Book of the month

Book of the month

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Dec 2022

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, Elle Ranier marries Simon to escape a life of destitution. She leaves New York City for Lyra, a remote, wooded island off the south-eastern coast of America. There, amid rumours of strange jewels hidden beneath the water, Elle harbours a secret: her guest, Gabriel, is not a cousin but her lover. A mesmerising exploration of the limits of memory, and the people we can never forget. / *Join the reading group /   

Mystery Book of the Month – Dec 2022

Welcome to Roslazny – a sleepy Russian town where intrigue and murder combine to disturb the icy silence... Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer (Third Class) and would-be bestselling author, spends her days in a little rail-side hut with only Dmitri the hedgehog for company. An intriguing but charming murder mystery packed with psychological depth and wonderfully-drawn characters. / *Join the Crime reading group in Uppsala or Göteborg /

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Nov 2022

A queen of punk before her time. A duo on the brink of stardom. A night that will define their story for ever. New York city in the 70s. Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, a Black punk artist before her time. Despite her unconventional looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her one night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together. Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022. 

Noir Book of the Month – Nov 2022

”When a book begins with a dead horse, you know it's going to be good.” A sucker punch noir that is also a powerful and haunting allegory of work, debt, and power. Revelling in its con-artistry and double-crosses, Just Thieves is a nail-biting, noir-ish exploration of the working lives of two unforgettable crooks and the hidden forces that rule and ruin their lives. ”A deep dive into the motivations that propel all of us, thieves and otherwise – family, loyalty, and most of all love. Great fun and profoundly sad at once, which is no mean trick.”

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Oct 2022

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him – and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church. Shortlisted for the 2022 Man Booker Prize!

Mystery Book of the Month – Oct 2022

November 1924. The Endeavour sets sail to New York with 2,000 passengers – and a killer – on board. Can you solve the murder before the ship docks and the killer walks free? A clever whodunnit, a golden age murder mystery set on a 1920s cruise liner. It has been described as ”Agatha Christie meets Titanic”. Tom Hindle’s debut novel was inspired by masters of the crime genre from Agatha Christie to Anthony Horowitz, and has been met with rave reviews.

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Sept 2022

A faded list. Nine favourite stories. For two strangers, friendship is only a page away… When Mukesh Patel pops to the local library, he has no idea his life’s about to change. He meets Aleisha, a reluctant librarian and the keeper of a curious reading list – just a scrappy piece of paper with the names of 9 stories. It doesn’t seem anything special. Yet something tells her to keep it close… A fresh chance at life, at friendship, wasn’t on the cards for these lonely souls – but every story starts somewhere…

Mystery Book of the Month – Sept 2022

Can you crack the Twyford Code? Edith Twyford was once a world-famous children's author, but now her only legacy is the rumoured existence of the Twyford Code: a series of clues hidden in her books leading to... what? No one knows - but that hasn't stopped the speculation. The Twyford Code hides secrets some would do anything to possess. The race is on to solve the mystery of the century. Could you get there first?  

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – August 2022

In Burntcoat we meet a celebrated sculptor, looking at her life and immense studio from within the first national lockdown in the UK. Her crucible glows, bringing with it memories of her lover. This studio is where she brought Halit, the last person she saw before all the doors were shut. A presence from another culture, a whisper, a doorway into a new and feverish world. ”An electrifying story of passion, connection and transformation from ’a writer of show-stopping genius’” – Guardian.

Noir Book of the Month – August 2022

A small town in outback Australia wakes to an appalling crime. A local schoolteacher is found taped to a tree and stoned to death. Suspicion instantly falls on the refugees at the new detention centre on Cobb’s northern outskirts. Tensions are high, between whites and the local indigenous community, between immigrants and the townies, and Detective Sergeant George Manolis returns to his childhood hometown to investigate.
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