Literary fiction
Anthony Cummins
Fulfillment by Lee Cole (Faber £18.99, 336pp)
I loved this sharp, funny American novel about half-brothers whose buried grudges surface when one beds the other’s wife. Sibling rivalry gives way to page-turning jeopardy when their MAGA-loving mum gifts one of them a loaded gun. It’s a tale of lust, envy, revenge . . . told with warmth and killer comic timing.
Fun And Games by John Patrick McHugh (4th Estate £16.99, 400pp)
Set over a single summer, this hilarious Irish debut follows a 17-year-old school leaver riddled with social anxiety as his teammates at a Gaelic football club jostle for bragging rights about sexual experience. You root for the protagonist – yet wince, too, at his relentlessly self-sabotaging errors of judgment. A brilliant book, tender and fizzy with wit and vim.
Stephanie Cross
The Best Of Everything by Kit de Waal (Tinder Press £20, 320pp)
From the depths of her grief and hatred for the man who killed her lover, we follow the St Kitts-born nurse Paulette on a transformative personal journey, giving rise to acts of extraordinary kindness and compassion. Truly heart-expanding.
The Names by Florence Knapp (Phoenix £16.99, 352pp)
One of the most anticipated debuts of the year, Knapp’s ultimately life-affirming story spins three possible futures for domestic abuse victim Cora and her newborn son. While there are some near unbearable moments, I devoured it almost in a sitting.
Claire Allfree
Water In The Desert, Fire In The Night by Gethan Dick (Tramp Press £14, 220pp)
‘It’s only by imagining very very small that we carry on thinking we know what the future holds,’ says the narrator of this punchy, deceptively soft-focus dystopia. A pandemic, untold numbers dead, an assorted bunch of survivors and their journey to an apparent sanctuary in the South of France make for a refreshing look at ideas of hope, survival and complacency, and an unsettlingly resonant debut.
Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape £18.99, 368pp)
One of the year’s best novels to date, this is the story of Istvan, as his life moves from a Hungarian housing estate to the enclaves of extreme wealth before tragedy threatens everything. Szalay writes in a stark, emotionless prose that captures something of the modern alienation of the age; it’s also an excellent novel about masculinity and money.
Popular
Wendy Holden
The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday £20, 384pp)
Vic Kemp, famous artist, has a mysterious late-life romance. His children think the woman is a gold-digger. Then he dies in strange circumstances and they rush to Italy to confront her. But is Bella-Mae as bad as they imagine, and what are the rest of them hiding anyway? This complex, clever, beautiful novel is my favourite Rachel Joyce so far.
Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich (Hodder & Stoughton £20, 320pp)
But she is the anti-heroine of this funny debut. If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, you’ll love this tale of crazed love in a Cardiff office. Julie’s mad about Sean but he has other romantic interests, all of whom meet mysterious ends. Narrator Julie explains everything from her own very special point of view. You’ll cringe, laugh and feel sorry for her in equal measure.
Bad Influence by C.J. Wray (Orion £20, 336pp)
Jinx is a woman with an exciting past now retired to a Home Counties village. A secretive sort, she’s not pleased to have to go on a community bus trip to Tuscany. But there’s unfinished wartime business there, and possibly a bit of buried treasure, too. Hilarious.
Sci-fi & fantasy
Jamie Buxton
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (Orbit £20, 432pp)
Dr Walden is de facto head of a boarding school where magic is very much on the agenda, as are demons of every stripe, adolescent growing pains, monstrous perils and grown-up romance. A boarding school adventure, an exploration of magic, a meditation on ageing . . . and a book to fall in love with.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford (Tor Nightfire £22.99, 352pp)
Kesta is a messed up thirtysomething scientist working on a Zombie Apocalypse cure in a secret lab. But that’s nothing compared to what she’s hiding. Setting this zombie story apart is its deep dive into the mysteries of the human heart. Gripping, grisly and wonderfully written.
Strange Houses by Uketsu (translated by Jim Rion) (Pushkin Vertigo £14.99, 208pp)
A couple of friends stumble on a murder mystery and the only clues lie in a series of detailed, hard-edged architectural plans. The closer they look, the more bonkers the truth appears to be. Original and compelling, the book carves out a space between horror, crime and fantasy.
Debuts
Sara Lawrence
Luminous by Silvia Park (Magpie £16.99, 400pp)
In post-war Seoul, two decades after the reunification of Korea, this sci-fi novel describes a place where robots are completely integrated into society – albeit as second-class citizens. Estranged siblings Jun and Morgan reunite to solve the disappearance of a child robot and all kinds of secrets are revealed. It’s beautiful on love and what it means to be human.
Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle (Bloomsbury £16.99, 400pp)
Teenage Konstantin is missing his dead dad madly when the unmistakable taste of his father’s favourite meal fills his mouth. Soon he is bombarded by flavours and discovers that he has a unique ability to communicate with ghosts through food. By cooking the dishes of the dead, Konstantin can bring them back for a final meal. Twisty, dark and unique.
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis (W&N £16.99, 336pp)
Nadia works in Iraq for a UN programme rehabilitating Isis brides. She left London after being disowned by her religious mother and dumped by the love of her life. Nadia thought a dramatic change of scene would alter everything but life remains tough until she meets Sara, a Londoner who joined Isis as a teenager. Funny and insightful.
Classic crime
Barry Turner
Maigret’s Holiday by Georges Simenon (Penguin Design Collection £9.99, 208pp)
This splendid new edition of the Simenon classics has the Chief Inspector enjoying the sea air until he is told of a dying woman’s delirious confession of complicity to murder. Following his instinct, Maigret challenges the suffocating hypocrisy of tightly knit society to uncover a tragic story of passion and jealousy.
Cyanide In The Sun Edited by Martin Edwards (British Library £10.99, 320pp)
One of the top experts in classic crime, Edwards has delved into the archives for this hugely enjoyable collection of mysteries with a holiday theme. Though many of the authors have long disappeared from print, they are worthy of rediscovery, not least as a warning against swimming too far from the beach.
Against the Grain by Peter Lovesey (Little Brown £21.99, 368pp)
In the last Peter Diamond book, the acerbic head of Bath CID exposes a miscarriage of justice. After hosting a wild party, the daughter of a wealthy landowner goes down for manslaughter. But Diamond believes that the supposed criminal neglect was a planned killing with the murderer still at large. This is police procedural at its best.
Psychos
Christena Appleyard
The Palazzo by Kayte Nunn (No Exit Press £9.99, 304pp)
This book transports you to a luxurious palazzo in the Italian Alps with a dreamy swimming pool and an equally dreamy handsome chef. It’s the perfect setting for a summer read; and for an unusual murder. The glamorous hostess is celebrating her 40th birthday and she has invited a group of special friends, all of whom have secrets. Clever, glitzy and keeps you guessing.
It’s Always The Husband by C.L. Taylor (Avon £16.99, 352pp)
Ignoring the gossip at the school gate, newcomer mother Jude gets involved with a single father whose former partners are now dead or vanished. There’s a powerful sense of jeopardy as Jude gets drawn in and her new man refuses to dispel the gossip. A great title that doesn’t disappoint.
The Serial Killer’s Party by Amy Cunningham (Penguin £8.99, 336pp)
Amelia accepts an invitation to a billionaire’s party in Norway because she believes she can solve the mystery of her sister’s murder. But the billionaire has his own sinister plans. This combines luxury and escapist scenery with real psychological insights into the bonds that bind sisters.
Crime & thrillers
Geoffrey Wansell
The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Zaffre £16.99, 416pp)
Gordon and Sarah Rutherford have everything – a son they adore, Rory, a house on the beach in Ayrshire and a happy life, until one day Rory disappears. Their lives don’t disintegrate at once, not while there’s hope, but what should Gordon do? This is McIlvanney at his masterful best.
King Of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (Headline £20, 352pp)
Roman Carruthers is summoned home to central Virginia after his father, who runs the local crematorium, has been in a car crash – leaving him in a coma. Only it wasn’t an accident. His family are in trouble and Roman sets out to rescue them – but at a price. Cosby sends a shiver down the spine.
Some of Us are Liars by Fiona Cummins (Macmillan £18.99, 384pp)
Three sisters from Essex, the eldest a Hollywood star, lie at the heart of Cummins’ story about the disappearance of a young son and the lies that hide beneath what seems to be the perfect family. Sad, tense and deeply poignant, it is truly thrilling.
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (Hemlock £18.99, 368pp)
Married couple Edward and Isabel, in their early 30s, suffer a terrifying home invasion when an intruder breaks in and rapes Isabel after subduing her husband in another room. The story of what happens to them over the next 20 years is both haunting and terrifying: never to be forgotten.
Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow (Swift £20, 544pp)
Prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich – star of Turow’s breakout thriller Presumed Innocent – makes his reappearance after almost 40 years. This time he is a judge coaxed out of retirement to defend the stepson of his new love against a murder charge. This is every bit as good as its brilliant predecessor.
Historicals
Eithne Farry
The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury £18.99, 464pp)
Set at the tail end of the War Of The Roses, and jam-packed with plot and counter-plot, Harkin’s stand-out debut makes the best of the role Lambert Simnel, a farmer’s boy, as pretender to the English throne. Ambitious, mischievous and brilliantly written, her boldly drawn characters and their reckless, ruthless aspirations make for a hugely entertaining read.
The Artist by Lucy Steeds (Michael Joseph £16.99, 304pp)
The height of summer in 1920s Provence is a place of honeyed heat and slow-burn attraction. This is the intense, beautifully realised tale of reclusive painter Tata, his put-upon niece Ettie, who’s living a secret artistic life of her own, and aspiring writer Joseph, who finds himself drawn into their tempestuous, luminous orbit in this smouldering book.
Rapture by Emily Maguire (Sceptre £20, 320pp)
See-sawing between seductive sensuality and religious asceticism, Rapture unspools the story of the legendary Joan, who begins life in 9th-century Mainz as motherless Agnes. Determined to forge a future that encompasses her love of theology and her own provocative beliefs, she binds her breasts and heads out on an adventure that will see her become scholar, preacher and eventually, the pope.
Contemporary
Sara Lawrence
So Thrilled for You by Holly Bourne (Hodder & Stoughton £16.99, 432pp)
Set at the baby shower from hell, this rollercoaster read stars Lauren, Nicki, Charlotte and Steffi, best friends from university who are now in their early 30s and experiencing different life stages. There’s an arson attack and a lot of judgment. The narrative alternates between their points of view alongside police reports and newspaper articles about what happened. Sensational.
Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick (Viking £16.99, 352pp)
This is a hilarious, heartbreaking and original story about sisters Mickey and Arlo. They share a recently deceased father but have never met. Arlo loved him to distraction; Mickey blamed him for everything. Arlo is as surprised to be cut out of his will as Mickey is to receive everything – on one condition. It’s unethical, unwise and utterly addictive.
Who Wants to Live Forever by Hanna Thomas Uose (Brazen £16.99, 320pp)
Young married couple Sam and Yuki are madly in love. Sam is an illustrator and Yuki campaigns against Yareta, a new drug that delivers eternal youth and is the subject of mass debate. The global divide between those who are on Yareta and those ageing is vast and terrifying. When Sam goes behind Yuki’s back their bond is destroyed. Clever and compelling.
