Summer is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean the time for summer reading is over – there’s still plenty of time to enjoy a book in the sun. So let’s see what amazing stories are coming out this august!
1. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
Twenty years after a baby is stolen from her push-chair, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth. Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning up mess and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.
If you know Alice Feeney already, you’ll know she’s the Queen of not just the twist ending, but the twists at the start and the middle too! This story is full of misdirection and lies, complicated plots that seem unreal but begin to fit together in the most unexpected of ways. A perfect summer thriller with amazing characters and some real heart at times.
2. A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart
Nadine Walsh is determined to make her summer garden party the event of the year. As she prepares to welcome her guests, however, Nadine can’t help but be distracted. Her husband is of little help to her. Her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns. But it’s Nadine’s own secrets that threaten to destroy her perfect party. By the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement. How did it come to this? And how far will Nadine go to keep her secrets buried?
Apparently this month is just full of amazing crime thrillers because here’s another for you – along with an amazing line-blurring antihero, a locked room style mystery that takes place in one night, and absolutely stunning scenery of opulence and luxury. This is a gripping slow-burn thriller but one that also has a loud message about the unpaid labour of women.
3. Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
Julia is the detective heading up the case of a 22 year old woman who entered a dead-end alley and was never seen again. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But Julia has no idea how close to home it’s going to get.
Because there’s a man out there. And his weapon isn’t a gun, or a knife: it’s a secret. Her worst one. He tells her that her family’s safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia – and must frame somebody else for her murder . . .
Okay, just one more thriller because this was so good. It’s a police procedural with cinematic twists and turns, moral questions and a lot of action. It’s absolutely full of secrets, lies and hidden skeletons that are waiting to come out and the ending was absolutely explosive. Julia is one of the best protagonists I’ve read this year, she’s complex and somewhere between good and bad but so relatable and easy to root for.
4. Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomon
The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love. Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life. Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo’s gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet’s reputation at stake, but her life.
This is an absolutely beautiful reimagining of the most famous tragic tale in literature, giving a voice to a silenced character in a subversive, fierce retelling full of sisterhood, revenge and of course, tragedy. It’s dark and poetic with vivid descriptions and truly captures the horrifying aura of the original with a unique spin.
5. No Worries if Not! by Lucy Nichols
Charlotte Thomas is polite to a fault. She can’t turn down a second date with the most boring man she’s ever met, apologizes when someone bumps into her, and ends every email with No Worries if Not. So after deciding she wasn’t going to apologize anymore, a clip of her flipping out at a manspreader on the train goes viral and she finds herself accidentally famous overnight. But the man was actually really nice about … and really handsome too. Would this be the right time to say sorry, or is it too late?
This story is an absolute riot – painfully relatable and witty, capturing the frustrating way women have been conditioned to never take up space and make themselves smaller for the sake of male ego. Charlotte was a hot mess in the best way, and I loved that the silly, playful romance didn’t outshine her amazing journey through this strange period in her life.
Happy Reading!
[Note: Estimated release dates are for UK/EU versions. All recommendations are based on advanced reviewers copies gifted to the author as a PR product]
Photo by Bethany Laird on Unsplash
