With her second book, Hazel Hayes has proven that her first hit was no fluke and cemented herself as a beautifully poetic writer with the skill to cut to the centre of her characters' emotions. And while it might feel at first glance that her second story might be retreading the path of her first, it is soon revealed that this time, she is going far, far deeper. 

With her latest novel, Philippa East has cemented herself as a master of the domestic, character-driven thriller. With a plot that keeps the reader guessing, “A Guilty Secret” is another wonderful exploration of what happens when our traumas catch up with us. 

The Guest List is a book that didn’t grab me at first. In fact, for the first few chapters, I thought I was in for an excruciating read. But once the character introductions are out of the way, Foley gives us a fast-paced web of a story that is almost impossible to put down.

Is Monogamy Dead? is a bit of a strange creature. But anyone who believes in questioning the status quo or feels they haven't managed to work out what they want from their relationships could do a lot worse than to pick this up.

I love Kate Atkinson’s work and have done since I first read Life After Life. But Emotionally Weird is a strange creature. I honestly can’t say I enjoyed it, as the plot and characters go nowhere. But if you’re a fan of hers, it’s fascinating to see how the ideas from his book would fuel her later (much better) work.

In my review of Philippa East's previous novel, “Safe and Sound”, I said I thought it was a big improvement on her debut. And I'm happy to say her follow-up, “I'll Never Tell”, proves that this improvement was no fluke by being a fast-paced thriller I could barely put down.

A Perfect Explanation is an obvious passion project for the author, detailing her own family history. But the problem with true stories is they often lack the narrative and characters that make fiction engaging, and the problem with family history is that it is rarely interesting outside of your own family. And by honouring the truth, Anstruther's obvious talent is unable to overcome these issues.

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” was recommended to me by a friend as one of those books that you just have to read. And while it’s an engaging story and very well written, I felt something was missing. Something I only figured out once I got to the end.

Queenie is one of those books I picked up because of an undefinable sense that I needed to read it. I didn’t know anything about it or Carty-Williams, other than that a number of people had listed Queenie in their must-read lists over the last couple of years. And boy, reading it was the right choice.