Such a Fun Age ( paperback 29 Dec 2020) by Kiley Reid
£9.99
When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for 'kidnapping' the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix's desire to help.
When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know - about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.
'Essential. This year's hit debut' Guardian'
'A biting tale of race and class' Sunday Times
This would be a great bookclub pick, there are characters to love, hate, dissect and a timeless and prescient theme of bias and racism.
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The Demon of Unrest : Abraham Lincoln & America’s Road to Civil War, by Erik Larson ( paperback May 2025)
£12.99
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them.
Slavery fuelled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter – a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were ‘so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them’.
Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink – a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.
Shark Heart, Emily Habeck ( paperback June 2024)
£10.99
For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He's turning into a great white shark, and has less than a year left to live as a human.
At first, Wren resists her husband's fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis fully transforms?But as Lewis changes, day by day, Wren begins to make peace with the inevitable. After all, this isn't the first time she's lost a loved one.
An extraordinary novel of love, loss, hope and happiness, Shark Heart explores the shapes that love takes, in all its many forms, and asks us to ask ourselves: what makes us human?
'Every page bursts with heart' Anthony Doerr, author of All The Light We Cannot See'Compelling, moving, lyrical' - Claire North, author of Ithaca
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler ( hardback Feb 2025)
£14.99
It's the day before her daughter's wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job - or quits, depending who you ask.
Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn't even have a suit. Instead, he's brought memories, a shared sense of humour - and a cat looking for a new home.
Just as Gail is wondering what's next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret... As the big day dawns, the exes just can't agree on what's best for Debbie. Gail is seriously worried, while Max seems more concerned with whether to opt for the salmon or prime rib at the reception, if they make it that far.
The day after the wedding, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again. But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because 'happy' takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.
'Razor sharp on family, love and marriage' DAVID NICHOLLS
The Peacock and the Sparrow, IS Berry ( paperback Oct 2024)
£9.99
WINNER OF THE 2024 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
WINNER OF THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL - WINNER OF THE 2024 BARRY BEST FIRST MYSTERY OR CRIME NOVEL AWARD - WINNER OF THE 2024 MACAVITY BEST FIRST MYSTERY AWARD
‘Gritty, propulsive, dark and twisty’ David McCloskey, author of Damascus Station
‘It’s fantastic, I loved it’ Steve Cavanagh, author of Thirteen
‘..the most impressive debut of the year to date and a spy novel to rank alongside the best of Mick Herron’s Slough House series.’ The Irish Times
‘Sensational…feels like every inch of the real world of espionage’ Alex Gerlis, author of Every Spy a Traitor
‘I.S. Berry is at the vanguard of a new generation of American spy novelists who have electrified the genre.’ Charles Cumming, author of Judas 62
The thrilling debut from author and former CIA officer I.S. Berry, following an American spy’s last dangerous mission.
Shane Collins, a world-weary CIA spy, is ready to come in from the cold. Stationed in Bahrain for his final tour, he’s anxious to dispense with his mission — uncovering Iranian support for the insurgency. But then he meets Almaisa, an enigmatic artist, and his eyes are opened to a side of Bahrain most expats never experience, to questions he never thought to ask.
When his trusted informant becomes embroiled in a murder, Collins finds himself drawn deep into the conflict, his romance and loyalties upended. In an instant, he’s caught in the crosswinds of a revolution. He sets out to learn the truth behind the Arab Spring, win Almaisa’s love, and uncover the murky border where Bahrain’s secrets end and America’s begin.
