13 Of The Best New Summer Reads
I Know Where You Buried Your Husband by Marie O'Hare
This sharp debut is centred on a group of women who have been friends since school: Sophia, Safa, Ella, Ajola and Caoimhe. When one of them is nearly framed for murder, they bury the evidence, make a pact and go their separate ways. Years later, an anonymous blackmailer threatens to reveal their secret. Forced to reunite, they must get their stories straight and uncover who is tormenting them. But as tensions rise, they wonder whether it is already too late to save themselves.
Available on 3rd July.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
Ripeness by Sarah Moss
On the brink of adulthood and just out of school, Edith finds herself travelling to rural Italy. She has been sent by her mother with strict instructions: to see her sister, ballet dancer Lydia, through the final weeks of her pregnancy, help at the birth and then make a phone call which will change all their lives. Decades later, happily divorced and newly energised, Edith is living in contentment and comfort in Ireland. When her best friend Méabh receives a call from an American man claiming to be her brother, Méabh must decide if she will meet him and Edith finds herself plunged back into her own past and the story of the baby she once knew and loved.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
A Sharp Scratch by Heather Darwent
Betsy has heard the promise "we can fix you" too many times – from psychologists, her husband and wellness trends. This time, she believes it. Offered a place at Carn, a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, she discovers her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn't broken, just special. All she must do is follow the rules. But as the retreat's true nature unfolds, Betsy must confront how far she's willing to go to become well, and whether Carn will ever let her leave.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
The Book Game by Frances Wise
This debut novel takes place at a writers' retreat in a country house where eight old friends have gathered for a long weekend. By day, there is reading beside the pool or writing in shady corners of the estate; in the evenings, drinks, dinner outdoors, games and midnight swimming. But as temperatures rise in the stifling last days of summer, tensions do too. Old jealousies, new temptations and bitter rivalries bubble to the surface. By the end of the week, friendships – and lives – will have changed forever.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
When The Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
Bo lives a quiet existence in his small rural village in the north of Sweden. He is elderly and his days are punctuated by visits from his care team and his son. Fortunately, he still has his rich memories, phone calls with his best friend Ture and his beloved dog Sixten for company. Only now his son is insisting the dog must be taken away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions and makes Bo determined to resist and find his voice.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
The Midnight Feast unfolds at the grand opening of The Manor, a luxurious wellness retreat on the Dorset coast. Owner Francesca Meadows has transformed her inherited estate into a high-end resort, drawing both admiration and resentment from the community. As guests gather for a lavish summer solstice celebration, old tensions resurface, secrets emerge – and a body is discovered. Told through multiple perspectives and timelines, the haunting grip of the past is about to rear its ugly head.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
Vianne by Joanne Harris
Joanne Harris is back and better than ever with her latest novel, leading on from her bestselling book, Chocolat. This is the story of Vianne, which begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet. On a warm July evening, Sylviane scatters her mother’s ashes in New York before heading to the French seaside town of Marseille. Starting over as a waitress in a local bistro, she knows her time there is brief – she must leave before her baby is born. As she finds joy in cooking, adding bittersweet chocolate and spice to traditional recipes, she senses the town’s quiet magic and hidden secrets. But her mother’s warning echoes: revealing people’s true desires can be dangerous – and she must leave before it’s too late.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
The Greatest Possible Good Hardcover by Ben Brooks
Arthur Candlewick's life changes after a three-day ordeal in a mineshaft with only a bottle of Bordeaux, his son's LSD stash and a book on altruism. Emerging with a newfound purpose, he donates the family's fortune to charity. His wife, Yara, and children – Evangeline, a passionate activist, and Emil, a shy math prodigy – struggle to understand his drastic decision. Over ten years, the novel explores their journey, questioning what it means to live a ‘good’ life.
Available on 15th July.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
The Names by Florence Knapp
It is 1987 and, after a great storm, Cora sets out with her daughter to register her son’s birth. Her husband wants the baby named after him, following family tradition – but Cora hesitates. Defying him is risky, yet is it right for her child to inherit the name of domineering men? The choice will shape their lives. Seven years later, the boy is Bear, Julian or Gordon – each name marking a different path: wild, free or bound to repeat the past. But is change still possible?
Available at Amazon.co.uk
Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and the Six) returns with a new story set in 1980s America. Astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Centre, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant…
Available at Amazon.co.uk
A Case Of Life And Limb by Sally Smith
Sally Smith’s second murder mystery takes readers to London in 1901. Under a blanket of snow, Gabriel Ward KC is working on a thorny libel case when a mummified hand arrives in the post. Its recipient, Sir William Waring, is shaken – but Gabriel is intrigued. Who sent it and why? As more parcels follow, one with fatal consequences, Gabriel realises the true target isn’t Sir William. Someone is holding a deadly grudge and Gabriel must uncover the truth before an old death leads to a new murder.
Available on 17th July.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
The Secrets Of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore
Set in the beautiful Norfolk Broads in 2010 and in London during the 40s and 50s, Rachel Hore’s upcoming novel interweaves the past and the present. Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life. On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realises that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone who doesn’t want it to be told.
Available on 31st July.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
Albion by Anna Hope
When several family members fight over the legacy of their inherited country estate, all hell breaks loose in this Succession-meets-Saltburn novel from British writer Anna Hope. The Brookes gather in their ancestral home to bury Philip, the head of the family. Frannie, who will inherit the land, dreams of rewilding it to combat climate change, while Milo envisions a luxury retreat for the wealthy under the influence of psychedelics. Both believe their father gave them his blessing to carry out their plans, setting them on a collision course. Isa has long suspected that her father thought only of himself, and only hopes to seek out her childhood love, who still lives on the estate, to discover what her marriage is lacking. And then there’s Claram who arrives in their midst from America, shrouded in secrets and bearing a truth that will shatter all their hopes and dreams.
Available at Amazon.co.uk
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