Hot Topic: SUMMER HOLIDAY NOVELS  

Holidays are a great time to relax and read, guilt-free and undistracted. Here are some suggestions to pop into your suitcase…

The Woman Next Door. Liz Byrski

A story about empty-nesting and the complexities of life after retirement. Australian writer Liz Byrski presents a story of warm friendships, the value of caring neighbours, finding a path to long-held dreams, and an intimate relationship after 60. The story is centred on the residents of Emerald Street who have supported each other for many years over coffee or wine in their back yards.

The Girls: A Novel. Emma Cline

Mesmerized by a group of girls in the park, who appear to lead a life of free and careless abandon, 1960s teen Evie Boyd becomes obsessed with gaining acceptance into their circle. Grateful for their charismatic leader’s attention and the sense of family the group offers, Evie is swept into their chaotic cult existence. As events turn dark, Evie’s choices become riskier. A debut novel.

All the Light We Cannot See. Anthony Doerr

Blind Marie-Laure lives with her father near the Paris Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When the Nazis occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

Dark Forces. Stephen Leather

Number 13 in the Spider Shepherd series. A violent South London gang will be destroyed if Dan 'Spider' Shepherd can gather enough evidence against them while posing as a ruthless hitman. What he doesn't know is that his work as an undercover agent for MI5 is about to intersect with the biggest terrorist operation ever carried out on British soil.

The Missing Wife. Sheila O’Flanagan

Imogen escapes her controlling, psychologically abusive husband by fleeing to France where she spent a happy time as a child. While Imogen works at making a new life for herself, Vince is determined to find out where his wife has disappeared to. Will he succeed? And would Imogen be strong enough to cope with his determination to bring her back home with him?

The Black Widow. Daniel Silva

Number 16 in the Gabriel Allon series sees the art restorer, spy, and assassin poised to become the chief of the Israel Secret Intelligence Service. On the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible.

See also:

The Crime Writer. Jill Dawson

Ravenspur. Conn Iggulden

Anatomy of a Soldier. Harry Parker

Jonathan Unleashed. Meg Rosoff

Willnot. James Sallis

My Name is Lucy Barton. Elizabeth Strout

Mothering Sunday: A Romance. Graham Swift

The Gustav Sonata. Rose Tremain