Summer Reads
Travel the world from the comfort of your favourite reading spot this summer with our pick of perfect summer destination reads.
‘Let the wind take me and the soft rain settle me into the Irish soil from where I came. And may my sins be forgiven.’
Arethusa Clayton has always been formidable, used to getting her own way. On her death, she leaves unexpected instructions. Instead of being buried in America, on the wealthy East Coast where she and her late husband raised their two children, Arethusa has decreed that her ashes be scattered in a remote corner of Ireland, on the hills overlooking the sea.
All Arethusa ever told Faye was that she grew up in a poor farming family and left Ireland, alone, to start a new life in America as did so many in those times of hardship and famine. But who were her family in Ireland and where are they now? What was the real reason that she turned away from them? And who is the mysterious benefactor of a significant share of Arethusa’s estate?
Arethusa is gone. There is no one left to tell her story. Faye feels bereft, as if her mother’s whole family has died with her. Leaving her own husband and children behind, she travels to the picturesque village of Ballinakelly, determined to fulfil her mother’s last wish and to find out the reason for Arethusa’s insistence on being laid to rest in this faraway land.
'AN ATMOSPHERIC, MESMERISING READ' My Weekly
'PASSIONATE AND INTRIGUING' Woman's Weekly
***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE***
‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES
‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War
‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING
‘One of our personal favourites’ THE TIMES on The Last Secret of the Deverills
‘Accomplished and poetic’ Daily Mail
‘Santa Montefiore is a marvel’ Sunday Express
'One of our personal favourites' The Times
*** PRE-ORDER THE ONLY SUSPECT NOW, THE NEW CAUTIONARY TALE OF OBSESSION, LOVE, JEALOUSY AND DECEPTION FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUR HOUSE AND THE OTHER PASSENGER ***
'One of this summer's most anticipated thrillers' Stylist
'Scarily plausible' Observer
'Guaranteed to have you vibrating with impotent fury … a carefully crafted psychological thriller’ Laura Wilson, Guardian
‘A feverish atmosphere is built up, with Candlish again skewering the peccadilloes and prejudices of her middle-class characters’ Sunday Times
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS YOU'LL LOVE TO HATE
Until Darren and Jodie move in, Lowland Way is a suburban paradise. Beautiful homes. Friendly neighbours. Kids playing out in the street. But Darren and Jodie don't follow the rules and soon disputes over loud music and parking rights escalate to threats of violence.
Then, early one Sunday, a horrific crime shocks the street. As the police go house-to-house, the residents close ranks and everyone's story is the same: They did it.
But there's a problem. The police don't agree. And the door they're knocking on next is yours.
'You're in for a treat!' Lisa Jewell
'Prepare to be gripped; Those People is nail-bitingly tense from the first page to the last. Louise Candlish shows us the dark side of suburbia – and of ourselves' Erin Kelly
‘Sharp satire and a plot that builds to a roiling boil with a couple of oh-so-clever final twists in close succession: Louise Candlish is one very clever writer’ Sarah Vaughan
'Beautifully modulated and terrifically suspenseful' Washington Post
‘Twists aplenty, and such wonderful observation - I loved it' Clare Mackintosh
'An addictive, twisty page-turner about the neighbours from hell that will give you nightmares about the suburban dream' Alice Feeney
'A delicious slice of suburban noir. I loved it' Harriet Tyce 'Candlish is a master at peeling away the veneer of middle-class respectability, and utterly nails the trials of living cheek-by-jowl with awful neighbours. You’ll be asking yourself, “How far would I go?”' heat
'Candlish shows us, through multiple points of view, how Booth’s boorish presence causes sleep-deprived couples to bicker hatefully and grown siblings to become enraged with one another, until the whole community seems to turn on itself - with fatal consequences' Wall Street Journal
'A smart and twisty tale about a murder in a seemingly idyllic neighbourhood. Oozing with scandal, it's a compelling read' Woman & Home
'A devilishly good thriller about smug middle class house price obsession with a wicked ending. Loved it' Laura Kemp
'Utterly gripping' RED
'Lowland Way is a sought-after place to live, with friendly neighbours and real community spirit, that is until the Booths move in. The other residents are up in arms, but how far will they take things to restore their peace? A read that will make you rejoice for nice neighbours!' Prima
'Louise Candlish captures the mores of middle-class life and our worst, curtain-twitching tendencies like no one else' RED, online
'Full of marvellously toxic characters' Best
'Candlish has a keen, satirical eye for social hypocrisy, and she skilfully explores the tensions that the situation exposes in her entitled, privileged characters with compassion and nuance. An unsettling, darkly funny, artfully composed novel about the way we live now' Irish Times
'A warm hug of a book'S Magazine
Behind every successful man is a woman.
Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
Sophie Mayhew looks like she has the perfect life. Wife of rising political star John F Mayhew, a man who is one step away from the top job in the government, her glamour matches his looks, power, breeding and money. But John has made some stupid mistakes along the way, some of which are threatening to emerge. Still, all this can still be swept under the carpet as long as Sophie 'the trophy' plays her part in front of the cameras.
But the words that come out of Sophie’s mouth one morning on the doorstep of their country house are not the words the spin doctors put in there. Bursting out of the restrictive mould she has been in since birth, Sophie flees to a place that was special to her as a child, a small village on the coast where she intends to be alone.
But once there, she finds she becomes part of a community that warms her soul and makes her feel as if she is breathing properly for the first time. Sophie knows she won't be left in peace for long. Now she must decide: where does her real future lie?
Praise for Milly Johnson:
‘The feeling you get when you read a Milly Johnson book should be bottled and made available on the NHS’ Debbie Johnson
'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' heat
'Must read' Express
'A glorious, heartfelt novel' Rowan Coleman
‘Absolutely loved it. Milly's writing is like getting a big hug with just the right amount of bite underneath. I was rooting for Bonnie from the start' Jane Fallon
‘Bursting with warmth and joie de vivre’ Jill Mansell
‘Warm, optimistic and romantic’ Katie Fforde
A Richard and Judy Book Club pick, set in Paris and Italy, The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a beautiful and uplifting exploration of love, loss and hope
‘The real truth and triumph of this gem of a story is simple: it is one of the best and most gripping descriptions of heartbreak that either of us have ever read’
Richard and Judy’s review
Grace Atherton, a talented cellist, is in love with David. Together in their apartment in Paris, Grace and David are happy until an unexpected event changes everything.
Nadia is seventeen and furious. She knows that love will only let her down: if she is going to succeed it will be on her own terms.
At eighty-six Maurice Williams has discovered a lot about love in his long life, and even more about people. And yet he keeps secrets.
When Grace’s life falls apart in the most shocking of ways Maurice and Nadia come to her rescue, helping her to find happiness and hope through the healing power of friendship.
Praise for The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton
'Glorious on so many levels' A J Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird
'Lose yourself among beautiful symphonies, the romantic cities of Europe and quirky characters ... a triumph' Woman's Weekly
'A powerful and passionate novel, awash with heartbreak but still an uplifting tale of friendship and rebirth. Five stars' Daily Express
'Full of hope and charm' Libby Page, author of The Lido
'A hymn to friendship, to getting back up and finding happiness where none seemed possible' Katie Fforde
'Fiendishly well-plotted, hugely entertaining – one feels Agatha Christie would have been delighted' – LUCY FOLEY, bestselling author of The Hunting Party
I’m Mrs Christie. I think you are expecting me…
Baghdad, 1928. Agatha leaves England for the far-flung destination, determined to investigate an unresolved mystery: two year ago, the explorer and the writer Gertrude Bell died there from a drugs overdose. At the time, the authorities believed that Bell had taken her own life, but a letter now unearthed reveals she was afraid someone wants to kill her...
In her letter, Bell suggests that if she were to die the best place to look for her murderer would be Ur, the archaeological site in ancient Mesopotamia famous for its Great Death Pit.
But as Agatha stealthily begins to look into the death of Gertrude Bell, she soon discovers the mission is not without its risks. And she has to use all her skills to try and outwit a killer who is determined to stay hidden among the desert sands...
'A heart of darkness beats within this sparkling series. Fizzy with charm yet edge with menace, Andrew Wilson's Christie novels do Dame Agatha proud' A. J. FINN, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
'Beautifully written. Both lyrical and compelling. I felt as though I was walking by Agatha Christie's side' JANE CORRY
'An affectionate homage to Agatha Christie’s desert dramas with a cheeky nod to Paul Bowles’ The Sheltering Sky. A superior blend of fact and fiction, it’s a hugely entertaining riot of red herrings, poisonous plots and boiling passions under the white hot desert sun. A must for connoisseurs of Golden Age crime fiction’ SEAN O'CONNOR
'There is no reason why this excellent series shouldn’t run till the sun don’t shine' EVENING STANDARD
'While Wilson tempts providence by inviting comparison with the real Agatha Christie, on the evidence of this book he succeeds admirably' DAILY MAIL
'He shares with the great Dame the gift of sheer readability' S MAGAZINE
'Five stars . . . Brilliantly plotted, stylishly written. A treat!' AMANDA CRAIG
*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ***
Treat yourself to a glorious novel full of food, sunshine, friendship and love!
Things haven’t always been straightforward in Poppy’s life but her dreams are finally within her reach.
She's moving into a cottage in beautiful Nightingale Square, close to the local community garden, where she can indulge her passion for making preserves and pickles. She may not have the best relationship with her family but she is surrounded by loving friends, and feels sure that even her grumpy new neighbour, Jacob, has more to him than his steely exterior belies.
But the unexpected arrival of Poppy's troubled younger brother soon threatens her new-found happiness and as the garden team works together to win community space of the year, Poppy must decide where her priorities lie and what she is prepared to fight for …
Readers everywhere are falling in love with Heidi Swain’s writing:
‘A lovely, sweet, summery read’ Milly Johnson
‘Wise, warm and wonderful’ heat
'A ray of reading sunshine!’ Laura Kemp, author of A Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness
‘Sparkling and romantic’ My Weekly