Books Published In August

One Blood by Denene Millner

Grace, Delores, and Rae. Three women tied together by blood, family, secrets and lies in this sprawling multi-generational novel. Grace is raised by her grandmother in post-segregation Virginia. But, when her grandmother dies, she’s suddenly sent north, where her life will change forever. Delores — Lolo — smart and beautiful, heads north with hardly any money, putting aside her dreams to focus on survival, in the form of marriage and children. She’s unable to carry children, for shocking reasons of which we will learn, so her and her husband adopt Rae and TJ. Rae is the final part of this trilogy of women, and we watch as she navigates life as a Black mother in America.

 The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

From entrepreneur and podcaster Steven Bartlett comes a brand-new book focusing on the fundamental laws of business and life. These are laws based on hundreds of years of wisdom and they will, he tells us, lead to excellence as well as stand the test of time.

Cleaner by Brandi Wells

Told by a nameless narrator, the cleaner in a corporate office block, she watches everything going on around her. She’s not merely cleaning, she tells us. She is, in fact, helping everybody, taking care of them as they go about their daily lives, even though they don’t realise it. She leaves healthy snacks for those who need them, aware of secret habits and the private intimacies shared between colleagues. But, when she starts scrolling through emails — not her own — she will discover a secret that might just blow the office apart.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Set in the midst of the pandemic, a family finds themselves locked in on their farm, where they spend their time cherry-picking. The three daughters beg their mother Lara to tell them the story of her romance with Peter Duke, a famous actor who was an unknown at the time of his relationship with Lara; a relationship that began as part of a theatre production put on by a company called Tom Lake. Shifting from present to past seamlessly, by the end of this novel you will know Lara and her family intimately and you’ll find yourself wondering if there is any author able to observe the intricacies of human nature quite like Patchett.

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

Magnolia is a London IT girl and BJ is the boy who broke her heart, leaning into his bad boy image that has made him so viral. They both find solace in other people but keep on going back to one another for me until they have to confront the dysfunction.

Abroad in Japan by  Chris Broad

British filmmaker, Chris Broad, has a YouTube channel with over 2.5 million subscribers focused on Japan and over the past decade, he’s covered pretty much every corner of the country. Arriving with barely any knowledge of Japan or Japanese when he arrived, he didn’t have a clue how he’d make a go of life there. Ten years on, he’s sharing his experiences in this land, surrounded by a highly complex culture, taking us with him on a journey from the rice fields of the countryside through to the bright lights of Tokyo.

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher

 

Now Christina Dalcher is back with The Sentence, that will have you furiously racing through the pages. Jane is a prosecutor who agonises over requesting the death penalty in a dystopian reality where if the person executed is found innocent the lawyer responsible is sentenced to death. When evidence points towards her defendants innocence her life is on the line and time is running out.

 Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister

From New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping new novel about a missing person case and what happens when it begins to unravel. Olivia is twenty-two and has been missing for one day. She’s been seen entering an alley on CCTV — but not coming out again. The lead detective on the case is DCI Julia Day and she thinks she knows what to expect — until it becomes crystal clear that this case is anything but predictable. Because it turns out, the weapon wielded by the criminal is not a gun or a knife. It is, in fact, a secret. And one that could threaten the very safety of her own family.

House of Odysseus by Claire North

On the island of Ithaca the long-suffering wife of Odysseus, left to rule the delicately balanced politics in her husband’s court. When Orestes, King of Mycenae arrives every semblance of calm is shattered. He is spiralling and in his wake comes chaos. Penelope has to juggle a number of concerns, navigating the intrigue whilst protecting her secrets.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

This is the most magnificent, intricate story of a family and a group of women that is the perfect accompaniment for a long summer read. A magical, intergeneration story from an assured debut novelist, we meet the Marte women, who are preparing for a gathering that will have long felt repercussions. Four sisters, all of whom are dealing with family obligations, infertility, and heartache, each with secrets, abilities, and struggles, come together to celebrate Flor’s long life who has the power of foresight.

Sea Change by Gina Chung

Things just aren’t going right for Ro. She’s just hit her thirties and life seems to be collapsing around her — and fast. Her best friend is getting married and can only focus on her nuptials, her boyfriend’s just left to join a mission to Mars, she’s estranged from her mother and her father, a marine biologist, disappeared on an expedition when Ro was in her teens. She’s pretty lonely but at least she has her job at the aquarium and of course, Dolores — a giant octopus, who is her last link to her dad, with whom she shared a deep passion for sea creatures. When Dolores is sold, Ro is broken and is forced to confront the trauma of her childhood.

I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani

The tale of an Iranian American family, with three brothers at its centre, the story opens in Los Angeles, from where the boys smuggled to Iran by their father in the dead of night, leaving their mother and their home behind. Iran is a place they barely know — barely recognise, in fact — and they are, thankfully, brought back with the help of their aunt and grandfather, a few months later. But they are all changed in shocking ways. Shifting between both countries, this story is a poignant and beautifully crafted depiction of home, family and growing up.

 

A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin

Eliza is newly widowed, a Countess with a huge fortune, who Is torn between two very different suitors. With her newly found freedom after a marriage of convenience, she has to navigate society, protect her reputation, and decide on her future.

The Future Future by Adam Thirlwell

Transporting you to Paris in 1175, we meet Celine, a young and beautiful woman who finds herself repeatedly embroiled in salacious gossip and scandal. All the rumours are lies, spread by patriarchal, misogynist men and Celine has had enough. This is written with wit and dexterity that immerse the reader into 18th century France, with a main character that is strikingly contemporary and ahead of her time.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Twenty years ago, a baby is stolen, straight from a pram. Now, a woman is murdered in a care home and somehow, these two shocking crimes are connected and linked to a group of women — Frankie, Edith, Patience, and Clio — who take it in turns to narrate this story.

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

This propulsive, fast paced psychological thriller centres around an obsessive romance between Wes and Ivy who are caught in a cycle of breaks up and passionate reunions. Themes include gaslighting, toxic relationships, emotional manipulation with a twisting plot.

Wifedom by Anna Funder

George Orwell; renowned and revered, novelist, essayist, and literary superstar. His wife: all but forgotten in history, though she was absolutely instrumental to his work, her own literary brilliance significantly shaping his own. But who was Eileen O’Shaughnessy and why was she written out of the story? In this superb genre-bending biography, Anna Funder takes us right to the heart of O’Shaughnessy’s life. Through newly discovered letters between her and her best friend, Funder examines the Orwell’s’ marriage and their life together, through the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and in London.

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

An absolute must read if you love an unravelling main protagonist. Cassie is a year into her dream job at a Silicon Valley tech start-up. It’s not easy — in fact, it’s utterly cut throat — and she finds herself having to navigate toxic bosses, lengthy hours, and projects of questionable ethical standing. This is a world of promise, wealth, and success, juxtaposed against abject poverty; a world that Cassie is finding incredibly hard to reconcile. Soon, she finds herself followed around by the black hole of her depression as her job demands more from her than she feels able to give.

The Connellys of County Down by TRACEY LANGE

After serving 18 months in prison on a drug conviction, Tara Connelly tries to rebuild her life. She moves back in with her siblings – a brother who’s a single dad trying to overcome a brain injury and a sister struggling with an intense need for a sense of control. Just as Tara feels like she might find love again, the cop who arrested her begins to hassle her and the family’s secrets threaten to unravel everything she has worked for.

 

Happiness Falls by ANGIE KIM

Twenty-year-old Mia isn’t particularly concerned when her father and brother are late coming home from a walk. Until her little brother walks in covered in blood. With autism and a rare genetic condition, Eugene can’t communicate what happened. Now Mia must race to find answers.

None of This is True by LISA JEWELL

On her forty-fifth birthday, Alix Summers runs into Josie Fair, who happens to be her birthday twin. Soon Alix runs into Josie again, and Josie convinces Alix that Josie’s life would be a great subject for Alix’s podcast. As Josie manipulates her way into Josie’s life Alix unexpectedly finds herself the subject of her own podcast and must uncover Josie’s dark secrets to protect her family.

After That Night by KARIN SLAUGHTER

Fifteen years ago, a night out with friends ended in a violent attack that changed Sara Linton’s life forever. Sara has finally remade her life; she’s now a successful doctor engaged to be married. When a young woman arrives at the ER after a brutal attack, Sara struggles to keep her alive. As GBI Special Agent Will Trent investigates, it becomes clear that this current attack is eerily similar to Sara’s.

Just Another Missing Person by GILLIAN MCALLISTER

One day, twenty-two-year-old Olivia is spotted on CCTV camera entering a dead-end alley and never coming out again. When Julia is assigned the case, she dreads spending so much time away from her daughter while dealing with a frantic family. Yet Julia soon realises that her family’s safety depends on framing someone else for Olivia’s murder.