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
Galley Beggar Press We That Are Young
Book SynopsisTold in astonishing prose - a great torrent of words and imagery - We that are young is a modern-day King Lear that bursts with energy and fierce, beautifully measured rage
£9.99
Influx Press The Lost District
Book SynopsisSet in a post-industrial landscape of the present, the near future, and the imagined, Joel Lane''s seminal collection The Lost District explores human encounters with the unknown: sexual discovery, drug-inspired visions, the lonely paths of madness, and the shadow realms on the other side of death. A neighbourhood fades into corrupt echoes of itself; a porn actor''s scars reveal the forces controlling his life; a musician is haunted by the madness of a deceased singer; and a man literally follows his ex-lover to the end of the world. Ranging from grim urban horror to strange erotic fantasies to bitter allegories of loss and exploitation, the stories in The Lost District link the hidden places in the urban and small-town landscapes to the secret spaces inside all of us. First published in the USA in 2006, and long out-of-print, The Lost District has never been published in the UK until now, further enforcing Joel Lane''s reputation as one of the most significant and distinctive British
£10.44
Dedalus Ltd Human Sadness
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Influx Press Esc&Ctrl
Book SynopsisVincent wakes up in an apartment in New York City with no recollection of having arrived there. Back in the UK, his girlfriend, Emily, has been murdered. Guided by mysterious phone calls which lead him to a series of clues, he soon suspects he has travelled to New York to find Emily's killer. Meanwhile, an explicit video Emily made is going viral. When she shared it with Davison in a private forum, she never expected him to upload it. But she's only ever spoken to him online, and he might not be who he says he is. Framed by footnotes and annotations written by Ike A. Mafar and author Steve Hollyman, Esc&Ctrl is a metafictional murder mystery examining the loss of identity in the virtual world of the Internet; a self-begetting novel for the 21st Century.
£9.49
Influx Press Ways of Living
Book SynopsisAndie can see no other way to escape a wedding than by hiding in a tree. Esther starts a new life in a King's Cross hotel with a bad-tempered ventriloquist dummy, while Gina finally leaves a group of infuriating friends - but not before providing them with a suitable replacement. Ways of Living is Gemma Seltzer's keen exploration of what it means to be a modern woman inhabiting the urban landscape. Ten stories of ordinary women going to extraordinary lengths to be understood, acting in bold and unpredictable ways as they map their identities onto London's streets. How do we speak and listen to each other? Who gets to talk? And what is the true power of quiet in a noisy world?
£7.59
Legend Press Us The Wives of Halcyon
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Transworld When We Were Silent
Book SynopsisFiona McPhillips is an Irish journalist, author, and screenwriter, and an editor at The Forge literary magazine. When We Were Silent, the runner-up for the 2021 Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger, is her first novel. Fiona lives in Dublin with her three kids, two cats, and a dog.
£8.54
Bookouture Her Revenge
Book SynopsisThere''s a new girl in town and she has a score to settle.As the daughter of a notorious London gangster, Scarlet Drew isn''t to be messed with. But when the most important person in her life is murdered, she wants revenge.Scarlet''s aunt Lily is a force to be reckoned with. Head of the family firm and queen of the London underworld, she swears to help Scarlet - after all, family comes first.When they discover that the murder is part of a plot by a rival firm to take down the entire Drew empire, they prepare for battle. But these new enemies are the most dangerous threat the Drew family has ever faced.Family means everything to Scarlet and she will stop at nothing to protect it, even if it means putting her own life at risk...Fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers will love this gripping new book from Emma Tallon, set in the same world as her bestselling Tyler Family series.What readers are saying abo
£9.49
Legend Press Ltd Greener
Book Synopsis
£8.99
Whittles Publishing The Other Landscape
Book SynopsisClassic Scottish fiction. Gunn's last novel and a contemplation of life, death and tragedies that inexplicably occur.
£9.49
Cornerstone Plowing the Dark
Book SynopsisRichard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory and his most recent novel, Bewilderment, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lives in the Great Smoky Mountains.
£9.49
Legend Press Ltd An Image in a Mirror
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Goodbye Birdie Greenwing
Book SynopsisA gorgeously tender story about friendship and love it all its forms' Good HousekeepingEricka Waller writes beautifully about the complex love that bonds families and forges the most unlikely of friendships' Katherine Heiny'One of those books that lingers... I laughed, cried and felt more compassionate for reading it' Jennie Godfrey___________Welcome to Shrublands Road, please follow the speed limit. Meet Birdie Greenwing, determined and no-nonsense. Also, lonely and carrying secrets that only her beloved rescue dog knows about. Ada Kowalski is lonely too. She came to England to help people, but she can't seem to help herself. Jane and her daughter Frankie are new to the street, although Jane's cleaning-obsessive mother Min is never far away. Jane wishes she could be as outspoken as her daughter. What will it take for Jane to finally stand up to everyone?One life-changing event brings Birdie, Ada and Jane together in ways they never imagined. But is it ever too late to begin again?_______Readers say:'If you love a character-driven story, this book needs to be top of your list! It is such a wonderful, heartfelt read and has zoomed into my favourite reads of the year. A total delight and an easy five stars.' 'The women in this book are complex, loveable , messy and wonderful. Reading this story made me feel all the feelings.''A book that will make you reflect on your own life and the importance of the connections we make with each other''A wonderful read funny, moving and above all a love letter to the importance community in all its forms''The way Ericka Waller writes is just so evocative and exquisite...this book just felt like one huge hug.'
£9.49
New River Books Ltd Perris California A Novel
Book Synopsis''Stark captures female solidarity, a shared maternal understanding and the sacredness of keeping each other''s secrets... An extraordinary debut that insists that we can - and must -mend each other.'' Kirkus, starred review''Some stories grab you, shake you to the core, and never let you go. Other stories capture you by stealth, quiet beauty unfolding in ordinary moments... Harrowing, evocative, and deeply moving, Perris, California does both.''Sarah Blake, bestselling Author of The Postmistress and The Guest Book AN EXTRAORDINARY DEBUT FOR FANS OF NOMADLAND AND DEMON COPPERHEADAbandoned first by her father and then her mother, Tessa grows up with her abusive stepfather and stepbrother. She survives by finding reserves of strength in herself, and by the surprising, transformative love of another teenage girl, Mel, who sees through Tessa''s tough exterior to the vulnerable woman ins
£15.29
Fly on the Wall Press The Naming of Moths
Book SynopsisAt dusk in a scented garden, a refugee names moths. The dying Miss Bethan asks Sofia to do a terrible thing. Something a mother should never ask. THE NAMING OF MOTHS features stories of magical realism, myths and legends re-imagined, where all the characters are undergoing transformation or facing a pivotal moment of change in their lives. People and animals interchange their shapes. Story landscapes flit from fairy-tale woods to urban homes. Here love, hope and kindness weave between the realities of man's endless talent for cruelty.Trade Review"The depth and scope of these beautifully crafted stories is a delight. This is a writer who has a deep understanding of the complexities of the human condition." - Amanda Huggins, author of An Unfamiliar Landscape and talk to me about when we were perfect; "These stories will surprise, enthral, entertain and never disappoint. A collection that is subtle, full of incisive observation and darkly comic at times. All of life is here, in its pathos, humour and richness." - Reshma Ruia
£10.44
Canongate Books Monumenta
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2024A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST NEW DEBUT''This is a party I''m glad I was invited to'' EILEEN MYLES''Fizzing with ideas'' OBSERVER*Isn''t every family home a monument? The provocative debut novel from the award-winning author.Olga Pavic''s house has been requisitioned.The council will bulldoze it.Her home will become a monument to a massacre.But Olga cannot ascertain which massacre. Three different architects visit, each with a proposal to construct a different monument, to memorialise a different horror.Within an atmosphere of razor-sharp political surreality, Lara Haworth spins a tender, magical story of familial love and loss. Via a panoply of perspectives Monumenta compellingly and playfully explores remembrance and how tragedy can be the catalyst for remarkable transformation.*''Lara Haworth is an important new voice'' CLARE POLLARD''A laser-sharp work of concentrated brilliance'' WENDY ERSKINE''Surreal, quirky, playful and serious'' PRISCILLA MORRIS''A gem of genuine absurdism'' HOLLY PESTER
£9.49
UEA Publishing Project Social
Book SynopsisA woman has fallen off the roof of her house in what was either a drunken accident or an attempted suicide and now lies in a coma. Over the course of the next seven days, the unnamed narrator watches over her while tracking the comments the incident has attracted online.
£7.59
Atlantic Books The Glass House
Book SynopsisA darkly compelling tale of two sisters haunted by the absence of a long-dead father and the terrible secrets he kept, from the author of The Temple House Vanishing, an Irish Times bestseller.
£13.49
Persephone Books Ltd Every eye
Book Synopsis
£16.00
UEA Publishing Project Cloud Labour
Book SynopsisSet in an unspecified dystopian future in which people known as Proxies' are paid handsomely to remove negative emotions from their clients, Peacock, a successful Proxy, trains her son Sky to join the profession.
£999.99
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers Where the Light is Hottest
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Cornerstone In Universes
Book SynopsisEmet North has lived in a dozen states over the past decade and has no fixed residence, though they feel most at home in the mountains. In previous lives, they've worked in an observational cosmology lab on a grant from NASA, taught snowboarding in Montana, researched Lie algebras, led wine tastings, waited tables, trained horses, and written a thesis on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. They translate from Spanish to English with a particular focus on queer and trans voices and are always looking for new projects.
£9.49
UEA Publishing Project Mountain Rat
Book SynopsisA chilling, gothic fable in which the narrator is bitten by a mountain rat while out in the forest. Recalling his grandfather once told him of a bamboo hut where members of the tribe could quarantine for up to two years when they got ill, he rushes home to say goodbye to his wife Yu-Su and pack his bags as a troubling sickness takes hold.
£999.99
Boldwood Books Ltd Adrift: A completely addictive, gripping
Book SynopsisSix old friends … and a secret they’d all kill to protect.When Pete and his friends set sail on a private yacht in the Balearics to celebrate Fergus’ upcoming wedding, they’re all looking forward to sun, sea and copious quantities of alcohol.But there’s a reason they are still entwined in each other’s lives a decade after leaving university. A terrible event they’ve all been trying their hardest to forget.They say you can’t outrun the past … And these six friends are about to find that out the hard way.* *'A nightmare scenario with a killer on the loose on a stranded yacht, and dark secrets from the past slowly being revealed; I may never step onto a boat again after reading this, but I loved it!' Jackie Kabler, author of The Murder List'... plenty of booze, drama, and secret-sharing... who doesn't love a whodunit on a boat? ... An edge of your seat, heart pounding thriller that leaves you wondering who's going to get off the yacht alive.' Becca Day, author of The Girl Beyond the Gate'A thrill-a-minute page-turner full of suspense, twists and turns that kept me on tenterhooks until the nail-biting finale!' AA Chaudhuri, author of The Loyal Friend
£20.69
Olympia Publishers Race Driver
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Hobeck Books Limited Fire in the Mountain
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Olympia Publishers Chasing Anxiety
Book Synopsis
£5.99
Olympia Publishers Where Have all the Divers Gone
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Hobeck Books Limited The Violin and Candlestick
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Olympia Publishers Tales from The Architect
Book Synopsis
£8.54
The Book Guild Ltd Fit For Purpose
Book SynopsisThink you have the solution to NHS funding shortfalls? Think again. A surreal, shocking, and darkly funny novel that takes a satirical dive into the future of healthcare, where survival of the fittest is taken literally. You've been warnedthis isn't your usual hospital drama.
£9.49
New Haven Publishing Ltd Blood and Brass
£15.19
The Book Guild Ltd The Three Wives of Charlie Mellon
Book SynopsisThe Three Wives of Charlie Mellon is the story of one man's determinedand sometimes hilariousattempt to keep his life from falling apart.
£9.49
OWN IT! Sasha Knight
Book Synopsis
£11.69
The Book Guild Ltd Siblings
Book SynopsisEmma's life unravels after discovering her parents' shocking secret and a dark mystery surrounding her birth. A journey of love, resilience, and belonging unfolds from Bristol to New York.
£9.49
Bookouture The StayatHome Mother
Book SynopsisHer chest tightens. The kitchen is chaos. She steps on something hard, and looks down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered everywhere. But her son is nowhere - her baby boy is gone.The police arrive. She can''t look at her husband. Instead, she studies the network of lines on her shaking hands.Then her phone beeps with a voice message. ''Listen to it on speaker,'' says the detective. A woman''s voice fills the air.''I''m assuming this is the Andrea Gately listed as a contact on the Missing Children of the World website. I''m calling to let you know that I''ve given your details to the police. Why are you using a picture of my son on a missing children''s website? Why are you using it and where did you get it?''An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller that will leave you gasping with shock and staying up way past your bedtime. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and Adele Parks.What readers are saying about The Stay-at-Home Mother:''OMG!!!... I could not put it down!!! Every time I said one more chapter, it ended on a cliff-hanger and I just had to know what was going on!!!... I started this morning and finished it at 2am reading it in one sitting, and although I''m knackered today, it was 1000000% worth it!!!... My heart was in my throat... The ending was absolutely jaw-dropping and so unexpected... What an absolute twist!!! I can hand on my heart say that I cannot remember when I was so gobsmacked.'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''Wow wow wow!!!! I read this book in less than 24 hours... So gripping, it had me hooked and unable to put it down until I finished the last shocking page!!!!... What a twist!!!! Love love loved everything about this thrilling book, and I will be highly recommending it!!!'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''O.M.G!! DANG!!!... WOW!!!... Brilliant! If I could rate it more than 5 stars I would... Bombshells that made my jaw drop!!... Hooked me... Made my head spin!!'' Heidi Lynn Book Reviews, ?????''Oh my goodness!!!... I audibly gasped at the twists, I totally didn''t see it coming... I couldn''t wait to see how it was all wrapped up, but I also didn''t want it to end, it was that good.'' mountainmommawv2020, ?????''WOWWWW!!! I was not expecting all those twists and turns nor expecting to feel all those feels!!... She is DEFINITELY one of my new favourite authors!... Grabbed me from the start... Just when I thought it was going one way, BAM, it went another way all together!'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''Had me on the edge of my seat!... The twists? Wow!... Left my head spinning... Posting this at midnight when I should be sleeping. Take a nap before you start reading so that you can stay awake to finish this. Trust me, not even kidding.'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''I read this book in one sitting... Absolutely gripping all the way through and so many twists that I felt like I had whiplash.'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''Wow, wow, wow!!!!!... I was shocked and speechless... I rushed through each chapter like it was my last... That ending was unbelievable... I wouldn''t have guessed it even if it hit me straight in the face.'' Blue Moon Blogger, ?????''Wow, this book was fantastic! Gripping and mind-bending! This book is a must-read!... That epilogue! Holy heck! What a shocker!'' Goodreads reviewer, ?????''WOW, what did I just read?? I am still trying to process this book, and that ending... What?!?!... I couldn''t put it down... jaw-dropping.'' leads2goodreads, ?????
£9.49
PgUp Limited The Third Magpie
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Troubador Publishing The Crow and the Deer
Book SynopsisPaul Pivcevic's The Crow and the Deer is a magical allegory that celebrates the potential in our humanity.
£10.44
Troubador Publishing Ltd Moroccan Dreams
Book SynopsisSuzie and her best friend Isabel jet off to Marrakesh where a fresh start awaits, setting Suzie on a journey she could never have imagined.
£12.59
Into Creative Brodie
Book SynopsisOn a spring day in 1988, Sandra Galbraith runs her long, curious fingers over a bookshelf tightly packed with the titles of her favourite writer, Muriel Spark. She's on a quest to find the perfect birthday gift for her niece, Violet, and plucks Brodie, a pristine, new copy of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, from a neat cluster of identikit books. Brodie adores Violet and, over the next two years, hidden in plain sight, learns family secrets of betrayal and a double life. When Violet leaves for university, her brother kidnaps Brodie to give to his disinterested love interest. On the thirty-year journey that follows, Brodie passes through hands and lives and is witness to death, sex, and a wicked stepmother. Throughout it all, Brodie's longing to return to Violet never fades.
£10.99
Troubador Publishing Starting at the End
Book SynopsisA novel which tackles the issue of assisted dying as its core, as well as the complicated moral issues that surround it. The story comes from a deepening awareness, by the author, of how painful and miserable the last weeks and months of someone's life can be, and how inadequately the medical profession often deals with this.
£10.44
Troubador Publishing A Tale of Two Tails
Book SynopsisA story of a couple's nightmare move to France, told through the eyes of their dogs. A tale of lies, deceit, tragedy and humour, that will have you crying and laughing at the same time. It will appeal to all dog lovers and anyone who enjoys a truly absorbing tale.
£9.49
And Other Stories Season of the Swamp
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Troubador Publishing Ltd A Journey Written in Dreams
Book SynopsisA Journey Written in Dreams invites you on a journey of self-discovery, offering renewed confidence and motivation to chase your dreams. Let it ignite your inner strength and inspire you to create the life you deserve.
£9.49
Troubador Publishing Angels and Blackbirds
Book SynopsisA novel drawn from the reality of life with a learning disability. The main character is unpredictable and far from stereotypes of learning disability. Book two in the 'Apples in the Dark' series.
£10.44
The Conrad Press Anonymous Letters
£10.44
Vanguard Press All the Wrong Men
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers How to Buy a Husband
Book Synopsis
£9.49
