Narrative theme: sense of place

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Book SynopsisTender, funny, bittersweet and moving, Kristin Hannah's Between Sisters skilfully explores the profound joys and sorrows shared in a close relationship, the mistakes made in the name of love, and the promise of redemption.We all make mistakes, but for Meghann Dontess the terrible choice she made some years ago cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Meghann is now a highly successful attorney, and has put all thoughts of love completely behind her – until she meets the one man who believes he can change her mind. Claire has fallen in love for the first time in her life, and as her wedding day approaches she prepares to face her strong-willed older sister. Reunited after two decades, these two women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.Trade ReviewHannah is superb at delving into her main characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling * Washington Post *Bestselling author Hannah writes witty dialogue . . . bringing snap and a lot of warmth to a familiar lesson: that contentment comes from accepting each other’s flaws * People *

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Book SynopsisIntroducing Inspector Jimmy Perez. Raven Black is the first book in Ann Cleeves' bestselling Shetland series – now a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall.A remote community with a killer in their midst . . .On New Year’s Day, Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance . . .The body is found close to the home of a lonely outcast and local suspicion falls firmly on him. But when Inspector Jimmy Perez insists on broadening the search for suspects, a veil of distrust and fear is thrown over the entire community. As the case develops, Perez finds himself peering deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.The case files of Jimmy Perez continue in White Nights, the thrilling second Shetland novel.Trade ReviewRarely has a sense of place been so evocatively conveyed in a crime novel * Daily Express *A very good writer * The Times *

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Book SynopsisRed Dust opens with Gemma Sinclair grieving the death of her husband, Adam, in a horrific plane crash and learning she's inherited the ten thousand hectare station his family has worked for generations.Despite huge scepticism from surrounding landowners, Gemma decides not to sell Billbinya, disregarding Adam's dying words that he's in trouble and she must sell the station.As if the job of keeping the station going isn't enough, a wave of innuendo sweeps through the local community about Adam's involvement in cattle and sheep duffing. There are even whispers the plane crash was no accident. A visit from the police confirms the rumours, with Gemma discovering that not only was Adam involved, but has indirectly implicated her by using Billbinya as a holding station for the stolen stock.Intent on clearing her name, Gemma determines to get to the bottom of what was going on. In the process, she's shocked to discover the masterminds behind the duffing are two former school friends, and that a trusted stock agent and good friend are somehow involved.When Gemma is finally cleared of any wrongdoing, she decides to put the past behind her and return to the family farm - a new love by her side.Trade ReviewA page-turner. * Weekend Herald *An impressive debut... It's lively, spirited and warm-hearted... A great read. * Gloss Magazine *

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Book SynopsisParadise is Abdulrazak Gurnah's fourth novel, a beautiful story of African life.Trade ReviewMany layered, violent, beautiful and strange ... a poetic and vividly conjured book about Africa and the brooding power of the unknown * Independent on Sunday *An aural archive of a lost Africa ... Tangling travel adventures, social documentary, political indictment and a doomed love story ... Paradise is alive with the unexpected. In it, an obliterated world is enthrallingly retrieved * Sunday Times *Gurnah evokes his world in poetic prose which is pure and lucid - a small paradise in itself ... The pleasures, sadnesses and losses in all the shining facets of this book are lingering and exquisite * Guardian *Paradise is that rare thing, a novel that is totally convincing in the vivid physical world it presents, yet transcending that world and reaching into the universal. Folk tale, travel story, drama of love and loss, by turns touching and horrifying, it is a novel to be grateful for * Barry Unsworth *A gently meandering coming-of-age tale -- Michaela Wong * Spectator, Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisRichard Russo's new novel takes place in the decaying American town of North Bath over the course of a very busy weekend, ten years after the events of Nobody's Fool. Donald 'Sully' Sullivan is trying to ignore his cardiologist's estimate that he has only a year or two left. Ruth, his long-time lover, is increasingly distracted by her former son-in-law, fresh out of prison and intent on making trouble. Police chief Doug Raymer is tormented by the improbable death of his wife, while local wiseguy Carl Roebuck might finally be running out of luck. Filled with humour, heart and hard-luck characters you can't help but love, Everybody's Fool is a crowning achievement from one of the great storytellers of our time.Trade Review[T]he roguish, ragtag residents of North Bath, New York, still prove a diverting lot, even if you've not previously made their acquaintance...there's never a dull moment as the tragi-farcical events gradually snowball, with lightning strikes, an escaped cobra and attempted murder along the way. * Daily Mail *A delightful return . . . to a town where dishonesty abounds, everyone misapprehends everyone else and half the citizens are half-crazy. It's a great place for a reader to visit, and it seems to be Russo's spiritual home. * New York Times *The Fool books represent an enormous achievement, creating a world as richly detailed as the one we step into each day of our lives. . . . Sully in particular emerges as one of the most credible and engaging heroes in recent American fiction. -- T.C. Boyle * New York Times Book Review *A madcap romp, weaving mystery, suspense and comedy in a race to the final pages. * Wall Street Journal *Richard Russo can write like Edith Wharton leavened with a touch of David Lodge * The Economist *A writer of great comedy and warmth, Russo's living proof that a book can be profound and wise without aiming straight into darkness. * USA Today *

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.Sweeping between India and England, from childhood and the present day. Sunjeev Sahota's unforgettable novel about illegal immigrants is a story of dignity in the face of adversity. For fans of Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.'The Grapes of Wrath for the 21st century' – Washington PostThe Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance.Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in desperate search of a new life. Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar. Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the chaotic Randeep. Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town: a clever, devout woman whose cupboards are full of her husband's clothes, in case the immigration men surprise hTrade ReviewSahota is a writer who knows how to turn a phrase, how to light up a scene, how to make you stay up late at night to learn what happens next. The Year of the Runaways is a brilliant and beautiful novel. -- Kamila Shamsie * Guardian *Writing with unsentimental candor, Mr. Sahota has created a cast of characters whose lives are so richly imagined that this deeply affecting novel calls out for a sequel or follow-up that might recount the next installment of their lives. * New York Times *An ideal antidote to a year of reductive discussions of immigration, Sunjeev Sahota's novel takes you deep into the lives of a group of Indian labourers thrown together in Sheffield . . . its lyrical prose and ability to immerse the reader in the experiences of a hidden community in Britain -- Emily Dugan * Independent on Sunday *The Grapes of Wrath for the 21st century . . . the great marvel of this book is its absolute refusal to grasp at anything larger than the hopes and humiliations of these few marginal people. * Washington Post *Wryly humorous . . . The Year of the Runaways needs no affectations to announce its timeliness. As the sheer number of displaced peoples in Europe threatens to overwhelm any capacity for empathy, Mr. Sahota's superb novel helps to make the reality of migrants a little less unimaginable and a little more human. * Wall Street Journal *Novels of such scope and invention are all too rare; unusual, too, are those of real heart, whose characters you grow to love and truly care for. The Year of the Runaways has it all. You cry because of the terribleness of it, but also because you just don't want this book to end. I doubt if I'll read a better novel this year. -- Cressida Connolly * Spectator *This massive book, stuffed with compelling stories, rich in characters and resoundingly authentic in its detailing of life in the harsh underbelly of this country, should be compulsory reading. A magnificent achievement. * Daily Mail *The Year of the Runaways takes place in a parallel England, a near-invisible world that rarely intersects with our own. It is familiar territory from news reports, but only in outline. Sahota has a lot to say and he says it calmly, with great moral intelligence . . . deeply impressive. * Sunday Times *A wonderfully evocative storyteller. * Independent *A sensitive and searing novel. -- Marian Ryan * Mail on Sunday *This is a rich, intricate, beautifully written novel, bursting and seething with energy. * The Times *Nothing short of an asteroid impact would have made me put the book down * Irish Times *The Year of the Runaways is never explicitly polemical, but is steered instead by humane morality. [. . .] Without flights of fancy, neither sensationalising nor preachy, its greatest asset is that it doesn't oversimplify. [. . .] Thoroughly believable, irresistibly humane and often funny. -- Lucy Daniel * Daily Telegraph *Sahota's funny, humane second novel is certainly a book for our times. * Sunday Telegraph *Richly authentic and teeming with incident . . . totally compelling. -- John Harding, 'The year's best novels', 2015 * Daily Mail *Tolstoy and Steinbeck are not exaggerated comparisons for the sweep and power of Sahota’s second novel about five immigrant men living in England illegally and what they went through to get there * Boston Globe *If you think literature is at its best when it combines the political with the personal, this is the perfect book for you. Sunjeev Sahota humanizes harrowing news headlines in the most intimate way; stories about migrant workers and so-called "Untouchables" are carefully captured with painterly details and empathy . . . an important story about duty and love, beautifully told * NPR *

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Book SynopsisPRESENT. PAST. SPELLBOUND. Sybil and Blake Gregory live a well-ordered, predictable Manhattan life — she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high-tech investments — raising their teenagers Andrew and Caroline and six-year-old Charlie. But when Blake is offered a dream job as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco, he accepts it, without consulting his wife, and buys a magnificent, historic mansion as their new home in Pacific Heights.Past and present collide at their elegant mansion, when they meet the large and lively family who lived there a century ago. All long dead but very much alive in spirit—visible to the Gregorys and no one else. Within these enchanted rooms, it is at once 1917 and a century later. Have the Gregorys been given a perfect gift; beloved friends, a chance to relive the past and the wisdom and grace to shape the future?

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Book SynopsisWelcome back to Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina, for a heartwarming second-chance romance between a quirky cafe owner and a handsome park ranger. Thirty is just a number, but the thought of turning the same age her mother was when she died is terrifying to cafe owner Emma St. James. Emma wants to do something to keep her mom's memory alive, but what she has in mind would require looping in Jack Hershey, and Emma is still upset with him after he stood her up for their high school prom. It was just a silly dance, but she'd needed him back then. She wished she didn't need him now too.Park Ranger Jack Hershey is caring for his nephew, Sam, this summer while Sam's mom is in the hospital. To convince his sister that Sam will be in good hands, Jack lets his sister believe that he and Emma are a couple and will be watching Sam together. However, Emma will only agree to go along with this facade if Jack helps her organize her event at Evergreen Park. As Jack and Emma work together to plan the biggest celebration of the season in Sweetwater Springs, their long-running attraction intensifies and their summer charade shows forever potential...if they can overcome the roadblocks of the past.Includes the bonus novella A Fairytale Bride!

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Book SynopsisFall in love with Marina Adair's Sugar, Georgia, a small town with lots of character, where a woman starting over and a local contractor become inexplicably drawn to each other while renovating an old house.He's trouble she doesn't need...Thanks to a cheating fiancé, Josephina Harrington's perfect life just crashed and burned. Moving in with her overbearing parents is definitely not an option. No, she needs to prove she can make it on her own. And she will-by turning her great-aunt's old house into a destination getaway. She's just not expecting her contractor to be so hands-on-and so totally irresistible....but everything she wants.Bad-boy golf champion Brett McGraw figured his hometown of Sugar, Georgia was the perfect place to lay low and get his life back up to par. The leggy blonde with a pint-sized pup is the kind of sweet 'n sassy trouble he never saw coming. She doesn't know a nut from a bolt and before long, he's renovating her house . . . as she steals his heart. Can he convince Josephina that his womanizing ways are in the past and he's ready for forever?

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Book SynopsisTHE SPINE-TINGLING AND GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH, BREATHLESS''Enthralling. Combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies'' SUNDAY TIMES''Chillingly atmospheric, with sub-zero tension and a creeping plot that makes it impossible to look away'' JANICE HALLETT''A chilling, atmospheric rollercoaster of a read filled with clever unpredictable twists'' CLAIRE DOUGLAS''Transportive, absorbing and perfectly paced. You won''t want to miss it!'' LUCY CLARKE___________With her life back in London falling apart, Olivia cannot believe her luck when she''s invited on a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise with her boyfriend, Aaron.Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular: huge cliffs of ice loom high on the horizon, penguins dive through the sparkling sea, aTrade ReviewEnthralling... combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies... She has an eye for edgy and unusual settings, and the new novel is easily as good as her first * Sunday Times *A chilling, atmospheric rollercoaster of a read filled with clever unpredictable twists and beautiful imagery of Antarctica. I loved it! Amy McCulloch is the queen of the adventure thriller! -- Claire DouglasAmy McCulloch is the ice queen of the stone-cold, twisting thriller. Midnight is chillingly atmospheric, with sub-zero tension and a creeping plot that makes it impossible to look away. I will never not read what she writes!" -- Janice HallettIn Midnight, Amy McCulloch takes us on her most adrenaline-fuelled adventure yet. Transportive, absorbing and perfectly paced. You won't want to miss it! -- Lucy ClarkeChills, thrills and intense suspense... Midnight is a clever mystery, a twisting page-turner, and a blistering adventure -- Chris WhitakerAn atmospheric, chilling book where Amy's knowledge of Antarctica shines through. It was difficult to put down -- Catherine CooperEnthralling. Combines an intricate murder mystery with lyrical passages describing ice cliffs and spectacular skies. Easily as good as her first * Sunday Times *Gripping, and as thrilling as a blast of Antarctic air -- Lou Morgan

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Book SynopsisWhile her rehab counselor’s advice replays in her mind, Ansley Boone takes on the role of dutiful bridesmaid in her little sister’s wedding at an isolated resort in the middle of hill country, a place where cell reception is virtually nonexistent and everyone else there seems a stranger primed to spring. Tensions are already high between the Boones and their withdrawal suffering eldest, who has since become the family embarrassment, but when the wedding reception takes a vicious turn, Ansley and her sister must work together to fight for survival and escape the resort before the groom’s cannibalistic family adds them to the post wedding menu.

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Riley Sager with a classic slasher twist, Always the First to Die follows a former horror movie actress as she returns to the set of her most iconic film, only to find that the strange circumstances begin to resemble the plot of her most famous film.After her husband's death, Lexi has refused to return to the Pinecrest Estate on the Florida Keys, too many hard memories on that strip of land. Memories of meeting her husband on the set of an iconic horror movie. Of being cast as an extra, of watching herself get killed on screen. And of scoffing at the rumors of the Pinecrest Estate "curse," until she witnessed a cast member die that very summer. But when her daughter sneaks away to visit her grandfather, legendary horror movie director Rick Plummer, Lexi is forced to face her past. That's when a Category Four hurricane changes course, and hits the southern coast.Unable to get through to her daughter, Lexi drives to the Keys in the wake of the storm. What she finds is an island without cell service, without power, and with limited police presence. A desolate bit of land, with only a few remaining behind: the horror director, the starlet once cast as the final girl, the young teenager searching for clues of her father, the mother determined to get off the island, and...the person picking them off one-by-one.Soon enough Lexi's life begins to resemble Rick's most famous horror film, and she must risk her life to save her daughter before someone, or something, destroys them all.

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!"A powerful portrait of the courageous women who fought against ignorance, misogyny, and racial prejudice." -William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land and Lightning StrikeThe new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek!Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way.If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.Trade Review"In Kim Michele Richardson's beautifully and authentically rendered The Book Woman's Daughter she once again paints a stunning portrait of the raw, somber beauty of Appalachia, the strong resolve of remarkable women living in a world dominated by men, and the power of books and sisterhood to prevail in the harshest circumstances. A critical and profoundly important read for our time. Badassery womanhood at its best!" - Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants"Fierce, beautiful and inspirational, Kim Michele Richardson has created a powerful tale about brave extraordinary heroines who are downright haunting and unforgettable." - Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park and Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

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Book SynopsisA collection of urgent, thrilling and original stories from the award-winning, bestselling author of The Slap and Barracuda. Love, sex, death, family, friendship, betrayal, tenderness, sacrifice and revelation... This incendiary collection of stories from acclaimed writer Christos Tsiolkas takes you deep into worlds both strange and familiar, and introduces you to characters that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page.Trade ReviewThe best writing you are likely to come across on the shifting boundaries between love and friendship... A blistering, accomplished collection * Independent *As compelling to read as a novel... A contemporary storyteller working at the very top of his game * Guardian *An engrossing, powerful, disturbing collection * Independent on Sunday *Raw and powerful * Evening Standard *Not just an impressive talent but an appalling one * Sunday Times *Acclaim for The Slap:'A cool, calm, irresistible masterpiece' Chris Cleave'The Slap is nothing short of a tour de force' Colm Tóibín'Honestly, one of the three or four truly great novels of the new millennium' John Boyne 'As addictive as the best soap opera' Daily MailAcclaim for Barracuda:'Tsiolkas writes with compelling clarity about the primal stuff that drives us all: the love and hate and fear of failure... A brilliant, beautiful book. If it doesn't make you cry, you can't be fully alive.' (Sunday Times)'I finished Barracuda on a high: moved, elated, immersed... This is the work of a superb writer who has completely mastered his craft but lost nothing of his fiery spirit in so doing. It is a big achievement.' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA brilliant novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning Annie Proulx, author of The Shipping News' and Brokeback Mountain'.That Old Ace in the Hole' is a richly textured story of one man''s struggle to make good in the inhospitable ranch country of the Texas panhandle, told with razor-sharp wit and a masterly sense of place.Some folks in the Texas panhandle do not like hog farms. But Bob Dollar, the newly hired hog site scout for Global Pork Rind, intends to do his job. Bob must contend with tough men and women like ancient Freda Beautyrooms, who controls a ranch he covets, and Ace Crouch, the windmiller who defies the hog farms. As Bob settles in at La Von Fronk's bunkhouse and lends a hand at Cy Frease's Old Dog Café, he is forced to question everything.Trade Review‘Sometimes the laughs are prompted by joyously well-jointed plot devices, or by Proulx’s small, absurd observations. As often as not, the humour comes from the unmistakable edginess and quirkiness of Proulx’s prose. It is hard to think of any living writer who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Dickens, with the exception of Proulx.’A N Wilson, New Statesman ‘Proulx’s own ace in the hole is her brilliance at evoking place and landscape. She sets about drawing the vast distances and parched flatlands of Texas with almost immeasurable skill.’ Alex Clark, Guardian ‘The travels and travails of Bob Dollar, and his habit of asking garrlous locals to tell stories about the old days, allow her to build up a rich and many-layered portrait of the region. The reader gets to pluck the fruits of all that research and through the magic of her prose become engrossed in subjects like windmill repairs and the history of barbed wire.’ Richard Grant, Telegraph Magazine ‘A kind-hearted and intelligent novel.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Proulx has a first class eye and ear.’ Adam Mars-Jones, Observer ‘Brilliantly written.’ Peter Kemp, Sunday Times

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Book Synopsis''A charming and brilliantly entertaining novel... shot through with the light-hearted Nesbit touch'' Penelope Lively, from the introductionWhen did two girls of our age have such a chance as we''ve got - to have a lark entirely on our own? No chaperone, no rules, no...No present income or future prospects, said Lucilla.It''s 1919 and Jane and her cousin Lucilla leave school to find that their guardian has gambled away their money, leaving them with only a small cottage in the English countryside. In an attempt to earn their living, the orphaned cousins embark on a series of misadventures - cutting flowers from their front garden and selling them to passers-by, inviting paying guests who disappear without paying - all the while endeavouring to stave off the attentions of male admirers, in a bid to secure their independence.''To come upon any Nesbit today, hitherto unread... is like receiving a letter from a friend whom you have belTrade ReviewShe, of all the writers I have ever read, has given me over the years the most complete satisfaction -- Noel CowardShe had an economy of phrase, and an unparalleled talent for evoking hot summer days in the English countryside -- Noel StreatfieldA charming and brilliantly entertaining novel... shot through with the light-hearted Nesbit touch -- Penelope Lively, from the introductionTo come upon any Nesbit today, hitherto unread, ...is like receiving a letter from a friend whom you have believed dead * New York Times *A wry, charming delight of a book * The Pool *

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Book Synopsis''Completely gripping - strong holiday read recommend!'' BETH MORREY''A rich and evocative story about a holiday that''s supposed to be perfect and secrets that are meant to stay buried'' NICOLA GILLOne last chance to become who we were supposed to be... The trip was supposed to be the perfect holiday. Six friends, reuniting after two decades, spending the weekend in a beautiful riad in Marrakesh. Only, these friends are linked by more than their university days. Together, they''ve kept a dark secret that changed the course of all their lives forever. And as the truth threatens to surface in the stifling Morrocan heat, they all begin to question what really happened that terrible night twenty years ago...Praise for The Trip:''Luminous. Evokes a sultry and febrile setting with luscious detail'' LOUISE DEAN''With such beautiful, evocative writing and a pageTrade ReviewA rich and evocative story about a holiday that's supposed to be perfect and secrets that are meant to stay buried. * Nicola Gill *Completely gripping - strong holiday read recommend! * Beth Morrey *Luminous. Evokes a sultry and febrile setting with luscious detail * Louise Dean *With such beautiful, evocative writing and a page turning plot at its core, this is truly a perfect summer read! * Carys Jones *A page-turning drama [that] explores painful secrets amongst friends. An intriguing, original and emotional read * Jenny Quintana *A gorgeously written and heart-tugging emotional deep dive of friends in their forties * Harriet Walker *Masterfully crafted, wonderfully evoked settings, I'd recommend for your next holiday read! * Matt Cain *An exquisitely written meditation on the way the choices we make in our twenties ricochet throughout our lives. Nuanced, perceptive, heartbreaking, and so true * Kate Maxwell *Absorbing, vibrant, emotive and utterly compelling. I couldn't put it down * Gillian Harvey *The descriptions are exquisite, the characters rich, never letting up with the pace and intrigue of the best psychological thrillers * Caroline Corcoran *I absolutely loved it! I felt transported to the exotic streets of Marrakech and completed absorbed in the friends and their unfurling drama. With such beautiful, evocative writing and a page turning plot at its core, this is truly a perfect summer read! * Carys Jones *A gorgeously written and heart-tugging emotional deep dive of friends in their forties - from births and marriages, to death and too much drinking. * Harriet Walker *

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Book Synopsis‘A sultry, immersive exploration of 30s New York with a taut plot and a vivid soundtrack. The perfect escape – evocative, smooth prose’ Harriet Tyce, Sunday Times bestselling author ‘[A] tightly plotted adventure that brims with atmosphere’ Best magazine * * *Trade Review Praise for Lena Aldridge: ‘Charming characters, a cross-Atlantic setting, jazz, cocktails, sex and a brilliant murder mystery. You couldn’t ask for more! I loved it’ Harriet Tyce ‘This is a cracker. A thoroughly absorbing and thought-provoking historical crime novel that oozes glamour’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Last Act of Love ‘An engrossing read’ Guardian ‘Oozes glamour . . . Did someone mention Agatha Christie? Yes, but with the bonus of subtle reflections on race and class’ Observer

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls returns to North Bath, in upstate New York, and to the characters that captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers in his beloved best sellers Nobody’s Fool and Everybody’s Fool.“Sumptuous, spirited . . . [Russo] paints a shining fresco of a working-class community...” —The New York Times • Another instant classic, filled with Russo's witty dialogue and warm understanding of human foibles. —People MagazineTen years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to his own son, Thomas, wondering if he has

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Book Synopsis''An absolute stunner: frank, funny, self-aware, constantly surprising ... One of the most insightful representations I've read of what it feels like to be alive these days'' GEORGE SAUNDERS________________________A memoir of finding where you are - so you know where you're goingOne day Heidi Julavits sees her son silhouetted by the sun and notices he is at the threshold of what she calls the end times of childhood.' Who is my son becoming, she asks herself and what qualifies me to be his guide? The next four years feel like uncharted waters. Rape allegations rock the university campus where Julavits teaches, unleashing questions of justice and accountability, education and prevention. Julavits begins to wonder how to prepare her son to be the best possible citizen of the world he's about to enter. And what she must learn about herself to responsibly steer him. Using the past and present as points of orientation, Directions to Myself examines the minutiae oTrade ReviewJulavits’s work keeps growing in scope and ambition, asking the biggest questions about love and fear and how best to make life meaningful, and answering with an inspiring level of courage, humour, and stylistic bravado -- GEORGE SAUNDERSSweet, serene, loving, and delightfully macabre * NEW YORKER *An achingly rendered experience of parenthood * WASHINGTON POST *The product of an awe-inspiring mind ... The writing is a miracle of precision and spirit, and Heidi Julavits is as darkly funny as John Cheever -- RACHEL KUSHNER, author of The Mars RoomJulavits writes with sparkling insight and stunning clarity * BUSTLE, The Most Anticipated Books Of Spring & Summer 2023 *It's a beautiful book, funny, sad, full of acute feeling and astute observations. It seemed to me to be, more than anything, about the colossal significance of seemingly small moments, and the tremendous ripple effects of humdrum decisions -- SARA BAUME, author of Seven SteeplesIn this self-aware book, issues of politics and gender thread together with the daily ins and outs of family life * TIME, 25 New Books You Need to Read This Summer *Inside these pages is a sanctuary of unwordable grief, exactly because of their proximity to our purpose and joy, our mothering, our try, our children. We have tried our best. Now, to the world they go. Please meet them where we mothers are. This book is the purest expression of this hope I have read – the immense particular incarnate. It’s also wicked funny, as the greatest heartbreaks must be for their ebb -- DEDE GARDNER, two-time Oscar winning producer of 12 Years a Slave and MoonlightHonest, blazing, and generous, Directions to Myself manages to be an essay about everything by focusing intently on the basic human need of giving care to other people. Something as simple as the fact that we teach our friends, children, and partners how to be in the world through the way that we care for them feels totally new in Julavits’s elegant and energetic voice. Truly astounding -- CATHERINE LACEY, author of Biography of XA touching meditation on time, motherhood, and memory ... Affecting reflections on life’s transitions * KIRKUS *Praise for Heidi Julavits: Witty, sly, critical, inventive and adventurous … Her prose, like E. B. White’s, is especially liquid, and her sentences are unimpeachable * New York Times *Scathingly funny ... An engaging portrait of a woman's sense of identity, which continually shape-shifts with time * Los Angeles Times *An absolute tour de force -- George SaundersMesmerising -- Amy TanWith astounding intelligence and unceasing acuity, Heidi Julavits fulfills the great promise of her talents, and jumps to the forefront of her generation. This could be the smartest and most challenging book I’ve read by anyone our age, and beyond that, it’s just plain hard to put down -- Dave EggersA fascinating quasi-memoir ... The humor and the pathos of the book arise from [the] mismatch between the urgency of a decision in the moment and the awareness that always runs beneath it: that time will eventually make most things not matter * Washington Post *Playful, intimate and deeply insightful … Julavits is someone you truly want to know * Chicago Tribune *Like E. B. White or David Foster Wallace before her, Julavits might be ashamed of her little vanities and obsessions … but that doesn’t prevent her from laying them bare without sugar-coating a thing … There’s not a single uninteresting anecdote or scrap of flabby prose throughout * Barnes and Noble *An incisive and penetrating thinker, as exacting as she is forgiving in her observations about the self and the world * Electric Literature *

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis*“A treasure of a novel…read it and be healed.” —Justin Cronin * “Beautifully written and emotion-packed.” —Harlan Coben * From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—made into the Academy Award-winning movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper—a poignant and hopeful novel about a widower who takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in their small town.Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves. From Matthew Quick, whose work has been described by the Boston Herald as “like going to your favorite restaurant. You just know it is going to be good,” We Are the Light is “a testament to the broken and the rebuilt” (Booklist, starred review). The humorous, soul-baring story of Lucas Goodgame offers an antidote to toxic masculinity and celebrates the healing power of art. In this unforgettable and optimistic tale, Quick reminds us that life is full of guardian angels.

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Book SynopsisHow far would you go to save a child who isn't even yours?Before You Found Me explores the unlikely bond that develops between two abuse survivors and takes a deep dive into personal sacrifice, morality, and the healing powers of family-both blood and found--from the author of After We Were Stolen.Rowan McNamara doesn't open the door to her new life-she's thrown through it. Following an explosive argument with her abusive fiancé, Rowan runs. With no family except for her estranged sister, Celia, Rowan takes refuge in an idyllic New England town.There, she meets Gabriel, the eleven-year-old son of her neighbor, Lee. Lee is welcoming, friendly, and a little too helpful. But Gabriel is a mystery: withdrawn, often bruised, and only willing to speak to Rowan through his basement window. When she discovers that Lee has kept Gabriel imprisoned for the past three years, Rowan is desperate to save him. Fueled by outrage and empathy, she abducts Gabriel and flees to her childhood home in rural Oklahoma, determined to raise him as her own.Together they battle nightmares, curious stares, and Celia's constant disapproval. But when Lee begins haunting more than their dreams, Rowan and Gabriel realize they stopped pretending to be a family a long time ago. Their bond is just as strong as blood, and they're willing to do anything to protect one another.From Brooke Beyfuss comes a tender, deeply emotional novel exploring trauma and healing, love and family, and the impossible lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love, even at the expense of ourselves.

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Book SynopsisUpon learning his great-uncle Alfred has suffered a stroke, Richard sets out for Ste. Anne, in southeastern Manitoba, to find his father and tell him the news. Waylaid by memories of his stalled romance, tales of run-ins with local Mennonites, his job working a honey wagon, and struck by visions of Métis historyand secrets of his family''s past,Richard confronts his desires to leave town, even as he learns to embrace his heritage.Evoking an oral storytelling epic that weaves together one family''s complex history, Hold Your Tongueasks what it means to be Métis and francophone. Recalling the work of Katherena Vermette and Joshua Whitehead, Matthew Tétreault''s debut novel shines with a poignant, but playful character-driven meditation on the struggles of holding onto "la langue," and marks the emergence of an important new voice.

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Book Synopsis'This is heartache for grown ups. The Weight of Love pulls you in and does not let go' ANNE ENRIGHT'Beautiful and painful, exquisitely written, shot through with nostalgia for our earlier selves' MARIAN KEYESLondon, 1996. Robin and Ruth meet in the staff room of an East London school. Robin, desperate for a real connection, instantly falls in love. Ruth, recently bereaved and fragile, is tentative. When Robin introduces Ruth to his childhood friend, Joseph, a tortured and talented artist, their attraction is instant. Powerless, Robin watches on as the girl he loves and his best friend begin a passionate and turbulent affair. Dublin 2017. Robin and Ruth are married and have a son, Sid, who is about to emigrate to Berlin. Theirs is a marriage haunted by the ghost of Joseph and as the distance between them grows, Robin makes a choice that could have potentially devastating consequences. The Weight of Love is a beautiful exploration of how we manage life when the notes and beats of our existence, so carefully arranged, begin to slip off the stave. An intimate and moving account of the intricacies of marriage and the myriad ways in which we can love and be loved.'Delicate, powerful, hypnotic' DONAL RYAN'Fannin's novel is already likely to be a serious contender for one of the books of the year' SUNDAY TIMESTrade ReviewThis is heartache for grown ups. The Weight of Love pulls you in and does not let go. * Anne Enright *Beautiful and painful, exquisitely written, shot through with nostalgia for our earlier selves. * Marian Keyes *Fannin writes with acute insight on loss, grief, and the ways in which time fold in our lives ... We are not long into 2020, but Fannin's novel is already likely to be a serious contender for one of the books of the year * Sunday Times *Incredibly beautiful, aching; it feels like it’s being whispered to me. The story unfolds so naturally in prose at once delicate and powerful, hypnotic. Gorgeous. * Donal Ryan *A masterful dissection of romantic love ... This novel is still revealing new unexpected depths until the final page * Sunday Independent *

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Book Synopsis'Smart, perceptive, elegant, sad, surprising and addictive. And it's also FUNNY.' Nick Hornby'What We Run the Tides probes so poignantly is the volatility of female adolescence... Knowing and powerfully enigmatic.' ObserverTeenage Eulabee and her magnetic best friend, Maria Fabiola, own the streets of Sea Cliff, their foggy oceanside San Francisco neighbourhood. They know Sea Cliff's homes and beaches, its hidden corners and eccentric characters - as well as the upscale all-girls' school they attend. One day, walking to school with friends, they witness a horrible act - or do they? Eulabee and Maria Fabiola vehemently disagree on what happened, and their rupture is followed by Maria Fabiola's sudden disappearance - a potential kidnapping that shakes the quiet community and threatens to expose unspoken truths.Suspenseful and poignant, We Run the Tides is Vendela Vida's masterful portrait of an inimitable place on the brink of radical transformation. Pre-tech boom San Francisco finds its mirror in the changing lives of the teenage girls at the centre of this story of innocence lost, the pain of too much freedom, and the struggle to find one's authentic self. Told with a gimlet eye and great warmth, We Run the Tides is both a gripping mystery and a tribute to the wonders of youth, in all its beauty and confusion.'We Run the Tides is hypnotic, knowing, and propulsive as it examines girlhood, friendship, and the strong pull of the past.' Meg WolitzerTrade ReviewWe Run the Tides is hypnotic, knowing, and propulsive as it examines girlhood, friendship, and the strong pull of the past. * Meg Wolitzer *We Run the Tides is smart, perceptive, elegant, sad, surprising and addictive. And it's also FUNNY. Who knew that you could combine all of those qualities into one slim volume? Not many writers, that's for sure. I loved every single page, and was sorry when I had to say goodbye to Eulabee and her family. * Nick Hornby *There's violence lurking here, but also humor (it's funny!), also love. This is one of the best novels about girlhood and female friendship I've ever read. * Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes *The dreamy yearning and turmoil of youth are evoked here so vividly as to seem supernaturally conjured. However long ago you were a teenager, We Run the Tides will bring the quandaries and sensations right back. Vendela Vida has written a novel of absorbing, exquisite economy and percipience. She has also written an intimate allegory of our unravelling tether to truth. * Lisa Halliday, author of Asymmetry *From the first page, We Run the Tides is captivating. A story about girlhood, friendship, and the pathologies of innocence and victimhood, it reminds me of Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, but set against the furious backdrop of San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood. Its scope, ferocity, and main characters are unforgettable. Vendela Vida is masterful at constructing the nuances and complications of how young girls become aware of their power, and the choices they make once they wield it. * Sally Wen Mao, author of Oculus *The girls in this book are everything, all of us: shape-shifters and outcasts, predators and prey, they lean into and away from the world that claims to know them. Vendela Vida is an astoundingly good writer and the ideas she's wrestling with in these pages-about sexuality and seeing, storytelling and identity-are profound. * Danzy Senna, author of New People *I didn't want it to end * Tom Stoppard *Set in a pre-tech boom San Francisco that feels moody, foreboding, and magical, this enigmatic tale of adolescent friendship, a disappearance, and coming-of-age is smart, sly, and as knowing about the mind and heart of a teenage girl as an Elena Ferrante novel. * O, The Oprah Magazine *As consistently surprising as it is hauntingly resonant (not to mention often very funny), Vida's chronicle of female friendship is a fast, addictive read. * Entertainment Weekly *Vida excels at capturing the insidious kinds of sexual harassment that are omnipresent in girlhood that they become dangerously invisible.... Manages to make that subject matter both deadly serious and laugh-out-loud, as appropriate and important a read for a real-life middle schooler as for a grown-up adult-lady book club. * Glamour *A tough and exquisite sliver of a short novel whose world I want to remain lost in. * NPR *Four 13-year-old girls in 1980s San Francisco are bound together 'like paper dolls' after the tragic death of one of their fathers. The girls are poised between innocence and experience, and it is a testament to Vida's great skill that she is so thoroughly rooted in their milieu. A scandal concerning one of the girls unfolds along compelling lines. * Mail on Sunday *What We Run the Tides probes so poignantly is the volatility of female adolescence... Knowing and powerfully enigmatic. * Observer *Vida expertly presents female teenage sexuality as a crazy fever dream of conspiracy, fear and make-believe in this enigmatic novel which never quite does what you expect it to. Eulabee is an irresistible narrator; subversive, witty, vulnerable and entirely memorable, with the faintest whiff of Holden Caulfield. Strange, startling and rather brilliant. * Daily Mail *Capricious, dark and often very funny. Blending the satire of the cult film Clueless with the melancholy of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides and the shock tactics of Joyce Carol Oates' Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, the book is a shimmering, self-conscious work about the mysteries and betrayals of adolescence... We Run the Tides memorably details the cruelty and unintentional wisdom of adolescence - the horror of being excluded, along with the suppression of individuality that comes as part of being a gang. * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis'Absorbing, intelligent and atmospheric... Genius' Elizabeth Haynes_________________________Fortune favours the fraud...When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be: sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she's been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined...'Intelligent, elegant and immersive' Claire Kendal'A compulsive story, written with steely intelligence and wicked prose' Elizabeth BuchanTrade ReviewA treat ... excellent insights ... elegant prose * Daily Mail *With a frisson of uneasiness throughout, this intensely captivating thriller will cast its spell, leaving you on edge with unexpected twists. * Heat Magazine *Intelligent, elegant and immersive. I found myself absorbed by the voice and story, and fascinated by a complex narrator who made me feel both empathy and horror. -- Claire Kendal, bestselling author of 'The Book of You'Absorbing, intelligent and atmospheric, full of cool, incisive observations on class, loyalty and friendship - and oh my goodness, a razor-sharp twist. Genius. -- Elizabeth HaynesAmbition, lust, family secrets and lashings of Italian art - what could go wrong? A compulsive story, written with steely intelligence and wicked prose, that should propel the author into the bestseller lists. -- Elizabeth BuchanA heady tapestry of desires, secrets and entitled cruelties, suffused with the heat and shimmer of Italy... beautifully written, intoxicating... Fab! -- Philippa EastGlamour and art with a very dark underbelly of deceit and jealousy, that kept me guessing (and gasping) to the very end. -- Cressida McLauglinThe Favour is a refreshing, fun and compelling read about deception and consequences that had me hooked from the start. Ada is a wonderful creation who will stay with me for some time. * Lisa Ballantyne *Intense and intelligent, with a deliciously dark and dangerous atmosphere, and a story suffused with secrets and lies. Not to mention the intrigue of Italy, a fascinating central character and a killer twist. I loved it! * Jenny Quintana, author of The Missing Girl *Devious and manipulative, she pulls the reader through this tale of gilded youth misbehaving and paying the price. The tension comes not so much from whether the truth about the crime will emerge as from whether or not Ada will ultimately get what she wants or the punishment she so richly deserves. * Literary Review *Riveting ... an enormously engrossing, satisfying book - darkly funny, sharply ironic, keenly observed and elegantly written * Western Mail *A gripping plot, fascinating characters and a glorious backdrop ... a hugely ambitious debut that delivers handsomely on its promise * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisRecently graduated from Oxford University, idealistic and headstrong Jeremy Ashland obtains a job teaching English at a language school in the Casablanca of the 1960s. Determined to be accepted as an enlightened foreigner at a time when Moroccan society is emerging from the trauma of colonialism, he plunges dangerously into local and expatriate circles. 'Mauresque' is also the story of Jeremy’s forbidden love for an upper-class Moroccan girl with revolutionary aspirations – a relationship that mirrors the tensions between Moroccans themselves in their search for a new nationhood. Evocative, stylistic and wide-ranging, Mauresque immerses the reader in a world of clandestine relationships, political intrigue, drug smuggling, murder and sorcery.

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Book Synopsis'Original, thought-provoking' - Elizabeth Macneal'a delightful read . . . beautifully observed' - Daily MailMona and Wolfie have lived on Victoria Park for over fifty years. Now, on the eve of their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary, they must decide how to navigate Mona's declining health. Bookended by the touching exploration of their love, Victoria Park follows the disparate lives of twelve people over the course of a single year. Told from their multiple perspectives in episodes which capture feelings of alienation and connection, the lingering memory of an acid attack in the park sends ripples of unease through the community. By the end of the novel, their carefully interwoven tales create a rich tapestry of resilience, love and loss.With sharply observed insight into contemporary urban life, and characters we take to our hearts, Gemma Reeves has written a moving, uplifting debut which reflects those universal experiences that connect us all.Trade ReviewI really love multiple-voice novels with interlinking components that feel like they could be short stories. Victoria Park is one such. Mona and Wolfie have lived near the park for most of their lives, and we meet the other local residents through them. A beautiful read about a diverse community. -- Nina Pottell * Prima *With shades of Elizabeth Strout, Gemma Reeves's riveting portrait of intertwining lives in London is what makes literary fiction great. Tackling life moments we can all recognise and relate to (from identity to longing), it's a portrait of a community underscored with genuine warmth for humans. -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *The month of October finds ex-deli owner Wolfie smoking salmon for a party to celebrate 65 years of marriage to Mona. She is a Kindertransport survivor, like Wolfie himself, and if she is half lost to dementia, the half that remains is smart as paint. Over nine months, the lives of Wolfie and Mona play out alongside those of their neighbours around Hackney's 'People's Park'. All London life is in these pages, with human kindness, IVF, LGBT, and an acid attack, leading up to a touching ending. An exciting debut. -- Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine *A writer who exudes a generous playful intelligence, such bright, wise wit. Everything on the page is alive, each paragraph a fresh adventure - her writing gives a pure and rare pleasure. -- Samantha Harvey, bestselling author of THE WESTERN WIND * Samantha Harvey, bestselling author of THE WESTERN WIND *I absolutely loved Victoria Park. It's a stunning portrayal of a London community, where moments of heartbreak, sympathy and joy cast deep reverberations. A triumph of compassion and redemption, the lives of the characters are so finely observed, they might be our own. It reminded me of Elizabeth Strout and Jennifer Egan, and I know I'll be thinking about Wolfie and Mona for months to come. -- Elizabeth Macneal (author of THE DOLL FACTORY)Hugely empathetic, utterly absorbing and beautifully told, Victoria Park really captures something so bittersweet and so true about the struggles and joys that ebb and flow through all of the relationships that hold us together. -- Naomi Ishiguro, author of ESCAPE ROUTES * Naomi Ishiguro *A book that drew me in with its charming concept only to reveal its darker side at the last minute. I was thoroughly enthralled with the inhabitants of Victoria Park, and couldn't help myself from curtain twitching into each one of their intriguing, moving, and complex lives. A fantastic book, and a wonderful achievement. -- Nick Bradley, author of THE CAT AND THE CITYThis kaleidoscopic debut portrays a London community reeling from an acid attack. Following rapid gentrification, the old East Enders rub along with the new - gangsters, tailors, yuppies and yogis. -- Madeleine Feeny * Mail on Sunday *A complete joy of a debut, bright, observational and incredibly intimate, this book has lodged itself in my heart. Take twelve independent yet linked stories over twelve months about people who are connected to a London park community. The focus changes with each month, allowing individual stories to shine, yet they add up to a vibrantly wonderful whole. Gemma Reeves is beautifully eloquent, she has the ability with a few words, to give you admittance to someone's soul. While she creates penetrating access to each person, there isn't always a conclusion, instead life carries on, suggesting potential pathways. I fell in love with this powerfully blended infusion of life. The variety of characters, in age, personality, and beliefs crackle with energy. A new character might wander in for a few moments and then star in the next tale. Some connections may be obvious and linger, others lightly touch before moving on. The stories themselves tug at heartstrings and encourage thoughts to roam, the ending is simply divine and brought tears to my eyes. Thought-provoking and emotionally intelligent, Victoria Park slips with glorious ease onto our LoveReading Star Books list and is a Liz Pick of the Month, it really is very special indeed. -- Liz Robinson * Love Reading *Told from the multiple perspectives of 12 characters whose lives revolve around the park, this is a delightful read that takes place over one year. [...] Tying them together is the park itself, month in, month out, beautifully observed over the seasons. -- Fanny Blake * Daily Mail *A sharply observed debut novel that looks at the lives of 12 people over the course of a year. Big themes, such as dementia and the trials of IVF, are told with great sensitivity and insight. -- Zoe West * Woman's Weekly *

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