYNOPSIS: With every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.
It is 1938 in China, and the Japanese are advancing. A young mother, Meilin, is forced to flee her burning city with her four-year-old son, Renshu, and embark on an epic journey across China. For comfort, they turn to their most treasured possession – a beautifully illustrated hand scroll. Its ancient fables offer solace and wisdom as they travel through their ravaged country, seeking refuge.
Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. His daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, but he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down?
Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the search for a place to call home.
SYNOPSIS: In the aftermath of the First World War, a young woman gets swept into a glittering world filled with illicit magic, romance, blood debts and murder in this lush and decadent debut novel.
On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface. But Annie Mason never expected her enigmatic new neighbour to be a witch.
When she witnesses a confrontation between her best friend Bea and the infamous Emmeline Delacroix at one of Emmeline’s extravagantly illicit parties, Annie is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where magic can buy what money cannot; a world where the consequence of a forbidden blood bargain might be death.
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
SYNOPSIS: THE MOST HOTLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT OF 2022 WITH A HEROINE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH
—–
The Nigerian accent Dictionary Huzband (pronounced auz-band) noun 1. A male partner in a marriage E.g. Yinka’s younger sister, Kemi, is married to Uche 2. A non-existent man in a non-existent marriage whose whereabouts is often questioned, usually by Nigerian mums and aunties to single British Nigerian women E.g. So, Yinka. Tell me. Where is your huzband? Ah, ah. You’re thirty-one now!
Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.
She also has too many aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she’s sure is far too small as a result. Oh, and the fact that she’s a thirty-one-year-old South-Londoner who doesn’t believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too…
When her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences ‘Operation Find A Date for Rachel’s Wedding’. Armed with a totally flawless, incredibly specific plan, will Yinka find herself a huzband?
What if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
The Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
SYNOPSIS: Today I might trace the rungs of her larynx or tap at her trachea like the bones of a xylophone . . .
Something gleeful and malevolent is moving in Lia’s body, learning her life from the inside out. A shape-shifter. A disaster tourist. It’s travelling down the banks of her canals. It’s spreading.
When a sudden diagnosis upends Lia’s world, the boundaries between her past and her present begin to collapse. Deeply buried secrets stir awake. As the voice prowling in Lia takes hold of her story, and the landscape around becomes indistinguishable from the one within, Lia and her family are faced with some of the hardest questions of all: how can we move on from the events that have shaped us, when our bodies harbour everything? And what does it mean to die with grace, when you’re simply not ready to let go?
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a story of coming-of-age at the end of a life. Utterly heart-breaking yet darkly funny, Maddie Mortimer’s astonishing debut is a symphonic journey through one woman’s body: a wild and lyrical celebration of desire, forgiveness, and the darkness within us all.
SYNOPSIS: ‘Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here’ ELIZABETH ZOTT
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with – of all things – her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (‘combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride’) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott.
SYNOPSIS: THE AERIALISTS is a rich historical novel based on the true story of Louisa Maud Evans, a fourteen-year old girl who died during the Great Exhibition in Cardiff, 1896, and whose demise – tumbling 8,000 feet into the Bristol Channel – captured the imagination of the city.
Paris, 1891 Laura is living on the streets, far from the American Prairies where she was born. When aerialists Ena and August Gaudron, believing Laura to be English, decide to rescue her, she soon finds herself ensconced in the family hot air balloon business, and offered the chance to learn how to fly.
Cardiff, 1896 The Gaudrons accept an invitation to be part of the Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition, presenting a show of balloon ascents and parachute descents. Late one night, a young girl, Grace Parry, knocks on the door. She is desperate to fly, whatever the cost.
As Grace’s dreams begin to take wing, can Laura be the one to keep her grounded? Histories real and invented intertwine as the novel explores the many risky ways girls are expected to perform.
Published April 14th by The Borough Press. Buy here*
The Honeybee Emeralds by Amy Tector
SYNOPSIS: Alice Ahmadi has never been certain of where she belongs. When she discovers a famed emerald necklace while interning at a struggling Parisian magazine, she is plunged into a glittering world of diamonds and emeralds, courtesans and spies, and the long-buried secrets surrounding the necklace and its glamorous former owners.
When Alice realizes the mysterious Honeybee Emeralds could be her chance to save the magazine, she recruits her friends Lily and Daphne to form the “Fellowship of the Necklace.” Together, they set out to uncover the romantic history of the gems. Through diaries, letters, and investigations through the winding streets and iconic historic landmarks of Paris, the trio begins to unravel more than just the secrets of the necklace’s obsolete past. Along the way, Lily and Daphne’s relationships are challenged, tempered, and changed. Lily faces her long-standing attraction to a friend, who has achieved the writing success that eluded her. Daphne confronts her failing relationship with her husband, while also facing simmering problems in her friendship with Lily. And, at last, Alice finds her place in the world―although one mystery still remains: how did the Honeybee Emeralds go from the neck of American singer Josephine Baker during the Roaring Twenties to the basement of a Parisian magazine?
Published April 14th by Turner Publishing Company. Buy here*
Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth
SYNOPSIS: Behind the spectacle there are always secrets.
Unruly crowds descend on Crillick’s Variety Theatre. Young actress, Zillah, is headlining tonight. An orphan from the slums of St Giles, her rise to stardom is her ticket out – to be gawped and gazed at is a price she’s willing to pay.
Rising up the echelons of society is everything Zillah has ever dreamed of. But when a new stage act disappears, Zillah is haunted by a feeling that something is amiss. Is the woman in danger?
Her pursuit of the truth takes her into the underbelly of the city – from gas-lit streets to the sumptuous parlours of Mayfair – as she seeks the help of notorious criminals from her past and finds herself torn between two powerful admirers.
Caught in a labyrinth of dangerous truths, will Zillah face ruin – or will she be the maker of her fate?
A deliciously immersive tale, Theatre of Marvels whisks you on an unforgettable journey across Victorian London in this bold exploration of gothic spectacle.
Ever since she was adopted from an orphanage in Sri Lanka, Paloma has led a privileged Californian life: the best schools, a generous allowance and parents so perfect that Paloma fears she’ll never live up to them.
Now at thirty, Paloma has managed to disappoint her parents so thoroughly that their relationship will never recover. Unemployed and friendless, the only person still talking to her is Arun – the Indian man subletting her spare room. That is until Arun discovers Paloma’s darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her fragile place in this country, and the next day is found face down in a pool of blood.
On finding Arun’s body Paloma flees her apartment. But by the time the police arrive, there’s no body to be found or signs of struggle – and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
The police may be quick to dismiss everything, but Paloma knows what she saw. Is this tangled up in her childhood in Sri Lanka and the desperate actions she took to leave so many years ago? And did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
SYNOPSIS: Pre-order this immersive, emotionally gripping novel about jealousy, loyalty, and the secrets we keep to protect those we love . . .
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1955: In an apartment on the Lower East Side, school teachers Dovie and Gillian live as lodgers. Dancing behind closed curtains, mixing cocktails for two, they guard their private lives fiercely. Until someone guesses the truth . . .
1975: Twenty years later in the same apartment, Ava Winters is keeping her own secret. Her mother has become erratic, haunted by something Ava doesn’t understand – until one sweltering July morning, she disappears.
Soon after her mother’s departure, Ava receives a parcel. Addressed simply to ‘Apartment 3B’, it contains a photo of a woman with the word ‘LIAR’ scrawled across it. Ava does not know what it means or who sent it. But if she can find out then perhaps she’ll discover the answers she is seeking – and meet the woman at the heart of it all . . .
SYNOPSIS: Get ready for summer 2022’s biggest historical!
The season is about to begin – and there’s not a minute to lose
Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. This is 1818 after all, and only men have the privilege of seeking their own riches.
With only twelve weeks until the bailiffs call, launching herself into London society is the only avenue open to her, and Kitty must use every ounce of cunning and ingenuity she possesses to climb the ranks.
The only one to see through her plans is the worldly Lord Radcliffe and he is determined to thwart her at any cost, especially when it comes to his own brother falling for her charms.
Can Kitty secure a fortune and save her sisters from poverty? There is not a day to lose and no one – not even a lord – will stand in her way…
SYNOPSIS: THE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE.
In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She’s safe and employed as the bunker’s pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader.
BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER?
But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan – a tattooed giant of a man who’s purpose in the bunker is a mystery – Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped.
How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive?
Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published.
SYNOPSIS: The wise and gloriously big-hearted debut novel from the much-loved broadcaster, Sara Cox
Becky: a single mum who prides herself on her independence. She knows from painful experience that men are trouble. Louise: a loving husband, gorgeous kids. She ought to feel more grateful. Jameela: all she’s ever done is work hard, and try her best. Why won’t life give her the one thing she really wants? Sheila: the nest is empty, she dreams of escaping to the sun, but her husband seems so distracted.
The inhabitants of the Inventor’s Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly ‘Hellos’ when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number 7’s wheelie bin, but it’s not exactly Ramsay Street.
The dilapidated community centre is no longer the beating heart of the estate that Becky remembers from her childhood. So the new pottery class she’s helped set up feels like a fresh start. And not just for her.
The assorted neighbours come together to try out a new skill, under the watchful eye of their charismatic teacher, Sasha. And as the soft unremarkable lumps of clay are hesitantly, lovingly moulded into delicate vases and majestic pots, so too are the lives of four women. Concealed passions and heartaches are uncovered, relationships shattered and formed, and the possibility for transformation is revealed.
SYNOPSIS: 1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness – a man made of smoke.
Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.
What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children – the Talents – have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, Ordinary Monsters introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.
SYNOPSIS: All that stands between Meredith and the world is her own front door . . . but what will it take for her to open it? ________
Meredith Maggs hasn’t left her house in 1,214 days. But she insists she isn’t alone.
She has her cat Fred. Her friend Sadie visits when she can. There’s her online support group, StrengthInNumbers. She has her jigsaws, favourite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories for company.
But something’s about to change. Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door . . . Does she have the courage to overcome what’s been keeping her inside all this time?
SYNOPSIS: Your fate arrives in a box on your doorstep. Do you open it?
It seems like just another morning.
You make a cup of tea. Check the news. Open the front door.
On your doorstep is a box.
Inside the box is the exact number of years you have left to live.
The same box appears on every doorstep across the world.
Do you open yours?
THE MEASURE
IT’S THE DECISION OF A LIFETIME.
Published July 7th by The Borough Press. Buy here*
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
SYNOPSIS: This is not a romance, but it is about love
Two kids meet in a hospital gaming room in 1987. One is visiting her sister, the other is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there. Their love of video games becomes a shared world — of joy, escape and fierce competition. But all too soon that time is over, fades from view.
When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment. The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love – making games to delight, challenge and immerse players, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars.
This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest as it examines the nature of identity, creativity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
SYNOPSIS: A wedding in a small English village attracts a malicious spirit, forcing secrets from the deep past and troubled present out into the open–a hypnotic tale of sisterhood, first love, and hauntings from the acclaimed author of The Quick
As a teenager, Kate found a safe harbor from her parents’ constant fighting in the company of the four Gonne sisters, who lived with their strict grandparents next to Small Angels, a church right on the edge of dense green woods. The first outsider to ever get close to the sisters, Kate eventually learned the family’s secret: The woods are home to a capricious, menacing ghost whom generations of Gonnes had been charged with stopping from venturing into the village itself. But as the sisters grew older, braver, and more independent, and started bucking against the family’s burden, the bulwark began to crack, culminating in a horrifying act of violence that drove a terrible wedge between the sisters and Kate.
Chloe has been planning her dream wedding for months. She has the dress, the flowers, and the perfect venue: Small Angels, a charming old church in the village her fiancé, Sam, and his sister, Kate, grew up in. But, days before the ceremony, she starts to hear unsettling stories about Small Angels. And worse, she begins to see, smell, and hear things that couldn’t possibly be real.
Now, Kate is returning home for the first time in years, for Sam and Chloe’s wedding. But the woods are coming alive again, and Kate must reconnect with Lucia, the most troubled of the sisters and her first love, to protect Chloe, the village, and herself.
An unforgettable novel about the memories that hold us back and the memories that show us the way forward–this is storytelling at its most magical. Enter Small Angels, if you dare.
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