Published February 20th, 2025 by Sphere Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘Spellbinding’ SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN ‘Enthralling’ HESTER MUSSON ‘Astonishingly accomplished’ CARI THOMAS ‘Beautifully woven’ HARRIET CONSTABLE ‘Exquisite’ ANNA MAZZOLA ‘Expertly plotted’ JOANNE BURN ___________________
Paris, 1789. The Oberst Factory, which crafts exquisite wallpaper for the most fashionable French homes, is a place shrouded in mystery. Most enigmatic is the woman pictured in each of its prints, rumoured to be the late Mrs Oberst, who died in peculiar circumstances.
When sisters Lara and Sofi arrive there for work, they quickly form a friendship with Josef Oberst, the motherless heir to the factory. Whilst Sofi’s political fervour intensifies, Lara is disturbed by the uncanny way her life appears mirrored in the wallpaper. Meanwhile Hortense, Josef’s spoilt aristocratic wife, is similarly unnerved by the scenes that line the walls of her new home. With the mobs growing ever more violent, is she in danger of meeting the same untimely end as the last Mrs Oberst?
As revolution blazes across France, the lives of Sofi, Lara and Hortense are set to collide in unimaginable and irrevocable ways. Can they change what lies ahead, or are some patterns destined to be repeated?
Eerie, unnerving, mysterious and spellbinding, The Woman in the Wallpaper is a haunting debut steeped in gothic allure that transports us to eighteenth century France and the French Revolution.
After the death of their father, sisters Sofi and Lara arrive at The Oberst Factory in Paris, which crafts exquisite and particular toile de Jouy wallpaper for the country’s most fashionable and elite homes. But the factory is a place that has been shrouded in mystery ever since the death of Madame Oberst in strangecircumstances five years earlier. There are whispers she haunts the grounds and that it is her image that is featured on all of the factory’s prints. The sisters soon form a friendship with Josef Oberst, a motherless loner who is heir to the factory.
Meanwhile, Hortense, a spoiled aristocrat’s daughter who lives in the palace of Versailles, is forced into an arranged marriage with Josef and sent to live in the family’s mansion by the factory. Lara is set to work as her lady’s maid and is shocked to find that her new bedchamber is covered in violet wallpaper patterned with vignetted scenes from a woman’s life. Unnervingly, the woman looks exactly like her and scenes from her own life are mirrored on the paper.
As the worker’s grievances increase, the mob becomes more violent, political unrest takes a greater hold, and revolution rages throughout France, the lives of the three women are set to collide in unthinkable ways and with deadly and explosive consequences.
A gorgeous tapestry of a novel that is rich in sumptuous historical detail, Lora Jones had me in her thrall from the first page to the very last. Expertly choreographed and beautifully interwoven, Jone’s beautiful prose tells this an intoxicating story of love, loss, mystery, hostility and conviction, all set against the volatilebackdrop of the French revolution. Her meticulous research is evident on every page and I loved learning the intricacies of working in a wallpaper factory, the contrast between the lives of the workers and aristocracy, and more about the revolution, which is all brought to life in full, terrible detail thanks to Jones’ spectacular and vivid imagery. The story is atmospheric, forbidding and has hints of the supernatural from the start. But soon terror began to bleed into the pages, the words gleamed with a chilling malice and shivers ran down my spine.
All of the characters in this story, whether they are the narrators or background characters, are richly drawn and compelling. The three women who narrate the story – Sofi, Lara and Hortense – are very different people with their own interests and concerns. But as life at the factory, and in all of France, becomes more dangerous, they find that their fates are interwoven in unexpected ways. I enjoyed reaching each of their narratives but admit that it was Lara I found most enthralling. I was mesmerised by her story; the idea of seeing yourself and your life depicted in the wallpaper that is pasted in a place you’ve never been before and fear consuming you as you feel sure someone is watching you and you think you see the woman in the wallpaper move. It was so haunting that even eight months after reading it the memory still gives me chills. And I must mention Hortense, who was a wonderful villain filled with arrogance and snobbiness. She was fun to read and I loved to hate her, but I admit that I did feel some sympathy as time went on.
A magnificent and unsettling gothic mystery, I highly recommend this haunting debut.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
Thank you Sphere for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
After studying English Literature at the University of Durham, Lora began her career working in the TV industry in London, reading scripts for ITV’s Drama Department, and writing factual programme content and comedy material for the BBC, Channel 4 and others. She also spent over a decade assisting professional TV and stage magicians, and gathering up their secrets.
Lora now lives amongst the rugged hills of North Wales where she is currently rewilding an 18th century sheep farm. In her spare time she paints wildlife and sells her work in aid of wildlife conservation charities.
Passionate about creating and writing original stories, The Woman in the Wallpaper is Lora’s first novel. She is also the co-creator/host of The Magician’s Wife podcast.
Published June 19th, 2025 by Mantle Suspense, Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
Welcome to my review for this magnificent debut. Thank you to Mantle for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘Extraordinary . . . I absolutely loved this page-turning family mystery’ – Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of Here One Moment
‘Riveting . . . [It] held me captive from the first page to the last’– Hannah Kent, bestselling author of Devotion
Discover this breathtaking debut novel of family secrets and searing atmosphere set over one long, hot summer on the New Zealand coast.
In the past, we had always spent our summer holidays in remote places. That had always been my mother’s preference. This year was different . . .
As the long summer holiday stretches ahead, ten-year-old Alix wants to spend every second on the beach and in the water. But, with her parents unusually distracted and her older sister now more interested in boys, she finds herself alone.
Then she meets Kahu at the beach and he tells her about The Mystery. Two years ago, a girl went missing and none of the adults could find her. So the new friends decide to investigate – because people don’t just disappear.
But, as Alex and Kahu search for clues, they stumble upon secrets they wish they’d left uncovered. Is Alix’s holiday house as safe as it seems? And is her sister putting her trust in the wrong people?
Brilliantly page-turning and tensely atmospheric, A Beautiful Family will leave a lump in your throat and a hole in your heart.
********
MY REVIEW:
“We were not a proper family, I thought, hugging my knees. There was something wrong with us.”
New Zealand, 1985. The summer sun sizzles as Alix and her family arrive at the beach for their annual holiday. But this year is different from the others, and not only because this year her mum wanted to go somewhere where there are a lot of people. This year ten-year-old Alix feels alone. Her older sister, Vanessa, is a teenager who is more interested in boys than her little sister, and her parents are distracted. If it wasn’t for her new friend, Kahu, she’d have no-one to hang out with this summer. And it is Kahu who tells Alix about The Mystery. Two years ago a girl named Charlotte went missing and has never been found. They decide to investigate and begin to look for clues. But they will soon uncover secrets that they wish they’d never found…
Atmospheric, immersive and intriguing, A Beautiful Family is a riveting debut. Blending historical fiction, mystery, family saga and coming-of-age story, Jennifer Trevelyan has crafted a gorgeous slice of life novel that delivers a strong emotional punch. Trevelyan’s storytelling is exquisite, achingly human, and so evocative that you can feel the heat of the sun on your skin, feel the sand in between your toes and smell the suncream. A nostalgic tale, there is an air of simpler times that I remember from my own childhood in that era. But there is also an unbearable sense of dread that lingers over every page, Trevelyan holding her reader captive by rationing the reveals and drip-feeding information piece by piece. I was in her thrall, on the edge of my seat and terrified for Alix.
For such an emotional story you need a great protagonist. And Alix was just that. Likeable and easy to root for, she’s a typical kid of the 80s who enjoys listening to music on her walkman, playing outside with friends, and is excited about her annual summer holiday. Trevelyan expertly puts the reader in Alix’ shoes, conveying that sense of naivety and innocence that was more common back then.
While Alix may not understand a lot of what is happening around her, the reader does. And that sense of tragedy and danger that comes from the things we understand only adds to the tension. And whenever Alix felt those emotions she didn’t quite understand I wished I could reach into the book and explain what was going on and help her. But I was helpless, only able to read on tenterhooks as I waited to see what would happen.
A magnificent debut that will leave you wanting more, this is the perfect summer read. Add it to your TBR now.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer first worked as a wedding photographer and photographic printer before studying English Literature at Victoria University and travelling to London, where she worked in children’s publishing. After returning to her native New Zealand to raise a family and hone her DIY skills, Jennifer undertook an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters in 2022. Her debut novel, A Beautiful Family, is coming in 2025:
Published February 6th, 2025 by Harvill Secker Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales, Mythology
Welcome to my review for this atmospheric and mesmerising debut. Thank you to Harvill Secker for sending me a proof copy in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘Brilliant and meticulously researched… I loved it.’ Santa Montefiore
Sister. Rival. Protector.
Quiet and reserved, Clemmie is happy in the background. Although her parents may overlook her talents, her ability to read hieroglyphs makes her invaluable at the Egyptian relic parties which have made her father the toast of Victorian society.
But at one such party, the words Clemmie interprets from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. The beautiful and dangerous glyphs she holds in her hands will change her life forever.
Five years later, Clemmie arrives in Egypt on a mission to save what remains of her family. The childhood game she used to play about the immortal sisters, Isis and Nephthys, has taken on a devastating resonance and it is only by following Nephthys’ story that she can undo the mistakes of the past.
On her journey up the Nile she will meet unexpected allies and enemies and, along with long-buried secrets and betrayals, Clemmie will be forced to step into the light.
********
MY REVIEW:
“This place is alive with people, but it’s also heaving with the dead.”
Clemmie is a gifted Egyptologist but her talents have torn her family apart. When she was a child, she and her sister, Rosetta, loved to play a game about the immortal sisters Isis and Nephthys. Now, years later, she is about to follow in Nephthys footsteps to try and atone for the damage she has done, unaware of the dangers she’s about to face…
Atmospheric, haunting, forbidding and suspenseful, it is an astonishing debut. I’m a huge fan of Victoriana and have always had an interest in Ancient Egypt, so this book had my name written all over it. A story of obsession, secrets, myths and legends, I read this with a couple of book buddies earlier this year and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. A gifted wordsmith, Rachel Louise Driscoll’s poetic and evocative prose crafted a narrative that wrenched me out of my own reality and into the one she created. The rich tapestry of meticulously researched historic detail enhanced the story, bringing everything to life in vivid technicolour, and I found myself journeying on the Nile along with the characters, navigating its dangers, twists and turns. As the mystery unfolds, the dark underbelly of Egypts Victorian artefacts trade is laid bare, duplicitous characters are unmasked, and friends become like family. I was transfixed, unable to stop reading until I reached its conclusion.
Clemmie is not your typical Victorian lady. Feisty and intelligent, she’s a bad-ass heroine who is likeable and easy to root for. The daughter of a famous Egyptlogist, she’s been raised surrounded by the subject and it has been in her bones ever since she held a mummified cat as a child and I could feel her awe as she finally stepped foot on Egyptian soil. She travels the Nile with Oswald, Celia and Rowland, characters I enjoyed reading and trying to figure out – especially the
mysterious Rowland. I also loved the friendships Clemmie built with Celia and Mariam – the daughter of the dahabeeyah owner – as she’d never had a friend who wasn’t family before.
A dark, gothic and glittering story, Nephthys is an astonishing debut. I can’t wait to see what Ms. Driscoll writes next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rachel Louise Driscoll won the Curtis Brown Creative scholarship in 2020. Originally from the South West, she lives in the North East with her husband and cat, Cleopatra. Nephthys is her debut novel. She was inspired to write Clemmie’s story by an experience she had at a local museum as a child where she was allowed to hold a mummified ancient Egyptian cat. Enjoying the hours of avid research required, Rachel even wrote some of the book wearing a corset in order to capture Clemmie’s experience more accurately!
May is here in just a few hours, so it’s a late anticipated treasures this month. But May is packed with exciting new releases from authors I love such as M. J. Arlidge, Kate Foster, Emma Stonex, Natasha Solomons, Sarah Penner, Alex North, Matt Wesolowski, Katie Allen and Freya Sampson. And there are lots of debut authors I can’t wait to read, especially Emma Cowing, Daria Lavelle and Florence Knapp.
Here are the May releases I’m most anticipating:
The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex
Published May 1st by Picador Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other . . .’
From Emma Stonex, the bestselling author of The Lamplighters, comes The Sunshine Man, a gripping revenge thriller that will leave you breathless.
‘A compelling tight thriller with heart’ ***** ‘Hits you right between the eyes’ ***** ‘Brilliantly written with twists and turns’ *****
In January 1989, Birdie wakes to the news she’s been waiting eighteen years to hear. Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister, has been freed from jail. Birdie sends her kids to school and then leaves for London with a gun and a plan: to find Jimmy and make him pay.
But there’s another side to the story, and Birdie is about to enter a world of family lies, worn-out loyalties and long-buried betrayals . . .
A heart-stopping novel of shared pasts and a fury-fuelled present, The Sunshine Man is an addictive page-turner set against the sweeping hills of rural Devon, from bestselling author Emma Stonex.
Published May 1st by Legend Press Historical Ficiton, Supernatural Ficiton, Nautical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: THE BEWITCHING NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE LOST APOTHECARY – OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD
Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…
Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artefacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?
As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…
Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.
Published May 1st by Hodder & Stoughton Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Saga, Historical Romance, Domestic Ficiton, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze’ JENNIE GODFREY THE SHOW MUST GO ON …
1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Deeply rooted in the Edwardian era, THE SHOW WOMAN is brilliantly realised and expertly interlaces strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories.
Published May 1st by Head of Zeus Thriller, Crime Ficiton, Suspense, Dark Academia, Mystery, Fairy Tale
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Saltburn meets The Secret History in this gripping tale of alchemy and academia’ IAN RANKIN Five friends. One deadly obsession.
The salt-scented quadrangles of St Andrews University greet misfit first-year student Finn Nethercott with indifference. This is a place where only privilege counts, and those from the right backgrounds can get away with murder.
Finn is quickly seduced into a new circle of friends. Four history scholars obsessed with the deepest roots of ancient Scotland. They sweep him away on wild adventures to forgotten castles and faerie lochs.
But he soon discovers the darker sides of his new friendships: deadly rivalries, midnight rituals, and a desperate search for a long-lost hallucinogen.
Then, as Finn is pulled into a world where he can’t always trust what he’s seen each night, the group’s obsession turns deadly.
A shocking fever-dream of a thriller perfect for fans of M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains, Ashley Winstead’s In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Ellie Keel’s The Four.
Published May 1st by Orion Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Ficiton, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Well hot dang!!!!… Absolutely Exquisite. Just gripping!!!… I seriously could not put it down… GET THIS ON YOUR LIST, YESTERDAY.’ Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From the multi-million-copy bestselling author and global sensation, Jeneva Rose.
Till death do us part. Yours. Not Mine.
It’s been eleven years since high-powered attorney Sarah Morgan defended her husband, Adam, against the charge of murdering his mistress. Sarah haslong since moved on, starting a family with her new husband, Bob Miller, and changing careers. Her life is back to being exactly how she always wanted … or is it?
After discovering Bob engaged in a one-night stand, Sarah wastes no time filing for divorce. However, amid their ugly separation, new DNA evidence is uncovered in the case against Adam, forcing the police to reopen the investigation and putting Sarah right back in the spotlight. Everyone wants to know what really happened, most of all former Deputy Hudson, who is hell-bent on finding the truth.
But when the woman Bob slept with is reported missing, he and Sarah start to fight dirty, and a high-stakes game of cat and mouse ensues. Filled with page-turning suspense and Jeneva Rose’s signature twists and turns, this sequel will have readers wondering: Can Bob and Sarah achieve the perfect divorce? Or will it be “’til death do us part”?
The Perfect Divorce is a thrilling read that can be enjoyed as a standalone, but a note for those intending to read The Perfect Marriage that this story reveals twists from that book.
Published May 1st by Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A twist you’ll never guess’ ALEX MICHAELIDES ‘Thrilling, thought-provoking, suspenseful’ S.A. COSBY THE WORLD KNOWS HER AS THE GIRL IN CELL A.
Convicted of murder at seventeen, infamous killer and true crime celebrity Orianna Negi has always maintained her innocence.
BUT IF SHE DIDN’T KILL GIDEON WYCLERC…
Orianna has a blind spot over that fateful day: she can’t remember what happened. Forensic psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth.
….THEN WHO DID?
Orianna grew up in Eden Falls, ruled by the insular Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch , Amos. As their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna’s past to a shattering realisation….
Scandal. Sex. Power. Race. And murder. Between guilt and innocence lies a fallen Eden.
Published May 1st by Viking Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘This book is so stunningly fresh and darkly funny that every page surprised me. Dick writes brilliantly about grief and addiction and inheritance and, yes, redemption.’ CATHERINE NEWMAN, AUTHOR OF SANDWICH
‘He left you some money.’
Mickey felt her mouth drop open. The first half of that sentence had rung clear and true. The second half had not. Her father was one to take, not give.
After he left them for his new family, Mickey resolved never to think of her father again. She’s fine without him; yes, she drinks, but only sometimes and, really, she can’t not.
But with only $181 to her name, she’s not above attending some mandated therapy to access her inheritance. She’ll kneel at the Kleenex alter and soon be bingeing Bridgerton with a bottle of Russian Standard, five million dollars richer.
Arlo has more issues than most of her clients. Being a therapist has not prepared her for grief. She adored her father – his laughter, his charm, the smell of his cologne. She thought he adored her, too, but now he’s given his inheritance to a daughter no one knows, and Arlo is at a loss.
Two sisters are unknowingly thrown together for the first time.
Published May 6th by Phoenix Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A once-in-a-generation debut from a major new talent, The Names is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark.
CHOSEN AS A SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL, RED, PRIMA, STYLIST and EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF 2025
Tomorrow – if morning comes, if the storm stops raging – Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she’ll formalise who he will become.
It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates. Going against his wishes is a risk that will have consequences, but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? The choice she makes in this moment will shape the course of their lives.
Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, and one that will prove as cataclysmic as the storm from which it emerged. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, believing it will enable him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image – but is there still a chance to break the mould?
Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family, and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.
Published May 8th by Manilla Press Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Ancient World, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the international bestselling author comes an unmissable new retelling of the life of one of the most captivating and misrepresented female figures in history.
Cleopatra, Egyptian Princess, grows up the favoured daughter of the Pharoah, hiding amongst the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria with her beloved slave Charmian, longing for the chance one day to write her own story.
Then when her father dies, willing that Cleopatra rule with her selfish brother Ptolemy, danger stirs. As the young Egyptian Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, he plots to destroy her and take the throne for himself.
But while Ptolemy has the power of Egypt behind him, Cleopatra has her wits. And when the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realises he could be the key to her salvation – though courting this powerful man could cost her everything.
Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne, her beloved Egypt and finally command her own history?
A powerful, unmissable new retelling, this is a captivating story of female power and vulnerability, of love and loss, fierce friendship and terrible betrayal.
Published May 8th by Manilla Press Historical Fiction, Gaslamp Fantasy, Contemporary Horror
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond. In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card . . .
It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power – through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen’s fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn’t become her own.
Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too – she can read people’s pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other’s abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do – and who will she betray – to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too?
Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card . . .
Published May 8th by Head of Zeus Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: PLAY THEIR GAME Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.
DO WHAT THEY SAY London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.
OR THEY’LL BURY YOU Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.
A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon.
Published May 8th by Michael Joseph Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Horror Fiction, Police Procedural
BOOK DESCRIPTION: You never forget the day you meet a serial killer. Dan was just a teenager when he had a chance encounter with the elusive killer known only as “the man made of smoke”. Nobody could blame him for being too scared to intervene, for being too scared to save the latest victim, for letting the killer vanish again. Nobody except Dan himself. Years later, Dan has a successful career as a criminal psychiatrist, unpicking the very darkest of human behaviour. Because, despite what he saw that day, Dan knows there’s no such thing as a monster. But now his father, John, has gone missing. And, when Dan returns to the small island where he grew up, he finds out that not long before his disappearance, John had stumbled across a body. As Dan begins to dig, he finds unsettling links, stretching all the way back to the man made of smoke. Which means this might just be a chance to not only save his dad, but to finally find redemption. But what if he’s been wrong about that day for all these years. What if he was right to be scared?
Published May 8th by Wild Hunt Books Horror Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural Fiction, Contemporary Horror, Occult Horror,
BOOK DESCRIPTION: PART OF THE NORTHERN WEIRD PROJECT
HE ALWAYS COMES FOR YOU…
Leo is just trying to catch his train back home to the village of Malacstone in North East England. But there’s disorder at the station, and when a loud young man heading for London boards the train accidentally, a usually easy journey descends into darkness and chaos. The train soon breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and as night falls, something…or someone steps out of the distance. Is it a man or something far more sinister?
When one of the passengers goes missing, Leo fears that a folkloric tale whispered to him in childhood might be the culprit.
(Don’t) Call Mum blends Matt Wesolowski’s trademark voice of mystery, folklore and humour in this heart-racing tale.
Published May 8th by Hutchinson Heinmann Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: What happens when you find love, but life keeps getting in the way?
When she first meets Adam, Coralie is new to London and feeling adrift. But Adam is clever, witty, and – he insists – half an inch taller than the average British male. His charming four-year-old daughter, Zora, only adds to his appeal.
And yet ten years on, something important is missing from the life Coralie and Adam (though let’s face it, mostly Coralie) have built. Or maybe, having gained everything she dreamed of, Coralie has lost something she once had: herself.
Set against an eventful decade that included the soap opera of five Prime Ministers plus Brexit and Covid, Consider Yourself Kissed puts the subjects of love and family on a grand stage, bringing to life how the intimate drama in our homes inescapably competes for energy and attention with the shared drama of our times.
Consider Yourself Kissed is a captivating portrait of a woman in love which effortlessly balances sweetness with bite, the public with the personal, and humour with heart.
Published May 8th by Avon Coming-of-Age Story, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Eleanor Pilcher is electric in her witty, funny, and heartfelt women’s fiction debut, following polar opposite best friends Beth and Serena. When demisexual Beth decides she’s done with being a virgin and enlists Serena’s help, her new personal journey just might be the thing to end their friendship for good.
Serena and Beth are best friends who couldn’t be more different—Beth is an avowed demisexual, who lacks confidence in her career and in her chances at a happy relationship due to her sexual orientation. Serena is a free spirit who oozes with confidence, both in her job and her sexual proclivities. And yet, since the moment they met, they knew they were platonic soulmates.
So, when Beth decides that she officially wants to take charge of her sex life and explore the things that scare her the most, Serena is more than happy to help. Speed-dating, sex therapy, tantra, a perplexed but ultimately very nice escort—it’s all on Beth’s Sexual Odyssey List.
But when Beth’s crush from her old job comes back and Serena’s favorite friend-with-benefits pushes for more than just sex, it throws their whole world into a tailspin. And suddenly, this sexual odyssey is more than a fun gag. It’ll set them down a course that’ll make them so much closer—or end their friendship for good.
Published May 8th by Fourth Estate Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A hilarious and utterly original debut novel following a woman trying to make sense of her life and herself as she falls in love with her therapist.
Sylvie is only happy when she is at therapy. This is because Sylvie is in love with her therapist. She wants to kiss her and roll around on the floor with her. She thinks about her every second they’re not together (roughly 167 hours and 10 minutes per week). She’s aware she has an obsession, but whether it is – as her therapist suggests – a case of extreme ‘erotic transference’, or a lost person’s need to connect, Sylvie isn’t sure.
Beyond therapy, Sylvie has what she considers to be a small life: a job as a veterinary nurse, her little brain-damaged dog, Curtains, and a new friend Chloe who she met on the beach. When the therapist delivers some devastating news, Sylvie has to imagine new and lasting ways of coping (that don’t include being adopted by the therapist). Her world has begun to open up, inching beyond the fear that has confined her until now, and she must decide whether she’s ready for a bravery of feeling.
In this stunning debut novel, Adelaide Faith encapsulates the great vulnerability, difficulty and joy of being alive.
Published May 13th by Tinder Press Suspense, Thriller, Saga, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Why hadn’t she said to her daughter I love you beyond reason and none of this matters at all and every day that you breathe is a gift?’
Rafaela remembers everything that matters: her beautiful childhood in San Juan, her marriage to Peter, uprooting their children, Ruth and Benny, to the American Midwest, and losing all sense of her place in the world. So she tells no one when her memory begins to slip.
Her daughter, in New York with a family of her own, wishes she could forget her muddy feelings about where she comes from – the same feelings which motivated her 22-year-old daughter Daisy to reconnect with their past.
Daisy, who has momentarily forgotten everything, hears the word critical in a hospital room in San Juan and remembers, all at once, the car that hurtled towards her, the terrible storm, and something else. What was it?
Now Ruth and Rafaela must return to the city where it all began, to gather by Daisy’s bedside and confront the twists of fate that have caused a growing rift in their family and led them to this moment.
Published May 15th by Bantam Press Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: When the peace shatters in suburbia, the claws come out . . .
Coralie King, Emma Brooks and Twig Dorsett are friends. Sort of. They’re neighbours on an exclusive Sevenoaks estate who get along. It’s convenient.
But one May bank holiday, Coralie’s husband insists he saw a panther on the bonnet of his car. And cracks between the elite of the Briar Heart Estate begin to emerge.
As the summer wears on and there are more sightings, the big cat frenzy reaches a fever pitch. Tensions between neighbours threaten to boil over. Everyone is watching their back. But is the real predator a seventy-kilo cat with razor-sharp claws? Or is the actual danger of a much more domestic variety?
Published May 15th by Aria Historical Fiction, Mystery, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Maggie Flynn isn’t your typical 1960s mum.
She’s a spy, an unsuspecting operative for MI5, stalking London’s streets in myriad disguises.
Widowed and balancing her clandestine career with raising a Beatles-mad teenage daughter, Maggie finds comfort and purpose in her profession – providing a connection to her late husband, whose own covert past only surfaced after his death.
But Maggie’s world spins out of control when a chance encounter with a mysterious Russian agent triggers a chilling revelation: he knew her husband. And what’s worse, the agent suspects someone on home soil betrayed him.
As Maggie searches for answers, she’ll question everyone – and everything – she thought she could trust. In the murky and perilous world of espionage, can she outsmart those determined to keep her silenced?
Published May 15th by John Murray Literary Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Science-Fiction, Alternative History
BOOK DESCRIPTION: MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT. THE MOTHERS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING . . .
‘This is a compelling and terrifying novel whose alternative history engages chillingly with current possibilities. No one writes children better than Chidgey. She exactly gets their experimental cruelty and related innocence as they attempt to piece their world together’ Elizabeth Cook, author of Lux
England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Every day, the triplets do their chores, play their games and take their medicine, under the watchful eyes of three mothers: Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night.
Their nightmares are recorded in The Book of Dreams. Their lessons are taken from The Book of Knowledge. And their sins are reported in The Book of Guilt.
All the boys want is to be sent to the Big House in Margate, where they imagine a life of sun, sea and fairground rides. But, as the government looks to shut down the Sycamore Homes, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told.
Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.
Published May 15th by Pan Macmillan Suspense, Science Fiction, Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A mother’s love can be deafening . . .
Isaac is Hannah’s entire world. She knows that her son is gifted, and that those gifts make him vulnerable. To keep him safe, she spends every waking moment by his side. If she lets her guard down, lets him out of her sight, lets him show what he’s capable of, he will be taken from her.
When the Soundfield arrived twenty years ago, the world changed with it. Now, people are forced to live at night due to the deadly heat of the day, food and water are scarce, and everyday life is punctuated by the constant and disconcerting hum from the Field. A brilliant scientist, Hannah spent her early career working on the enigma of the Soundfield, looking for answers; now, resigned, she has focussed all her energies on keeping Isaac living, not just alive.
To do so, she will have to lie to the people she knows and hope she can trust the ones she doesn’t. Because the only thing more dangerous than her lies, is the truth of what she has done.
Published May 15th by Merky Books Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025
WINNER OF THE #MERKY BOOKS 2022 NEW WRITERS’ PRIZE
It’s summer and a young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France. At the dinner table, the Blake siblings await him: Lily, his carefree friend from university; Dot, the rebellious younger sister; and Felix – handsome, charismatic and guarded.
Between sun-drenched days spent lounging by the pool and nights blurring into endless, opulent parties, the man is captivated by Felix’s restless allure. As his desire grows, the chance to become part of the family and their world of money and power starts to feel within reach.
But the idyllic haze of summer fades as they return to London and the cracks in the Blakes’ careful façade begin to show. With the two men tormented by demons of their own, their bond is increasingly tested and pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.
Sunstruck is a dazzling and poignant exploration of race, status and the parts of ourselves we risk losing when we fall in love.
Published May 22nd by Penguin UK Suspense, Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Escape to Bali in this gripping new sunlounger thriller, for fans of Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware.
‘THE NEW QUEEN OF THE GLAMOROUS DESTINATION THRILLER’ ELLERY LLOYD
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .
Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They’ve been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing ’til dawn . . . Even living and working together.
So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.
But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.
Which is hardly surprising; they’ve been lying to each other for years.
Published May 22nd by Bloomsbury Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Horror
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour.
When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure – something he’s craved for as long as he can remember.
There are just three problems:
1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.
2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.
3. He’s falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife – who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped.
A bittersweet cocktail of humour and heart, Aftertaste is an imaginative odyssey through food and love, life and death: the things that sustain us, connect us, transport us, and remind us who we are.
Published May 22nd by Orenda Romance, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The carefully ordered life of a middle-aged man falls apart when he is forced to return to his hometown to care for his elderly father, and meets a woman who has as many secrets as he does … A warmly funny, poignant, life-affirming novel about coming home and letting go.
______
What if halfway through your life was just the beginning?
Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life.
Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof.
With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.
But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.
Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin. And he’s hiding even more from her…
For fans of Hazel Prior, Rachel Joyce and Jonas Jonasson
Published May 22nd by Avon Books Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The mind is a dangerous place to hide…
Dr Eleanor Spencer is a well-respected psychologist with a seemingly perfect life. But when a series of women start to vanish, it dredges up memories of her sister’s unsolved disappearance and she finds herself drawn into the investigation.
Desperate, she turns to Lucas Hayne, a convicted serial murderer who revels in mind games. But when Lucas cryptically hints the answers lie buried in her past, Ellie’s carefully constructed world begins to splinter.
Because now she faces a terrifying possibility: the real monster might just be closer than she ever imagined.
Ellie has spent her career deciphering the minds of killers―but now, one of them is inside hers.
A gripping psychological suspense about betrayal, courage, and the darkness that can hide behind a seemingly trustworthy façade. Perfect for fans of K.L. Slater and B.A. Paris.
Published May 22nd by One More Chapter Magical Realism, Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Saga
BOOK DESCRIPTION: You don’t choose the book. The book chooses you…
Long ago, a bookshop was born – the beating heart of all those who find hope within the pages of a book. With the words penned upon the echo of old forests, new worlds are created.
It’s ready and waiting to welcome all those who know where to find it…
Strangers Jo, Adelaide and Kye are the least likely people to find themselves across the threshold of a bookshop.
But as their midnight book club shows them that a single book can change everything, all three realise that their own stories can be rewritten.
Published May 22nd by Orion Myths, Fairy Tales, Magical Realism, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOANNE HARRIS SENSATIONALLY RETURNS TO THE WORLD OF CHOCOLAT!
Secrets. Chocolate. A touch of magic…
On a warm July evening, Sylviane Rochas scatters her mother’s ashes in New York and lets the changing wind blow her to the French seaside town of Marseille.
For the first time in her life, Vianne holds the future in her own hands. Charming her way into a job as a waitress in a local bistrot, she knows that she is not here to stay – when her child is born in a few months, she must be gone.
As she discovers the joy of cooking, making recipes her own with the addition of bittersweet chocolate spices, she realises that it possesses its own magic in this town full of secrets.
Yet Vianne will never forget her mother’s warning: that there is danger in revealing the true desires of those around her – and she must flee these cobbled streets before it’s too late…
Million-copy bestselling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with the long-awaited story of Vianne, which begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet.
Published May 22nd by Picodor Literary Fiction, Political Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Moving from 60s Italy to contemporary Ireland, Ripeness is a breathtaking story of love and the search for belonging from Sarah Moss, bestselling author of Summerwater.
‘The achievement of a lifetime, written by one of the best writers alive’ – Jessie Burton
On the brink of adulthood and just out of school, Edith finds herself travelling to rural Italy. She has been sent by her mother with strict instructions: to see her sister, ballet dancer Lydia, through the final weeks of her pregnancy, help at the birth and then make a phone call which will change all of their lives.
Decades later, happily divorced and newly energized, Edith is living in contentment and comfort in Ireland. When her best friend Méabh receives a call from an American man claiming to be her brother, Méabh must decide if she will meet him, and Edith finds herself plunged back into her own past and the story of the baby she once knew and loved.
Published May 22nd by Baskerville Historical Fiction, Ghost Story, Supernatural Ficiton, Horror Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A fever dream of a novel. Fuelled by sapphic femgore, it’s sick and sultry, and a deeply beguiling masterclass in the perverse; I couldn’t put it down!’ Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
‘Devilishly addictive and delightfully gory from an exciting new voice in literary horror. Northanger Abbey meets Saltburn‘ Christine Anne Foley, author of Bodies
Scullery drudge Ann longs to become a lady’s maid. Ann can’t quite remember how or when she arrived at the grand Ropner Hall, but she loathes spending her days toiling in the dank kitchen.
When a chance meeting with Ropner’s Lady Charlotte leads to the opportunity to become her personal maid, Ann is convinced she has finally escaped her own version of hell. But has she? As Ann’s new life above stairs takes a sinister twist, will it turn out that the terrors lurking up there are worse than the devils she knows below?
Jessie Elland’s deeply visceral debut is a dark and twisted tale of ambition and desire. Are you brave enough to enter Ropner Hall?
The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster
Published May 29th by Mantle Historical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Inspired by an infamous real-life case, The Mourning Necklace is the unforgettable feminist historical novel from the Women’s Prize-longlisted author of The Maiden, Kate Foster.
They said I would swing for the crime, and I did . . .
1724. In a tavern just outside Edinburgh, Maggie Dickson’s family drown their sorrows, mourning her death yet relieved she is gone. Shame haunts them. Hanged for the murder of her newborn child, passers-by avert their eyes from her cheap coffin on its rickety cart.
But as her family pray her soul rests in peace, a figure appears at the door.
It is Maggie. She is alive.
Bruised and dazed, Maggie has little time for her family’s questions.
Published May 29th by Renegade Books Mystery, Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?
St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. For book club organiser Nova Davies, who’s new to the Cornish seaside village, the digestive vs shortbread debate is just the start of her problems…
Under Nova’s watch, £10,000 is stolen from the much-loved community centre. When book club member Michael disappears and a dead body turns up at his house, it seems clear who the perpetrator is. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance fanatic Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi reader Ash thinks dark forces are at play. Meanwhile, Nova’s just trying to keep them out of trouble.
Soon the book club becomes very busy indeed. Full-time book lovers, part-time sleuths, they put their differences aside to find Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money – all while trying to hide their own secrets…
Can they crack the case? And with a killer on the loose, what will it take until they’re safe back home, curled up with book?
An utterly unputdownable cosy crime novel and a love letter to books and the power of reading, The Busybody Book Club is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Agatha Raisin.
Published May 29th by Orion Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Ficiton, Hardboiled
BOOK DESCRIPTION: In this family, everyone is telling lies.
Pete never wanted another child. Before baby Erin was born, they were happy. If Natalie hadn’t got pregnant, he would never have done what he did.
Natalie knows things have been difficult since the surprise arrival of Erin. Life with Pete and their two other children – Emily and Zadie – has been balancing on a knife-edge.
Now their home is full of guests at a party Natalie didn’t want to throw – and she’s about to reach breaking point.
But so is her family.
Because everyone has a secret that they’ve been hiding and when Erin suddenly disappears everyone becomes a suspect.
Surely no one here would want to harm their baby? But after the events of the party there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Natalie.
Published May 29th by Viking Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Medical Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do To Our Friends, comes a timely, gripping novel about the dark underbelly of wellness culture
‘DARWENT HAS A GREAT CAREER AS A THRILLER WRITER AHEAD OF HER’ SUNDAY TIMES
We can fix you.
It’s a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen.
So far, it’s been a lie.
But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn – a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn’t broken, just special.
Published March 13th, 2025 by Phoenix Mystery, Thriller, Domestic Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this captivating slice of suburban drama. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers tours for the invitation to take part, and to Phoenix for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Australia, 1979.
It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.
As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
********
MY REVIEW:
Australia, 1979. The residents of Warrah Place are rocked by the news of Antonio Marietti’s death. It spreads like wildfire, the gossip between neighbours on this quiet cul-de-sac fanning the flames of rumour and suspicion. While the adults whisper accusations, twelve-year-old Tammy decides to launch her own investigation but is unprepared for what she discovers…
A community full of secrets, lies and prejudices, a captivating murder mystery, and an explosive finale, Kate Kemp’s debut has all of this and so much more. Wonderfully written, acutely observed and deeply human, I loved this fantastic debut. There’s a strong sense of community from the start, but it is soon evident that not everyone is who they seem on this claustrophobic cul-de-sac and secrets, lies and prejudices lurk in the homes on Warrah Place. There is a huge cast of characters which did make it hard for me to get into the story at first. But I found that once I had a chunk of time to really immerse myself in the story I was in its thrall. Part psychological suspense, part domestic fiction, the tension sizzled like the summer sun that was beating down, keeping me guessing right up until that devastating final twist.
But what really had me hooked was the relationships between the neighbours. Richly drawn, authentic and relatable, they leaped from the pages and pulled me into their world, slowly unveiling the secrets they were trying to hide. I loved delving into their lives and discovering what they were hiding while trying to guess what happened to Antonio the night he was murdered. Much of the story is narrated by Tammy, a precocious, quirky and curious twelve-year-old who is emotionally neglected by her mother. Tammy decides to solve the crime, and it was fun to see the story through her naive eyes. The adults are flawed and preoccupied, allowing Tammy to overhear much of her investigation as they forgot she was listening. There are some very unlikeable characters on Warrah Place, but there were also some strong female characters that I loved reading.
Atmospheric, revealing, and utterly compelling, The Grapevine is a delicious slice of suburban drama not to be missed.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kate Kempis an Australian writer living in the UK. She trained as an occupational therapist and then as a systemic psychotherapist, and has worked with families and individuals in mental health services in both Australia and the UK. In 2021, she won the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction and the Yeovil Literary Prize. The Grapevine is her first novel.
Published February 27th, 2025 by Orenda Books Gothic Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Horror Fiction, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction, Supernatural Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the haunting and hypnotic Small Fires. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Orenda for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Suspected of murdering their parents, sisters Lily and Della flee to a strange, unnamed island in Scotland, and their arrival puts in motion a horrifying series of events… Literary suspense meets folk horror in 2025’s most original, mesmerising modern gothic masterpiece…
‘A deeply unsettling and thought-provoking tale of survival and storytelling, mixing elements of gothic and folk horror with literary suspense. Beautifully woven and eerily atmospheric’ Anna Mazzola
‘Rarely will you meet a story as unsettling, nor one as bewitchingly told. With its roots snaking into folk horror, Small Fires plays with the contemporary gothic vibe reminiscent of Midsommar and The Wicker Man … I challenge you to pick it up and when you do, to put it down’ Janice Hallett
‘Ronnie Turner has a way of weaving words into a spell – the darkest of spells. Mesmerising, sinister … this modern folklore gothic will chill you to the bone’ Essie Fox
‘Crackles with menace and authenticity. Kept me up late and crept into my dreams’ Sarah Hilary
____________________________________
Evil runs through this cursed island And these wicked sisters are about to make it burn…
When sisters Lily and Della Pedley are persecuted for the shocking murder of their parents, they flee from their home in Cornwall to a remote and unnamed island in Scotland – an island known for its strange happenings, but far away from the whispers and prying eyes of strangers.
Lily is terrified of what her sister will might do next, and she soon realises that they have arrived at a place where nothing is as it seems. A bitterness runs through the land like poison, and the stories told by the islanders seem to be far more than folklore.
Della settles in too easily, the island folk drawn to her strangeness, but Lily is plagued by odd and unsettling dreams, and as an annual festival draws nigh, she discovers that she has far more to fear than she could ever have imagined. Or does she…?
Chilling, atmospheric and utterly hypnotic, Small Fires is a contemporary gothic novel that examines possession, generational trauma, female rage, and the perilous bonds of family – an unsettling reminder that the stories we tell can be deadly…
Midsommar meets Midnight Mass in a folk horror, modern gothic masterpiece.
********
MY REVIEW:
“They say the Devil came here. He fell to the earth long ago and he never left.”
Murderesses. Witches. Pariahs. These are the names that were used to describe Lily and Della Pedley. Suspected of murdering their parents, their gruesome history precedes them everywhere they go. Even on an isolated and unnamed Scottish Island where the Devil is said to have fallen and made his home beneath the soil. As the sisters try to start anew on the island, whispers and judgement surround them as they unknowingly set in motion a nightmarish chain of events.
Atmospheric, haunting and hypnotic, Small Fires reads like a dark and twisted fairytale. Mired in darkness from its opening pages, malevolence drips from every word of this magnificent gothic mystery. A masterful sinister storyteller, Ronnie Turner merges gorgeous literary fiction with nail-biting horror and suspense to create her own unique fiction recipe. Her choreography is exquisite; a sense of dread permeating the pages as she hides the poison in plain sight, coiled like a viper waiting to strike. She is adept at putting her reader off-kilter with red herrings until she’s ready to floor you with one of her shocking revelations. Elements of Scottish and Cornish folklore are woven throughout as Turner explores the role stories play in our lives, asking how they inspire and shape us, and how they shape our perception of others. She also explores themes of identity, examining how each of us can have many different identities, some that are thrust upon us and others we might hide behind.
Told by multiple characters in dual timelines, the story is filled with richly drawn characters who are also deeply unnerving. At the heart of the story is sisters Lily and Della, one bitter and one sweet, with a harrowing and notorious past. Though part of their story is known, there is a lot of mystery that surrounds them. Our other narrator is Silas, a strange and curious individual with an equally mysterious history. Flashbacks allow us glimpses inside the pasts of all three characters, slowly revealing disturbing truths that they’ve tried to keep hidden. And then there was the island itself, which felt alive and like a character in its own right thanks to the myths and folklore about the devil dwelling below ground that surround it.
A dark and unsettling gothic thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, Small Fires is a must read.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature. She now works as a Senior Waterstones Bookseller and barista. Ronnie lives in the South West with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and taking long walks on the coast.
Published January 30th, 2025 by Pan Macmillan Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction
Welcome to my review of this unsettling thriller, which was one of our SquadPod Featured Books in January. I also read this as part of a Bookbreak readalong. Thank you Pan Macmillan and Bookbreak for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘I was consumed by this book, it’s her best ever, a work of genius’ – Lisa Jewell
‘Brilliant and chilling, with an inspired setting, characters that jump off the page and twists to give you whiplash. I loved every word’ – Claire Douglas
The million-copy bestselling author of His and Hers, Alice Feeney, returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage . . . and revenge.
* * *
Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.
Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.
A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.
********
MY REVIEW:
“The world is beautiful ugly, relationships are beautiful ugly, love is beautiful ugly. Understanding that makes life easier to live with.”
What should have been the best day of author Grady Green’s life turns into his worst day when his wife Abby disappears the same day he discovers he’s a New York Times bestseller. A year later, Grady travels to a remote Scottish Island with just 25 inhabitants, where he hopes he can write his next book and start to move on. But before he’s even got on the island he sees a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. On the island things get even stranger: he keeps seeing the woman and even hears his missing wife’s voice on the telephone. And then there’s the odd behaviour of the island’s residents. What secrets are they keeping? And do they hold the key to uncovering the truth about Abby’s disappearance?
Dark, atmospheric, eerie and addictive, Beautiful Ugly is another first-class thriller from the pen of Alice Feeney. Opening with Abby’s disappearance, Feeney sets the sinister tone from the start. Skillfully written, cleverly plotted and heart-poundingly tense, Feeney knows how to hold the reader in her thrall; jaw-dropping twists keeping me on the edge of my seat and keeping me guessing until the very last page.
The Isle of Amberley is a beautiful, peaceful and idyllic place that has an undercurrent of danger. The residents are secretive and strange, and from the start there is an unwelcoming and unsettling atmosphere. Evocative imagery brings it to life in vivid detail and it felt like the island was a character in its own right, even mirroring the humans in this story who may have been ordinary on the surface, but sinister underneath and all of them seem to be unreliable narrators, including Grady and Abby. Every chapter had me questioning what I was being told and not knowing who I could trust. I had no idea how much of Grady’s story was real, how much might be lies, or how much was in his mind. All is revealed slowly, past and present merging together to unveil the shocking truth. And I didn’t see it coming.
I highly recommend this unsettling and compelling thriller.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Including Rock Paper Scissors, which is being made into a TV series by the producer of The Crown. Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in Devon with her family. Good Bad Girl is her sixth novel.
Published January 30th, 2025 by Scribner UK Literary Fiction
Today is my stop on the blog tour for this extroardinary and unforgettable debut. Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part, and to Scribner UK for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘A moving portrait of life inside the housing system and the courage it takes to try to build a home in society’s cracks’ GUARDIAN
‘Brand-new, urgent and hugely satisfying’ RODDY DOYLE
‘As emotionally charged as it is brutally real. The writing is flawless. I was profoundly moved’ ELAINE FEENEY
‘Will make your blood boil and your heart soar. This is an important novel’ CLAIRE KILROY
‘Gorgeous, maddening, thrilling and compassionate’ SHEILA ARMSTRONG
An extraordinary and urgent debut by a prize-winning Irish writer, NESTING introduces an unforgettable new voice in fiction.
On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.
This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.
What will it take for Ciara to rebuild her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?
Tense, beautiful, and underpinned by an unassailable love, hope and resilience, this is the story of one woman’s bid to start over.
********
MY REVIEW:
One afternoon Ciara Fay finds the strength to leave her abusive husband, Ryan. It’s a split-second moment of clarity, so Ciara grabs the clothes from the washing line and a few other meager items that are to hand and flees with her two daughters. She has just a few hundred euro to her name and knows only that she has to get the three of them to safety. But reality quickly dawns for Ciara as she finds herself with dwindling money, nowhere to stay, no job, and a head filled with self-doubt and inner demons. A broken housing crisis sees Ciara and her daughters living in a single room in a hotel, while Ryan incessantly sends messages that either pledging his undying love or drip with venom. As the months tick by with no end to their struggle in sight, Ciara doubts her choices. She found the strength to leave. But can she find the strength to stay away?
Searing, soulful, heart-shredding and hopeful, Nesting is a powerful and moving story that will stay with you long after reading. A story of doubt, fear, trauma, courage, joy and hope that broke me into pieces and then put me back together again. I was very nervous about reading this one as I knew from the synopsis that it would bring back so much of my own trauma. I left my own abusive marriage for the final time in 2008 and so much of Ciara’s story is my own. But while it is a difficult, painful and uncomfortable read, even if you’ve never experienced abuse, it is also an urgent story that needs to be read.
Roisin O’Donnell showcases herself as a talent to watch with this astonishing debut. Expertly written, every word bleeds raw emotion as she strips bare the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies leaving and staying away from an abusive partner. And she achieves this in a way that is more vivid and achingly real than I’ve ever read before. There is omnipresent fear that lingers over every page alongside the helplessness, vulnerability, strength and courage that flow through the story. I devoured it in a single evening, unable to turn away and felt like an empty shell after finishing this unbelievable debut; loving it completely but also feeling like a hollow shell once it was over.
O’Donnell masterfully writes these characters and their complex emotions, creating relatable and real characters filled with the shades of grey that make us human. Ciara makes mistakes, but I connected with her quickly. Ryan is clearly controlling from the first pages, but we also see the charm and emotion that drew Ciara to him and made her stay for so long. I think getting Ryan’s character so right was vital so the reader can understand why she is so torn and doubts herself so much. These kinds of people know how to turn on the charm and get inside our heads so that we no longer know who we are and only hear their voice in our head. O’Donnell portrays that perfectly, showing the reader how it is possible to feel so lost without the person who is tearing you apart from the inside. The story also contains beautiful examples of friendship and community in the relationships Ciara formed with the other people at the hotel. There is also real beauty to be found in the community and friendships that Ciara formed with the other people at the hotel. In her darkest hour she found people who rallied round her, supported her, and helped her find the light once again. Something all of us need.
Tense, haunting and unforgettable, Nesting is an extraordinary debut that packs a strong emotional punch. I expect to see this on many of the prize lists this year and can’t wait for whatever Ms. O’Donnell writes next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
RoisínO’Donnell won the prize for Short Story of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards in 2018, and was shortlisted for the same prize in 2022. She is the author of the story collection Wild Quiet, which was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award. Her short fiction has featured in The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine, the Irish Times and many other places. Other stories have been selected for major anthologies such as The Long Gaze Back, and have featured on RTÉ Radio. Her debut novel Nesting will be published in 2025. Roisín is represented by Eleanor Birne at PEW Literary. She lives near Dublin with her two children.
Published February 4th, 2025 by Tinder Press Literary Fiction, Fairy Tales
Happy Publication Day to this dark, moving and extraordinary tale, which is our SquadPod Book Club book for February. Thank you to Tinder Press for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Where there is wonder, there is love – an unforgettable story of the beauty and savagery of the Alaskan wilderness, from the author of the million-copy international bestseller, The Snow Child. ‘I read with my heart in my mouth, filled with wonder’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ‘An enthralling novel about the endurance of love, the power of forgiveness and the savage, irresistible allure of wild places’ Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
Birdie’s keeping it together, of course she is. So she’s a little hungover on her shifts, and has to bring her daughter to the lodge while she waits tables, but Emaleen never goes hungry. It’s a tough town to be a single mother, and Birdie just needs to get by. And then Birdie meets Arthur, who is quieter than most men, but makes her want to listen; who is gentle with Emaleen, and understands Birdie’s fascination with the mountains in whose shadow they live. When Arthur asks Birdie and Emaleen to leave the lodge and make a home, just the three of them, in his off-grid cabin, Birdie’s answer, in a heartbeat, is yes.
Out in the wilderness Birdie’s days are harsher and richer than she ever imagined possible. Here she will feel truly at one with nature. Here she, and Emaleen, will learn the whole, fearful truth about Arthur.
********
MY REVIEW:
Haunting, beautiful, breathtaking and profound, Black Woods, Blue Sky is an unforgettable masterpiece. A moving story of love, survival, resilience and hope, it’s been a few months since I read it and I still think about it all the time. Eowyn Ivey has created something very special, almost magical, with this book. And everyone needs to read it.
The story follows Birdie, a single mum to six-year-old Emaleen. Birdie is a reckless character who thinks she’s holding it together, but others see it differently. She often leaves young Emaleen alone while she works at the bar or goes fishing. While working at the bar Birdie becomes close to a quiet and strange young man named Arthur. But Arthur listens to her, is kind, he’s great with Emaleen, and the pair share a fascination with the mountains near their Alaskan small town. So, when he asks Birdie to leave her life and bring Emaleen to live offgrid with him she doesn’t hesitate to agree. Life in the wilderness is harder than she imagined, but so much more beautiful. But Arthur is acting strange and Birdie begins to think he’s hiding something. Soon, she and Emaleen discover the shocking and fearful truth about him that is beyond anything they ever imagined.
No-one writes like Eowyn Ivey. I became an instant fan when I read The Snow Child a few years ago and this book solidified her status as one of my favourite authors. Utterly mesmerising, insightful, chilling and devastating, every word went straight to my soul. This book is one of a kind; a dark and forbidding fairytale that is both something from your dreams and straight out of your nightmares. The story builds steadily over three parts but got more intense in the final third and I read with my heart in my throat and shed tears as my heart shattered into pieces. Set in Alaska, the story’s strong sense of place is one of its greatest qualities. Ivey uses the harsh but beautiful wilderness as another character in the story. The imagery is so evocative that I could see the snowy mountains, hear the twigs crunch under my feet and feel the frigid coldness on my skin.
Ivey has filled the book with characters who are richly drawn, fascinating, and achingly real. Ivey lays bare their flaws, fears and imperfections, making them more relatable, while their strength and resilience made them easy to connect with. Through Birdie, Ivey offers an honest portrayal of the difficulties of single parenthood, showing that alongside the love, joy and strength it brings is also incredible hardship and moments where you doubt your ability. As someone who was a single parent, I related to Birdie but also felt enraged by her behaviour and was rooting for her to become a better mother. However, I did appreciate that Ivey didn’t gloss over the more challenging parts or make Birdie an idealised version of a single mother. Arthur was more enigmatic, the fears of his father for his ‘dangerous’ son making us question what this nice guy is hiding. This led to a lot of tension as I tried to guess what was going on and while my guesses seemed crazy, I couldn’t shake them. But the star of this show was undoubtedly little Emaleen. It was impossible not to love this smart and sweet child who has made a permanent home in my heart. .
An extraordinary story that is like nothing I’ve read before, this is a book that everyone should read.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Eowyn (pronounced A-o-win) LeMay Ivey was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters. She worked for nearly a decade as a bookseller at independent Fireside Books in Palmer, Alaska, and prior to that as a reporter for the local newspaper, The Frontiersman.
Her new novel, Black Woods, Blue Sky will be released February 2025. To the Bright Edge of the World was published in 2016. Her debut novel, The Snow Child, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and is a New York Times bestseller published in more than 25 languages. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a UK National Book Award winner, an Indies Choice award for debut fiction, and a PNBA Book Award winner
Eowyn’s essays and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, London’s Observer Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Sunday Express Magazine, Woman & Home Magazine, the anthology Cold Flashes, the North Pacific Rim literary journal Cirque, and Alaska Magazine, among other publications.
Published January 30th, 2025 by Headline Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction
Happy publication day to this clever and cunning slice of Victoriana. Thank you to Headline for the invitation to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a proof copy in exchange for my honest review.
********
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Nothing is quite as it seems in Victorian high society, in the twisty and original new novel from the author of THE HOUSEKEEPERS…
They whisper her name in every corner of town. The lady with a hundred faces, a thousand lives. Five moves, five days – for such are the rules of her game.
1898. Quinn Le Blanc, London’s most talented con woman, has five days to pull off the seemingly impossible: trick an eligible duke into marriage and lift a fortune from the richest family in England.
Masquerading as a wealthy debutante, Quinn is the jewel of the season. Her brilliant act opens doors to the grand drawing rooms and lavish balls of high society – and propels her into the inner circle of her target: the corrupt, charismatic Kendals.
But as she spins in and out of their world, Quinn becomes tangled in a dangerous web of love, lies and loyalty. The Kendal family all have secrets of their own, and she may not be the only one playing a game of high deception…
********
MY REVIEW:
1898. Quinn Le Blanc, London’s most talented con woman, is the reigning Queen of Fives. For her latest con she has just five days to trick an eligible duke into marriage and take a fortune from him. But Quinn isn’t the only one with a trick up her sleeve; someone else is playing their own con. And their sights are firmly set on the Queen of Fives…
Alex Hay transports us back to Victorian high society for this clever, cunning, shrewd and daring story of subterfuge and fortune-hunting. Skillfully written and cleverly choreographed, Hay had me in his thrall from start to finish. I was on tenterhooks as I tried to predict who could trust who or what would happen next and totally invested in Quinn’s game. I loved that while Quinn is so focused on her game she’s also unwittingly embroiled in a play of someone else’s making, raising the stakes higher than ever before. With its many storylines it kept me on my toes as Hay expertly and intricately wove the many storylines together to create an explosive and jaw-dropping finale.
Furnished with a cast of fascinating and richly drawn characters who were so much fun to read, no-one is what they seem in this complex tale. Feisty, spirited, crafty and undaunted, Quinn thrived on the high stakes games she plays, unlike her faithful assistant Mr. Silk, who is much more jaded. The pattern of opposites continued with the Kendal Family as we have the feisty, independent and determined Tor alongside the much quieter and weary Duke. The ‘boy in the blue waistcoat’ was a dastardly villain who added a tantalising air or mystery that kept me guessing right up until the big reveal.
Audacious, immersive and fiendishly delightful, this story of Victorian high society, high jinx, deception and danger is one not to be missed.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮
********
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alex is the bestselling author of The Housekeepers, which won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022. He grew up in Cambridge and Cardiff in the United Kingdom, studied History at the University of York, and wrote his dissertation on female power at royal courts, combing the archives for every scrap of drama and skulduggery he could find. He has worked in magazine publishing and the charity sector, and is a graduate of the Curtis Brown Write Your Novel course. His second novel, The Queen of Fives, publishes in January 2025. Alex lives with his husband in South East London.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 