Grow Where They Fall by Michael Donkor
As a 10-year-old, Kwame Akromah is disciplined, cautious, well-mannered, and top of his class – until his magnetic cousin Yaw comes over from Ghana to live with the family, and turns everything upside down. Two decades later, when Kwame is working as a secondary school teacher, the appointment of a new head – the charismatic Marcus Felix – brings him to another reckoning. Deftly weaving the two timeliness, Grow Where They Fall is an elegant coming-of-age tale about confronting the ghosts of our childhood, queer love and finding the courage to live a bigger and better life for ourselves.
Moral Injuries by Christie Watson
Olivia, Anjali and Laura, who first met during their medical degrees, are forced to confront a secret they have been keeping for decades when two of their teenage children witness a tragedy at a party. A psychological thriller to stay up all night reading.
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale
Sally has just killed her husband by whacking him in the head with a skillet. It wasn’t exactly her intention, but she had been pushed to breaking point. This black comedy is perfect for fans of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister the Serial Killer and the TV series Bad Sisters.
Day One by Abigail Dean
A lone gunman steps into a village hall during a primary school play, and a young girl hides what she really knows about that day.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
When Laura is told her brother has died fighting during the First World War, something doesn’t quite add up. So, she returns to Belgium in search of answers in this sweeping, fantastical tour-de-force of a novel.
Clear by Carys Davies
In 1843, the quiet life of the only inhabitant of a remote Scottish island is disrupted when he finds a man lying unconscious on the beach.
Scrap by Calla Henkel
Esther is being paid by a wealthy woman named Naomi Duncan to make a scrapbook that she intends to gift to her husband, tracing 25 years of their marriage. Halfway through the project, Naomi dies. Scrap is a darkly humorous mystery about true crime, art and revenge.
Girl in the Making by Anna Fitzgerald
Growing up in suburban Dublin in the 1970s and 80s, Jean must learn to navigate a harsh, hypocritical world. With glowing reviews from the likes of Anne Enright, Girl in the Making marks Anna Fitzgerald as a debut novelist to watch.
Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh
That Layla and Andy share a surname felt romantic; it was as though they were destined to be together. Despite Layla’s friend’s doubts about her settling down with this white man, they plan to marry. Then a shocking discovery is made, and their world caves in.
Free Therapy by Rebecca Ivory
In this astute collection from a major new talent, the interior lives and desires of a terrific cast of characters are explored, from the couple who are offered counselling by a damp expert who has come to look at their bathroom to the teenage girls obsessed with their bodies.
A Very Private School by Charles Spencer
When the historian, podcaster and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales was eight years old, he was sent to one of the UK’s most exclusive boarding schools. Here is the incredible account of the abuse he suffered there, and the scars it left on him.
Shakespeare’s Sisters by Ramie Targoff
When we think about 16th century literature, we think about Shakespeare. But during the Renaissance there were four ambitious female writers who were also making themselves heard and read (despite all odds). Targoff tells their stories with vim and vigour.
Learning to Think by Tracy King
A memoir which you read with the same breathlessness as the most gripping of novels, Learning to Think follows Tracy King’s childhood growing up in a council estate outside Birmingham. While there was plenty of love and laughter at home, there was also her father’s alcoholism and mother’s agoraphobia to contend with – and by the time she was 12, her dad had been killed and the case treated as a murder inquiry. What follows is an account of a family both torn apart and trapped in a broken system. It’s a story of poverty and hardship, religion and superstition, but also an incredibly hopeful tale of how King got out of it.
Until August by Gabriel García Márquez
The lost novel of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, Until August is the author’s final work, written while he was struggling with dementia. Ten years after his death the book is finally being published. Focusing on a young woman who visits the same island each year to mark the anniversary of her mother’s death while pondering freedom, regret and love.
The Tower by Flora Carr
Tower by Flora Carr is a debut novel with a distinct feminist take on Mary, Queen of Scots’ darkest hour, as she was held hostage in Lochleven Castle.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
Written by a Londoner who studied English Literature in the Highlands, Where Sleeping Girls Lie is Faridah Abike-Iyimide’s second novel, this young adult thriller follows Sade Hussein, a new girl at an elite boarding school who immediately falls under suspicion when her roommate goes missing. When another turns up dead, Sade begins to uncover the school’s dark secrets.
Family Politics by John O’Farrell
Family Politics by John O’Farrell follows Emma and Eddie Hughes, a high-profile couple known for their left wing politics, as their son shares with them a shocking revelation – that he’s a Conservative. Blending sharp satire with wit, it’s sure to provide a comedic reflection on the divided world.
