Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
Dundurn Group Ltd The Hypebeast
Book SynopsisStriving to get ahead in a world of scams, Hamid is caught in the fervour surrounding a charismatic social-media imam with questionable intentions.Hamid Shaikh is a small-time crook in the big city, hoping that one of his cons will lead to riches. Tax fraud, telemarketing tricks, government scams. Whatever it takes. When he's not working the phones hustling fake promises, he dreams of a move that will finally announce his arrival.When his girlfriend, Natalie Mendoza, vanishes, Hamid finds himself pulled into the orbit of former Guantanamo Bay detainee turned social-media imam Abdul Mohammad. On the surface, Abdul's organization is virtuous: they are helping other detainees rehabilitate to life outside the prison. But as Hamid dives deeper into Abdul's nebulous and luxurious world, he finds a confusing mix of religious zeal and cynical self-advancement. With his connection to the imam deepening, Hamid must decide just how far into darkness he can go before los
£15.19
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd The Good Mother
Book Synopsis
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd The Oxenbridge King
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Palibrio A Message from Rosa
Book Synopsis
£11.76
Sourcebooks A Town with Half the Lights On
Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!For readers of J. Ryan Stradal and The Music of Bees (with a dash of FX's The Bear) comes a quirky and refreshing epistolary novel about a family of culture-shocked Brooklynites transplanted to Goodnight, Kansas and their fight for their unexpected lifeline: the legendary May Day Diner.Welcome to Goodnight, Kansas.Population: Many Kansans, three New Yorkers, and one chance to save the place they love mostWith more wind chimes than residents, folks don''t move to Goodnight when their lives are going well. That''s why all eyes are on chef Sid Solvang and his family from the moment they turn down Emporia Road to the dilapidated Victorian they inherited.While Sid searches for work and a way back to Brooklyn, his daughter searches for answers to the cryptic messages her grandfather left behind to save both her family and the town. But then Sid makes an impulsive purchase: the fledgling May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball.As the Solvangs search for their ticket out, they discover the truth of Goodnight: one of heart and tradition, of exploitation and greed, and neighbors you would do anything to save. And the Solvangs must navigate all of itplus a wayward girl named Disco, a host of rambunctious alpacas, and the corrupt factory sustaining the townin order to find their way back home...wherever that may be.Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, and an anonymous town paper of the Lady Whistledown variety, A Town with Half the Lights On is a tender testament to the notions that home isn't just the place you live, family isn't just your relatives, and it's almost never easy to find the courage to do what's right.
£12.59
Little, Brown Book Group Cleavage
Book SynopsisCLEAVAGE is the scandalous new novel from Cleo Watson, diving even deeper into the dark heart of Westminster.
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Pig
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award, Pig is a razor-sharp, disturbing novel about toxic female friendship and manipulation, unlike any other. We follow Valentina, as she learns to turn her biggest challenge - a lifelong obsession with pigs - into a great strength.
£16.00
Little, Brown Book Group Stealing Dad
Book SynopsisNew from the acclaimed author of Putney, Sofka Zinovieff's latest novel tells the unlikely story of a dysfunctional family who come together in a hilarious way in the wake of their father's sudden death.
£17.00
Little, Brown Book Group A Kiss Before Dying
Book SynopsisONE OF TIME MAGAZINE''S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME''As dazzling as anything brought off by Ellery Queen or Agatha Christie'' New York Times''Incomparable excitement'' New York TimesDorothy meets a handsome young man with an eye for her inheritance while she is in her sophomore year. They are to be married and her life will be blissful; but Dorothy is pregnant and her fiancé''s plans are ruined, for Dorothy would be disinherited if her father discovered the truth.So the young man provides his bride to be with some pills that will solve the problem. Soon there will be no baby - and perhaps no Dorothy either... A Kiss before Dying, Levin''s first novel, earned him the 1954 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and is regarded as a modern classic.This edition includes a brand new introduction by Anthony Horowitz.
£10.44
Orion Publishing Co Kakigori Summer
Book SynopsisSisters Rei, Kiki and Ai have always had to look out for one another - but life has taken them on very different paths. Eldest daughter Rei is spiky and sensible, distracting herself with an all-consuming job at a financial corporation in London. Big-hearted Kiki is a single mother in Tokyo, juggling the demands of her young son and the cantankerous elderly residents of the retirement home she works in. The free-spirited youngest, Ai , is a Japanese pop idol who has found fame and fortune but lost herself along the way. When Ai is embroiled in a scandal and thrust into the spotlight, Rei must pick up the pieces of her family once more. Over the course of a summer in their childhood home on the Japanese coast, the sisters reunite with their sharp-tongued grandmother, entertain Kiki''s irrepressible son and silently worry about Ai, carefully avoiding the subject of their mother''s death fifteen years before. But silence between sisters can only last for so long . . . Transporting, funny and moving, Kakigori Summer is an uplifting exploration of love and loss, sisterhood and family, the stories we tell ourselves about the past and how they determine our future.
£17.00
Pan Macmillan Players
Book SynopsisIn this remarkable novel of menace and mystery, Pammy and Lyle Wynant are an attractive, modern couple who seem to have it all. Yet behind their 'ideal' life is a lingering boredom and quiet desperation: their talk is mostly chatter, their sex life more a matter of obligatory 'satisfaction' than pleasure. And still they remain untouched, 'players' indifferent to the violence that surrounds them, and that they have helped to create.Originally published in 1977, Players is a fast-moving yet starkly drawn socially critical drama that demonstrates the razor-sharp prose and thematic density for which Don DeLillo is renowned today.Trade ReviewA witty, harrowing and superbly controlled novel about modern alienation and violence. * Washington Post *
£999.99
Pan Macmillan Small Rain
Book SynopsisGarth Greenwell is the author of Cleanness and What Belongs to You. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Vursell Award for prose style from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU.
£8.54
West Margin Press Siddhartha
Book SynopsisLARGE PRINT EDITION. What does it mean to live a life of completeness? And how far must one go to understand the pain of others? Is change truly possible? This is the story that proves that it is. In what could be described as equal parts self-help book and a novelistic guide to spiritual awakening, Siddhartha has been hailed as prolific and unlike any other. Growing up, Siddhartha never experienced true pain. He was sheltered, as many are, turning a blind eye when the hardships of daily life made itself visible to the peasantry around him. Awakening from a hazy reverie that has shielded Siddhartha from the inevitable, he vows to make a change. With the hope of finding a deeper and resounding life’s purpose, Siddhartha, a young man living in the ancient Indian kingdom of Kapilavastu, embarks on a journey of self-discovery and actualization. Accompanied by his best friend Govinda, the pair abandon the comfort of their old life by trading their material possessions for what they hope will be eternal enlightenment. Ridding themselves completely of the comforts of their previous life, the duo vow to a life of attempted purity. In a world where suffering is inevitable, Siddhartha hopes that by experiencing the pain so many face, only then will he find the true meaning of life. Siddhartha, written by German author Hermann Hesse in 1951, is a tale of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. The novel as a whole explores the totality of the human experience, of what it means to abandon the parameters of comfort and routine in search for a higher calling.
£18.04
Graphic Arts Books The Wreck of the Titan
Book SynopsisOnce a celebrated Naval officer, John Rowland has fallen from grace. After slipping into alcoholism, Roland is dismissed from the Navy and shamed. Having lost everything, Rowland now works as a deckhand on the Titan, operating deck machinery and keeping watch. However, Rowland is just as shocked and horrified as the civilian passengers when the mighty ocean liner collides with an iceberg, beginning the ship’s slow sink to ruin. As the Titan sinks, its passengers are frenzied, as they realize that there are not enough lifeboats for all of them. Amid the chaotic panic of the wreck, Rowland finds the young daughter of an ex-lover and is immediately drawn to protecting the child. Together, Rowland and the young girl fight for their survival, rushing to escape the ship and hoping to find a lifeboat. With their lives on the line, Rowland understands that this is his chance at redemption—if he can find a way to save them both. Filled with drama, suspense, action, and sentiment, The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson has remains to be engrossing and fascinating to modern readers. First published in 1898, The Wreck of the Titan has earned a place in pop culture with film, television, and literary allusions, and is often compared to the historic sinking of the Titanic. Since the Titanic wrecked over a decade after Robertson’s work was released, audiences have even suspected Robertson to be precognizant, though the author himself denied this and brushed off the similarities. This edition of The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson now features a new, eye-catching cover design and is printed in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition of The Wreck of the Titan crafts an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences while restoring the original mastery of Morgan Robertson’s work.
£11.39
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Come and Get It
Book SynopsisTHE UNMISSABLE NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF BESTSELLING PHENOMENON SUCH A FUN AGE* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ** FEARNE COTTON''S HAPPY PLACE BOOK CLUB PICK FOR FEBRUARY *I couldn't put it down, and I didn''t want to either' EMILY HENRYThe drama is just too juicy how could anyone resist a binge?' GUARDIANRazor-sharp Packs a huge emotional punch' DAILY MAILEverything comes at a price. But not everything can be paid forMillie wants to graduate, get a job and buy a house. She's slowly saving up from her job on campus, but when a visiting professor offers her an unusual opportunity to make some extra money, she jumps at the chance. Agatha is a writer, recovering from a break-up while researching attitudes towards weddings and money for her new book. She strikes gold when interviewing the girls in Millie's dorm, but her plans take a turn when she realises that the best material is unfolding behind closed doors.As the two women form an unlikely relationship, they soon become embroiled in a world of roommate theatrics, vengeful pranks and illicit intrigue and are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want.Sharp, intimate and provocative, Come and Get It takes a lens to our money-obsessed society in a tension-filled story about desire, consumption and bad behaviour.Smart, funny and perceptive' iA perfect read' STYLIST Wonderfully immersive, propulsive and beautifully paced' PAUL HARDING Quiet and intense A joy to read' JESSICA GEORGEWitty and nuanced' RED[An] incisive novel everyone will be talking about' TOWN AND COUNTRY
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Single Neighbour
Book SynopsisTristan and Izzy are on the brink of marital breakdown. Sex has become less than perfunctory and distance shadows their interactions. The arrival of their new neighbour may just be their salvation: or, will she be their undoing?Vivacious, enigmatic and enticing, Viv piques both Tristan and Izzy's interest, her appearance in their lives offering them diversion from their faltering marriage and a window into the people they might be were it not for each other. But as Viv becomes an ever-increasing presence in their lives, the couple are forced to confront the long-ignored truths about themselves, each other and their pasts that have been a silent, spectral presence between them for years. At this fork in their marriage, they will face the most difficult decision: to cleave together for the sake of their union, or to walk away. A story about how the ripples in a relationship can become waves, The Single Neighbour holds a mirror up to the promise of domestic bliss, and asks whether an extinguished spark can ever be relit.
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Twist
Book SynopsisA darkly epic novel about connection, disconnection and destruction from the New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Let the Great World SpinUrgent and utterly compelling Wild but controlled, with its deft apparatus mapping our most mysterious 21st century malaise the great loneliness of the connected world' KEVIN BARRYOne of our greatest storytellers' ELIF SHAFAKA powerfully realist novel of men at sea It speaks of the brokenness of our time, the successful and unsuccessful attempts at repairs, and the vulnerability of our world' SALMAN RUSHDIE____________________________________________________Anthony Fennell, a journalist, is in pursuit of a story buried at the bottom of the sea: the network of tiny fibre-optic tubes that carry the world's information across the ocean floor - and what happens when they break. So he has travelled to Cape Town to board the George Lecointe, a cable repair vessel captained by Chief of Mission John Conway. Conway is a talented engineer and fearless freediver - and Fennell is quickly captivated by this mysterious, unnerving man and his beautiful partner, Zanele. As the boat embarks along the west coast of Africa, Fennell learns the rhythms of life at sea, and finds his place among the band of drifters who make up the crew. But as the mission falters, tensions simmer - and Conway is thrown into crisis. A terrible, violent tragedy is unfolding in the life he has left behind on land; and, trapped out at sea, it seems as if the vast expanse of the ocean is closing in. Then Conway disappears; and Fennell must set out to find him. As taut and propulsive as a thriller, and a timeless exploration of narrative and truth, Twist is the work of a master storyteller at the height of his powers. 'Electrifying, propulsive ... A masterful exploration of the elemental forces at work just below the surface of all our lives' COLIN WALSH, author of Kala
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Briefly Very Beautiful
Book SynopsisA startlingly beautiful story of a family''s survival, and an unforgettable dystopian vision of a familiar world in flames''Impossible to put down'' Daily Telegraph''Instantly immersive, beautifully imagined, this is an unflinching but inspiring story about some things we''re going to lose, and other things we must never lose'' Lee Child''Left me breathless: it is a stunning, poetic, impelling story of love and survival, which I could not stop reading ... An incredible novel'' Jodie Whittaker______________________________________The world is on fire. And what will you do?In a city rocked by global catastrophe, home-grown terrorism, shortages and wildfires, Cass is quietly raising three small children by herself. Her husband, Nathaniel, has left to serve as a medic in a war overseas.As life in the city becomes increasingly impossible, Cass knows she can no longer wait for Nathaniel's return. Packing up their lives, she and the children set off in search of a place of greater safety.But Cass will learn that not all promises and not all sanctuaries are what they seem and as the fires around them begin to close in, she'll discover just how far she'll go for her children in a world teetering on apocalypse.Sensual, claustrophobic and vivid, Briefly Very Beautiful announces the arrival of a major new talent, painting an unforgettable portrait of a mother trying to hold her family together. ______________________________________________''Beautiful and timely, tough yet tender ...This is an important book and I devoured it'' Clover Stroud''Gorgeous, fierce and haunting ... A book that is, quite literally, on fire. Very beautiful and all-too brief'' Catherine Taylor ''A story that burns from the page. Dineen writes about motherhood and the climate crisis with piercing clarity'' Amy Twigg, author of Spoilt Creatures''A haunting vision of our slow-motion apocalypse. This is exactly what it will be like'' Michael LaPointe, author of The Creep
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Wildelings
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Our Beautiful Boys
Book SynopsisA compulsively readable and incisive novel about a group of teenage boys whose lives and whose families' lives are changed forever by one disastrous evening
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC A God in Every Stone
Book SynopsisBY THE WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION_______________'I can't recommend A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie too strongly ... Exciting and, in the end, profoundly moving, this will solace you during the grimmest holiday' - Antonia Fraser, Guardian Summer Reading'A magnificent novel: beautiful, terrible, true It reads already like a classic' - Ali Smith'A moving story of love and betrayal, generosity and brutality, hope and injustice, full of characters that stay with you' - Financial Times_______________Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for FictionGrief never leaves, it merely sinks into you. Summer, 1914. Young Englishwoman Vivian Rose Spencer is in an ancient land, about to discover the Temple of Zeus, the call of adventure, and love. Thousands of miles away a twenty-year-old Pathan, Qayyum Gul, is learning about brotherhood and loyalty in the British Indian army. Summer, 1915. Viv has been separated from the man she loves; Qayyum has lost an eye at Ypres. They meet on a train to Peshawar, unaware that a connection is about to be forged between their lives one that will reveal itself fifteen years later when anti-colonial resistance, an ancient artefact and a mysterious woman will bring them together again. A jewel-like story of the destruction of war and the serendipitous nature of fate, A God in Every Stone traverses the globe into the heart of empires fallen and conquered, demonstrating our place in the chaos of history.
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dutch House
Book SynopsisDyslexia-Friendly Edition of the Women's Prize longlisted international bestseller.
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Leave Before You Go
Book SynopsisPerkins's debut is a merciless and witty examination of a generation cut adrift; what do people do when they don't know what they want to do?
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Storybook Ending
Book SynopsisThis is the story of a love triangle... of sorts. April is lonely. Since her office issued a permanent work from home mandate, she's lost herself a little. So, in a bid to break out of the funk, she leaves an anonymous note inside a book for the hot guy at her neighbourhood bookstore. Laura is a busy single mum. Thanks to the meddling hand of fate, she's the one who finds April's note, thinking it's from the guy who served her at the bookstore. A little flirtation with an attractive man who loves books might be just what she needs. Meanwhile Westley, handsome but not so perceptive, is too distracted by a movie filming at the shop to notice either woman's furtive glances as they leave notes for each other amid the books in the stacks. April and Laura's continued anonymous correspondence will shake all three of these characters out of their mundane routines, sparking a glimmer of hope that they might just get what they want: a storybook ending of their own. An intricate web of miscommunication and serendipitous encounters, Storybook Ending is a playful tribute to romance, friendship and bookstores; and to the objects from a forgotten slip of paper to someone's heart left between the pages of books.
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Aftertaste
Book SynopsisAn unforgettable, imaginative and darkly comic debut novel about food, ghosts and the New York culinary scene
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Summer in the City
Book Synopsis''Hotter than the rest of your TBR'' CosmoFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the Lightlark series, this is Alex Aster''s debut romance novel.Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter, Elle, has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She's had writer's block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It's the perfect place to write her screenplay . . . until she realizes her new neighbor is tech ''Billionaire Bachelor'' Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It's been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since. When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay . . . if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he's on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red-carpeted events, and she doesn't like leaving her emotional support five block radius. One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company's precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper-glimmering, pizza-crusted, sunlit charms of the city. Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It's all pretend. Promise.Until it isn't.Pure, steamy fun, and the perfect summer read! I adored every word, and I hope Alex Aster never stops writing romance!!' Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love Hypothesis
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Are You Awake
Book SynopsisA provocative, tender and darkly funny novel that explores the painful truths of modern-day connection, and all the complicated and unexpected forms that love can take in a lifetime.
£9.49
Austin Macauley Publishers The Meeting of the Feeling
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Pan Macmillan Days of Light
Book SynopsisMegan Hunter is a prize-winning novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Her first novel, The End We Start From (2017), was shortlisted for Novel of the Year at the Books Are My Bag Awards, longlisted for the Aspen Words Prize, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Awards finalist and won the Foreword Reviews Editor's Choice Award. It was adapted into a major motion picture by Alice Birch, starring Jodie Comer and directed by Mahalia Belo. Her second novel, The Harpy (2020), was Indie Book of the Month; she is currently adapting it for television with Red Planet Pictures. In 2024 her dramatic monologue Salt of the Earth premiered at Venice Film Festival. Megan's other writing has appeared in the White Review, the TLS, Literary Hub, Vogue, Elle, BOMB, and elsewhere. She lives in Cambridge, UK.
£17.09
Vintage Publishing Throw Me to the Wolves
Book Synopsis**WINNER OF THE ENCORE AWARD 2020** 'This is literary fiction as it should be: in stylish, surprising, lyrical sentences we are forced to confront the hidden power structures, public and private, that control our everyday lives' The TimesA young woman has been murdered, and a neighbour, a retired teacher from Chapleton College, is arrested. An eccentric loner - intellectual, shy, a fastidious dresser with expensive tastes - he is the perfect candidate for a media monstering.In custody he is interviewed by two detectives: the smart-talking, quick-witted Gary, and his watchful colleague, Ander. Ander is always watchful, but particularly now, because the man across the table is his former teacher - Michael Wolphram - whom he hasn't seen in nearly 30 years.As the novel proceeds, we watch Wolphram's media lynching as ex-pupils and colleagues line up to lie about him. In parallel, we read Ander's memories of his life as a young Dutch boy in 80s England. Another outsider, another loner in a school system rife with abuse and bullying, Ander has another case to solve: the cold case of his own childhood.Though it deals with historical abuse and violence in schools, and the corrupt power of the popular media, Throw Me to the Wolves is about childhood and memory. A perceptive and pertinent novel of our times, beautifully written and psychologically acute, it manages to be both very funny and - at the same time - shatteringly sad.*LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER 2020**A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020*Trade ReviewThrow Me to the Wolves is, on the face of it, a made-for-TV procedural police drama… Scratch the surface, however, and all of Britain’s restless undercurrents are churning away… this is literary fiction as it should be: in stylish, surprising, lyrical sentences we are forced to confront the hidden power structures, public and private, that control our everyday lives. It’s reminiscent of Edward St Aubyn, not only in its pillorying of the elite, but the pleasure McGuinness takes in having his characters say clever things. It’s also a proper page-turner. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *This is a writer worth knowing… [McGuinness] combines elegant prose with caustic commentary on romance, education and crime… most people can write for a lifetime and not produce so perfect a sentence. -- Patrick Anderson * Washington Post *Blisteringly effective, written with an almost hallucinogenic clarity… Throw Me to the Wolves is intensely powerful. -- Justine Jordon * Guardian *An extraordinary writer of great compassion, McGuinness combines a mesmerising crime novel with a forensic look at the brutalising mechanisms of the British Public School system. Stunning. -- Denise MinaAn absorbing novel… on virtually every page, there are perfectly judged descriptions that reveal something about the world. * Financial Times *
£13.49
Cornerstone Food Person
Book SynopsisAdam Roberts is the founder of the food blog The Amateur Gourmet. He's written three cookbooks, articles for outlets like The Washington Post and The LA Times, for television, and several screenplays. He also hosts the podcast Lunch Therapy where, in addition to food people, guests have included Dwight Garner and Mary Roach. Adam lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog Winston.
£15.29
Hodder & Stoughton Highway Thirteen
Book Synopsis''Stylish and lyrical in its prose and deeply sensitive in its characterisation''GUARDIAN''Clever and engrossing''MAIL ON SUNDAY''McFarlane''s imaginative and tonal range is astonishing . . . a superb writer''SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, Books of the Year''A masterclass''TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT''McFarlane is a master at just about everything: dialogue, setting, comic timing''LOS ANGELES TIMESIn 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged for a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims'' families, but its impact travels even further: into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes.From the killer''s childhood town to Texas, Rome and beyond, from the mid-twentieth century to the near-future, Highway Thirteen asks, how do communities make sense of such atrocities? How does the mourning of families sit alongside the public fascination with terrible crimes? And can we tell true crime stories without centring the killers?PRAISE FOR FIONA MCFARLANE''S THE SUN WALKS DOWN''Steinbeckian Majesty''SUNDAY TIMES''Moving and masterful''DAILY MAIL''Brilliant, fresh and compulsively readable''ANN PATCHETT
£8.99
Hodder & Stoughton Way Back
Book SynopsisTHE FEEL-GOOD NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, RADIO 2 BROADCASTER AND PRESENTER OF BBC2'S BETWEEN THE COVERS
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Swept Away
Book SynopsisPre-order the breathtaking new novel from the author of THE FLATSHARE and THE NO-SHOW now.Lost at sea . . . with your one-night stand''Feels like a brand new version of romance . . . I drowned - happily - in this book'' Jodi Picoult''I adored it, it was so romantic'' Marian KeyesLexi is looking for no-strings-attached fun with a stranger. She deserves one night for herself, doesn''t she? Zeke is looking for love. But for one night with a woman like Lexi, he''ll break his rules . . .Sparks fly at the pub, one passionate kiss leads to another and they end up stumbling home to the marina together.The next morning, hungover and shaken by an amazing night together, Lexi is more than ready for Zeke to leave. There''s just one small problem . . . the houseboat they stayed on has been swept out to sea.As their supplies start to run dangerously low, and the waves pick up, Zeke and Lexi soon realise there''s much more on the line than their new relationship. How long can they really survive on a drifting houseboat in the North Sea? Will search and rescue find them? And who will they be if they both make it back to dry land?Swept Away is the epic new romance from the million-copy bestselling author of The Flatshare and The No-Show about your one-night stand becoming your one and only lifeline. Sharp, funny and breathtakingly intense, this standout novel is set to capture readers'' hearts next spring.''My book of the year, my book of the decade. The best romcom I have ever read'' Gillian McAllister''Completely original, so romantic, funny, fresh and deeply heartfelt'' Lindsey Kelk''This love story will capture you hook, line and sinker'' Lucy Clarke''My new favourite Beth O''Leary'' Paige Toon''What a concept, what a novel! I absolutely raced through this bold and beautiful story'' Lia LouisEVERYONE LOVES BETH O''LEARY''Beth O''Leary crafts novels with such wit, heart and truth'' SOPHIE KINSELLA''Beautiful, humorous, tender, insightful - just perfect'' 5* READER REVIEW''Beth O''Leary is that rare, one-in-a-million talent who can make you laugh, swoon, cry and ache all in the same book'' EMILY HENRY''Clever and authentic storytelling. Loved it!'' 5* READER REVIEW''Beth weaves her stories together with such charm and grace, I couldn''t help but fall in love'' LINDSEY KELK''A real rare talent'' 5* READER REVIEW''Beth O''Leary can do no wrong!'' CARLEY FORTUNE''I laughed, I cried, and I again fell in love with a Beth O''Leary book'' 5* READER REVIEW''Warm, escapist and unhesitatingly romantic'' CAROLINE HULSE
£17.09
Quercus Publishing Say Hello to My Little Friend
Book SynopsisBy turns surreal and satirical, this novel forces us to pay attention to the ongoing global immigration crisis, to question immigration's legacy on American culture, and to ask directly what it means to chase the American Dream.
£10.86
Quercus Publishing Interpretations of Love
Book Synopsis''Her work merits comparison with that of Edna O''Brien or Muriel Spark'' New York TimesStretching from war-torn 1940''s Liverpool to Oxford at the end of the century, this story explores the emotional landscape of the time and the impact tiny moments of betrayal can have on our relationships in the years that follow. Malcolm has held on to a secret for more than fifty years: a letter his sister Sophy gave him just before she died. He had promised to give it to the young doctor she met one night during the Liverpool Blitz: a night that altered the course of her life.But the letter was never delivered. Now, after so many years of uncertainty, Malcolm has decided to share Sophy''s secret with her daughter Agnes. It is the day of Agnes''s daughter''s wedding party. The ghosts of Agnes''s past and all the powerful emotions of the family reunion wrap around her thoughts. Until she is distracted by a hand on her arm as her uncle Malcolm holds out an envelope for her to take . . .Touching on the many different forms love can take and told from multiple perspectives, Interpretations of Love is the story of a letter and our endless search for the stories that we have lost.
£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Italian Flame
Book SynopsisEscape to Italy with this brand-new summer read - pre-order now!
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Finders Keepers
Book SynopsisLast week, Nina was a professor about to move into a gorgeous new apartment with her long-term boyfriend. Now, she''s single, unemployed, and living with her parents.Even more shocking is the fact that Quentin, her childhood neighbour (and okay, fine, crush), is also back in town - and wants to resume the treasure hunt that ended their friendship almost two decades ago. Hoping the reward promised to whoever finds the rumoured riches will help get her back on track, Nina agrees. And as they resume the hunt, Nina and Quentin begin to rediscover all the things they once loved best about each other.But unlike the treasure, the secrets that left them empty-handed (and broken-hearted) the first time refuse to stay buried. If there''s any hope of finding what they''re looking for - and for a future together - Nina and Quentin will have to be brave enough to excavate their past as well.Warm, funny and wildly sexy, FINDERS KEEPERS is a second chance romance perfect for fans of Katherine Center, Christina Lauren and Ashley Poston.READERS LOVE SARAH ADLER⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Made me laugh, cry and swoon in equal measure''⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''So wonderful and funny and tender''⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''I am a Sarah Adler STAN''⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Unique and fresh''⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Absolutely loved it''
£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Search for Othella Savage
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2022 Mo Siewcharran Price - A young woman's disappearance sparks an amateur investigation that spans continents and explores the darkest aspects of organised religion
£15.29
Quercus Publishing The Next Mrs Parrish
Book SynopsisAmber Patterson Parrish has come a long way. Hard work and immaculate planning turned her from invisible wallflower to prominent socialite, but there have been bumps along the way. Less than a year after her husband Jackson''s tax-evasion scandal, Amber reigns supreme over the Bishops Harbor community. But with Jackson being released from prison, Amber''s free time - and money - is vanishing.Meanwhile, Daphne Parrish left Bishops Harbor after her divorce from Jackson, swearing she would never go back. But when one of her daughters runs away from home, desperate to see her father, Daphne agrees to return for the summer. Jackson swears he''s a changed man, but Daphne knows all too well that he can''t be trusted.When a ghost from Amber''s past emerges looking for revenge, these three find unlikely allies in one another. But who is playing who? When all is said and done, they''ll have to fight tooth and nail for everything they have left in this zero-sum game.With shocking turns and entertaining characters, The Next Mrs. Parrish will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about duplicity and betrayal.READERS LOVE LIV CONSTANTINE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Kept me enthralled'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''What a brilliant read!'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Surprising, thrilling and unputdownable'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''WOW, I wasn''t expecting that'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ''Devoured in one sitting''
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Daughter of Mine
Book SynopsisPerfect for fans of Sharp Objects and Mare of Easttown, this is the thrilling new novel from the bestselling author of The Last House Guest
£10.44
Quercus Publishing So Happy Together
Book Synopsis''Terrifically twisted . . . I''m obsessed'' KATY BRENTJane and Colin are soulmates. He just doesn''t know it yet.For twenty-four-year-old Jane, finding love in New York City is even harder than making it as a playwright. So, when Jane meets Colin, a sweet software engineer, she can''t believe her luck: they''re perfect for each other. Even when Colin breaks off their blooming relationship after six dates, Jane is certain that this is just a stumbling block. She''ll get him back. She knows she will. That is, until Colin starts dating Zoe, a perfect, luminous, up-and-coming Brooklyn artist. Even worse, she''s actually kind of nice. But Zoe doesn''t have what it takes to love Colin. She''d never stay with him through thick and thin. All Jane has to do is prove it, and she and Colin will be so happy together. But when Jane sneaks into Colin''s apartment, she makes a shocking discovery - one that will ensnare them all in a complicated web of lies, secrets, and murder.Unrelentingly twisty and utterly compelling, So Happy Together is an unputdownable, shattering read for fans of You, Katy Brent and C. J. Skuse.********************************Praise for So Happy Together''Reads like your most unhinged friend''s secret diary'' ASHLEY WINSTEAD''Dark, juicy and addictive'' JENNY HOLLANDER''Laced with humour . . . with an ending that will leave you breathless'' LIV CONSTANTINE''You won''t know who to trust in this spine-tingling psychological thriller'' SARAH PEKKANEN''A twisty, obsessive thriller'' CAMILLA STEN
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Passiontide
Book SynopsisFour women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island the electrifying new novel from the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch. Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it' SARAH WINMANBeautiful and important' SAFIYA SINCLAIREarly one morning, at the close of St Colibri's carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island. As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There's Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, a pink-haired, straight-talking local activist. Gigi, the notorious' founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago. In a community in which women's voices are often silenced and violence against them is overlooked time after time, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courageRoffey's world-building power is evident on every page'GUARDIANWill keep you reading all hours... unforgettable'GLAMOURSensual, ferocious If The White Lotus were a modern feminist thriller, this would be it'LALINE PAULLThe spirit of carnival itself is in the writing Electrifying'JASON ALLEN-PAISANTA vital novel Fiery, funny'DIANA EVANSREADERS LOVE PASSIONTIDEThis was fantastic five stars'Exhilarating it's a blast, with sharp, smart humour'A powerful book really moving'Filled with anger, unity and love'What an amazing book this is This story will stay with me for a very long time'Moving and gripping'A must-read'I loved this book'
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Spoiled Heart
Book SynopsisIn one night, Nayan lost everything. Years later, his world is at risk again. Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals. Meanwhile the enigmatic Helen Fletcher returns to Chesterfield and Nayan finds himself growing close to her. But Helen carries secrets which connect her to Nayan in ways he doesn't realise. The Spoiled Heart is an explosive story of how a few words or a single action to one person careless, to another, charged can trigger a cascade of unimaginable consequences. 'One of Britain's finest writerspage-turning' ObserverWithheld revelations and dark secrets...plot-packed, propulsive' New York TimesGripping...irresistible...brilliant' The TimesMoving and revelatory' Financial TimesSmart and sophisticatedly written' Daily TelegraphPerfectly pacedgripping' GuardianReaders are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:**A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current 'culture wars'**A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative'**A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions'**My favourite of Sahota's novels'
£9.49
Transworld Liquid
Book SynopsisMariam Rahmani is a writer and translator. Her fiction, essays and translations have appeared in Granta, Gulf Coast, n+1 and elsewhere. Her first translation was named a Best Book of the year by The New Yorker. Rahmani holds a PhD from UCLA and an MFA from Columbia, as well as degrees from Princeton and Oxford. She teaches at Bennington College.
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Wind Pinball
Book SynopsisHear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 are Haruki Murakami's two first novel - here they are together in one edition. Now I think it's time to tell my story. Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 are Haruki Murakami's two first novels. Home from college on his summer break, the narrator spends his time drinking beer and smoking with his friend nicknamed the Rat, listening to the radio, thinking about writing and pursuing a relationship with a girl with nine fingers. Three years later he has moved to Tokyo to work as a translator and live with indistinguishable twin girls. But the Rat has remained behind. Haunted by memories of the past, the narrator embarks upon a quest to find the exact model of pinball machine he and the Rat had enjoyed playing years earlier: the three-flipper Spaceship. Quintessential Murakamian excellent introduction to a writer who has since become one of the most influential novelists of his generation' Guardian Murakami's way of making emotionally resonant images and symbols bump around on the page, and in one's mind, remains fresh' Evening StandardWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
£9.49
Random House Beautyland
Book SynopsisMarie-Helene Bertino is the author of Beautyland, Parakeet, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, and the story collection Safe as Houses. She was the 2017 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Fellow in Cork, Ireland. She has received the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, the Iowa Short Fiction Award, the Mississippi Review Prize, and fellowships from MacDowell, Sewanee, and New York City's Center for Fiction, and her work has twice been featured on NPR's Selected Shorts. Her work has been anthologised in Best American Short Stories, PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and Mississippi Review 30. She is the Ritvo-Slifka Writer-in-Residence at Yale University.
£9.49
Amazon Publishing Birthday Girl: A Thriller
Book SynopsisBlow out a candle. Make a wish. Your last one. Eight years ago, Elliott Nash’s daughter was murdered. Since then, everything the brilliant former criminal psychologist had is a memory—his child, his career, his wife, and his home. Now he lives on the streets around Washington, DC, with only a bottomless well of guilt and nightmares to make him feel alive. Until Amy Scowcroft solicits his help. She refuses to believe that her daughter, Lacey, who was kidnapped a year before, is dead. To the police, it’s a case gone cold. To Elliott, it’s redemption. In fact, Amy has stumbled upon an unnerving new clue: Lacey is just one of seven children from broken homes who vanished near their birthdays. Right now, it’s all they have to run with. Right now, they have no idea where the chase will lead. As Elliott navigates the streets he knows so well, he and Amy will discover how dark they are—and how many secrets they conceal. Because in a search this harrowing, everybody has something to hide.Trade Review“Every parent’s nightmare comes true in this taut psychological thriller. With her daughter missing and presumed dead, a mother must seek out the help of a homeless stranger to find the girl before it’s too late. Iden weaves a heart-wrenching tale of loss and redemption with pulse-pounding suspense as the story unfolds through the eyes of a bereaved mother, a homeless psychologist, abducted children, and a deranged kidnapper. With torn-from-the-headlines realism, Birthday Girl and the many casualties of childhood it lays bare will haunt you into the night.” —D.M. Pulley, author of The Unclaimed Victim “Iden has written an engrossing read with an unexpected hero. The unique characters kept me turning the pages, driven to learn their fates. Skilled description and talented plotting took me on a suspenseful ride. If you're a newcomer to Iden’s work, you won't be disappointed. I’ll never view birthdays in the same light.” —Kendra Elliott, Wall Street Journal bestselling author
£8.54
