Blue Moon, by Lee Child
A new title from one of Suffolk readers’ favourite authors. We’ve ordered lots of copies to meet demand.
“In a nameless city, two ruthless rival criminal gangs, one Albanian, the other Ukrainian, are competing for control. But they hadn’t counted on Jack Reacher arriving on their patch.
“Reacher is trained to notice things. He’s on a Greyhound bus, watching an elderly man sleeping in his seat, with a fat envelope of cash hanging out of his pocket. Another passenger is watching too - obviously hoping to get rich quick. As the mugger makes his move, Reacher steps in. The old man is grateful, yet he turns down Reacher’s offer to help him home. He’s vulnerable, scared, and clearly in big, big trouble. What hold could the gangs possibly have on the old guy? Will Reacher sit back and let bad things happen? Or can he twist the situation to everyone’s benefit?”
The Lying Room, by Nicci French
Another huge Suffolk favourite. Get your reservation in now!
“A trusted colleague and friend. A mother. A wife. Neve Connolly is all these things. She has also made mistakes; some small, some unconsciously done, some large, some deliberate. She is only human, after all.
“But now one mistake is spiralling out of control and Neve is bringing those around her into immense danger. She can’t tell the truth. So how far is she prepared to go to protect those she loves. And who does she really know? And who can she trust?
“A liar. A cheat. A threat. Neve Connolly is all these things. Could she be a murderer?”
Grand Union, by Zadie Smith
The first ever collection of short stories from Zadie Smith includes one set in a dystopian Felixstowe.
Agent Running in the Field, by John Le Carré
“Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie.
“Nat is not only a spy, he is a passionate badminton player. His regular Monday evening opponent is half his age: the introspective and solitary Ed. Ed hates Brexit, hates Trump and hates his job at some soulless media agency. And it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Prue, Florence and Nat himself down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all.”
The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
Jojo Moyes is known to many readers for contemporary bestsellers like Me Before You, but she started out writing historical books so this is a return rather than a change of direction.
“England, late 1930s, and Alice Wright - restless, stifled - makes an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett van Cleve and leave her home and family behind. But stuffy, disapproving Baileyville, Kentucky, where her husband favours work over his wife, and is dominated by his overbearing father, is not the adventure - or the escape - that she hoped for. That is, until she meets Margery O’Hare - daughter of a notorious felon and a troublesome woman the town wishes to forget. Margery’s on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost - and she needs Alice’s help.
“Trekking alone under big open skies, through wild mountain forests, Alice, Margery and their fellow sisters of the trail discover freedom, friendship - and a life to call their own.”
Cilka’s Journey, by Heather Morris
The sequel to the bestselling The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the story of Cilka, a beautiful young woman who survived Auschwitz only to be charged as a collaborator after the war.
These Our Monsters: the English Heritage Book of New Folktale, Myth and Legend, by various authors
“From the legends of King Arthur embedded in the rocky splendour of Tintagel to the folklore and mysticism of Stonehenge, English Heritage sites are often closely linked to native English myths. Following on from the bestselling ghost story anthology Eight Ghosts, this is a new collection of stories inspired by the legends and tales that swirl through the history of eight different English Heritage sites. New legends for modern times; sprung from our ancient lands, stories and stones.”
Includes a story by Edward Carey inspired by Bury St Edmunds Abbey.
The Benefit of Hindsight, by Susan Hill
Tenth in the Simon Serailler series. Recovering from the violent incident that cost him his arm, Serrailler makes a serious error of judgement.
A Body in the Bookshop, by Helen Cox
Helen Cox returns with her York-based stories of a crime solving librarian.
“Librarian Kitt Hartley thought her life had gone back to normal after the shocking events of Murder by the Minster. Then her friend Evie Bowes breaks some bad news: DS Charlotte Banks has been suspended from duty, on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in a string of antique bookshop robberies.
“Evie wants justice for Charlotte who she is sure was not the attacker, and how could any self-respecting librarian turn down the chance to find missing rare books? The two friends team up once again to investigate the rarefied world of York’s bookshops and antiques dealers and find out just who has framed their friend. But Kitt and Evie will soon learn that there are some books people will kill for - will this story have a happy ending?”
The Sun Sister, by Lucinda Riley
Sixth in the Seven Sisters series, which tells the stories of the sisters adopted as babies by the reclusive billionaire Pa Salt.
“Electra D’Aplièse seems to be the woman with everything. Yet beneath the veneer, her already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe. Struggling to cope, she turns to alcohol and drugs to ease the pain, and as those around her fear for her health, Electra receives a letter from a stranger who claims to be her grandmother.
“In 1939, Cecily Huntley-Morgan arrives in Kenya from New York to nurse a broken heart. Staying with her godmother on the shores of Lake Naivasha, she meets Bill Forsythe. When disaster strikes and war is imminent, Cecily decides she has no choice but to accept Bill’s proposal. Moving up into the Wanjohi Valley, and with Bill away, Cecily finds herself isolated and alone. Until she discovers a newborn baby abandoned in the woods next to her farmhouse.”
The Secret of Cold Hill, by Peter James
Sequel to The House on Cold Hill.
“Cold Hill House has been razed to the ground by fire, replaced with a development of ultra-modern homes. Gone with the flames are the violent memories of the house’s history, and a new era has begun. Although much of Cold Hill Park is still a construction site, the first two families move into their new houses. For Jason and Emily Danes, this is their forever home, and for Maurice and Claudette Penze-Weedell, it’s the perfect place to live out retirement.
“Despite the ever present rumble of cement mixers and diggers, Cold Hill Park appears to be the ideal place to live. But looks are deceptive and it’s only a matter of days before both couples start to feel they are not alone in their new homes.”
Sword of Kings, by Bernard Cornwell
The Last Kingdom Series reaches the twelfth book and is now a Netflix series.
Starve Acre, by Andrew Michael Hurley
Third novel from the author of The Loney
“The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Starve Acre, their house by the moors, was to be full of life, but is now a haunted place.
“Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, to try and keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirt in search of a legendary oak tree.”
Akin, by Emma Donoghue
“Noah is only days away from his first trip back to Nice since he was a child when a social worker calls looking for a temporary home for Michael, his eleven-year-old great-nephew. Though he has never met the boy, he gets talked into taking him along to France.
“This odd couple, suffering from jet lag and culture shock, argue about everything from steak haché to screen time, and the trip is looking like a disaster. But as Michael’s ease with tech and sharp eye help Noah unearth troubling details about their family’s past, both of them come to grasp the risks that people in all eras have run for their loved ones, and find they are more akin than they knew.”
Find Me, by André Aciman
“In this exploration of the varieties of love, the author of Call Me by Your Name lets us back into his characters’ lives years after their first meeting.
“In Find Me, Aciman shows us Elio’s father, Samuel, on a trip from Florence to Rome to visit Elio, now a gifted classical pianist. A chance encounter on the train upends Sami’s visit and changes his life forever. Elio soon moves to Paris, where he, too, has a consequential affair, while Oliver, a New England college professor with a family, suddenly finds himself contemplating a return trip across the Atlantic.”
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo
First fantasy book for adults from YA superstar Leigh Bardugo, author of the Grisha trilogy.
“Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age 20, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
“Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies, well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than she ever imagined.”
Imaginary Friend, by Stephen Chbosky
First novel from Chbosky since his debut The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999). This one is a horror/suspense reminiscent of Stephen King.
“Kate Reese is a single mother fleeing an abusive relationship by starting over in a new town, with her young son Christopher. But Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, is not the safe place they thought it would be. Their world begins to unravel after Christopher vanishes into the Mission Street Woods - where 50 years earlier an eerily similar disappearance occurred.
“When he emerges six days later, unharmed but not unchanged, he brings with him a secret: a voice only he can hear and a warning of tragedy to come. What follows is a moving, thrilling, chilling modern masterpiece - a work of towering imagination and emotional depth which unfolds on an epic canvas.”
Through the Wall, by Caroline Corcoran
A Suffolk Loves choice for October.
“Lexie loves her home. She feels safe and secure in it - and loved, thanks to her boyfriend Tom. But recently, something’s not been quite right. A book out of place. A wardrobe door left open. A set of keys going missing.
“Tom thinks Lexie’s going mad - but then, he’s away more often than he’s at home nowadays, so he wouldn’t understand. Because Lexie isn’t losing it. She knows there’s someone out there watching her. And, deep down, she knows there’s nothing she can do to make them stop.”
Bad Seed, by Jessica Eames
Debut psychological suspense novel based on the news that an increasing number of people are undergoing DNA testing to discover their heritage.
“Sarah’s world has descended into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to find out the truth of what happened, and make sure the guilty are brought to justice. She is haunted by her dad’s death, consumed by her grief and the memories of a cruel day that changed her life forever - she doesn’t even know who she is anymore. But the future holds some hope for Sarah, as she tries to move forward.
“Nicola’s future is not looking so hopeful. Since her husband died, the secret she’s been keeping from her family - especially her daughter, Sarah - is eating away at her. The past is catching up with her, and the consequences will be devastating.”
Impossible Causes, by Julie Mayhew
Another YA writer crossing into writing for adults.
“The arrival of three strangers on Lark, a remote island with a population of 300, is the cause of much speculation. The first, a young teacher - the only male teacher on the island - the other two, a mother and her teenage daughter. What have they come to escape? And what will they find waiting for them in Lark?
“In Julie Mayhew’s mesmerising and compelling thriller, an isolated and deeply religious island with a history of paganism is riven when a man is found dead in a stone circle. As rumours spread and tensions rise, three Lark teenage girls and the new arrival from the mainland find themselves accused of witchcraft - and murder.”