The Rapture, Claire McGlasson ( paperback March 2021)
£8.99
Miss Dilys Barltrop is a devoted member of The Panacea Society, a cult populated almost entirely by virtuous single women. When she strikes up a friendship with Grace - a new recruit - God finally seems to be smiling upon her. But Dilys is wary of her leader's zealotry, and fearful of those who watch her every move, hoping for a sign of the deep and terrible failings she struggles to keep hidden.
Faith is supplanted by doubt, and as both women come to question what is true and fear what is real, Dilys will have to learn the true cost of absolute devotion...
This has the feel of a Handmaid's Tale, it seems genteel but there is a chilly and steely core, a clever debut ( Linda)
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The Weight of Love, Hilary Fannin ( paperback, March 2021)
£8.99
Robin and Ruth meet in the staff room of an East London school.
Robin, desperate for a real connection, instantly falls in love. Ruth, recently bereaved and fragile, is tentative. When Robin introduces Ruth to his childhood friend, Joseph, a tortured and talented artist, their attraction is instant.
Powerless, Robin watches on as the girl he loves and his best friend begin a passionate and turbulent affair. Dublin 2017. Robin and Ruth are married and have a son, Sid, who is about to emigrate to Berlin.
Theirs is a marriage haunted by the ghost of Joseph and as the distance between them grows, Robin makes a choice that could have potentially devastating consequences. The Weight of Love is a beautiful exploration of how we manage life when the notes and beats of our existence, so carefully arranged, begin to slip off the stave. An intimate and moving account of the intricacies of marriage and the myriad ways in which we can love and be loved.
'Delicate, powerful, hypnotic' DONAL RYAN'
Fannin's novel is already likely to be a serious contender for one of the books of the year' SUNDAY TIMES
Here Is The Beehive, Sarah Crossan ( paperback July 2021)
£8.99
What would you do if you lost someone the world never knew was yours? For three years, Ana has been consumed by an affair with Connor, a client at her law firm. Their love has been consigned to hotel rooms and dark corners of pubs, their relationship kept hidden from the world. So the morning that Ana's company receives a call to say that Connor is dead, her secret grief has nowhere to go.
Desperate for an outlet, Ana seeks out the shadowy figure who has always stood just beyond her reach - Connor's wife Rebecca...
'Utterly gripping' RODDY DOYLE'
One of Paul and I's favourites - really engrossing read - Linda
Yours Cheerfully, AJ Pearce ( hardback, July 2021)
£14.99
From the author of Sunday Times Bestseller, Dear Mrs Bird, comes a much hoped-for follow up. Charming, hilarious and inspiring, Yours Cheerfully is just the tonic we've all been waiting for. '
'Full of wit, friendship and the uplifting knowledge that when people come together, great changes can be made' - Katie Fforde
London, September, 1941.
Following the departure of the formidable Editor, Henrietta Bird, from Woman's Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles is blossoming, while Emmy's best friend Bunty, is still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, but bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It.
When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain's women's magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty, and standing by her friends. Every bit as funny, touching and cheering as AJ Pearce's debut, Dear Mrs Bird, Yours Cheerfully is a celebration of friendship, a testament to the strength of women and the importance of lifting each other up, even in the most challenging times.
Pure Gold, John Patrick McHugh ( hardback, June 24th 2021)
£12.99
'Ireland produces writers the way some countries produce footballers, and the latest is John Patrick McHugh' Sunday Times 'One of the most exciting writers working in Ireland today' SALLY ROONEY, author of Normal People
You had to scrap for love. In this stunning debut short story collection exploring betrayal and longing on an imagined island off the west coast of Ireland, John Patrick McHugh takes us deep into a community of individuals who are lost, yearning, and self-deceiving.
We see two boys set fires while their worlds fall apart, follow a couple driving out to the hills in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, watch a widow seek a stranger's help to bury her grief, see a horse crash a house party. Whether falling in love or turning on one another the residents here are united by a quest for connection in the treacherous waters of small-town boredom. In stories that are bitterly funny, profoundly moving and crackling with wild energy, McHugh embeds us in the fragile moments on which a life can twist and turn.
Pure Gold heralds the arrival of a thrilling new literary voice.
