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Dear Little Corpses (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Ten) by Nicola Upson

 

Dear Little Corpses (Josephine Tey Mysteries Book Ten) by Nicola Upson.

Audio book narrated by Sandra Duncan.

Published 19th May 2022 by Faber Books.

From the cover of the book:

It takes a village to bury a child.

1 September, 1939.

As the mass evacuation takes place across Britain, thousands of children leave London for the countryside, but when a little girl vanishes without trace, the reality of separation becomes more desperate and more deadly for those who love her.

In the chaos and uncertainty of war, Josephine struggles with the prospect of change. As a cloud of suspicion falls across the small Suffolk village she has come to love, the conflict becomes personal, and events take a dark and sinister turn.

***********

Josephine Tey is on a visit to her cottage in Polstead, Suffolk, for some time with her lover Marta before they are parted once more - Josephine heading back to Scotland and Marta to glamorous Hollywood to work on an adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca with Alfred Hitchcock. But this is not exactly the romantic sojourn they both envisaged.

The late summer of 1939 finds Britain on the brink of war and the country holds its breath for the announcement from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that will confirm their worst fears - that the Great War to end all wars was nothing of the kind. A massive logistical undertaking to evacuate children from London to the relative safety of the countryside has begun, but despite all the forward planning, ferrying a mass of youngsters about the country is proving to be mayhem. 

When far more children arrive in Polstead than anticipated, Josephine and Marta cannot refuse to help. They take in a young London lad called Noah, who is distraught after being split up from his younger sister Betty, who is lodging with the very peculiar Herron family nearby. Noah seems to be hiding something too...

On the eve of the village fete, a young girl goes missing. Suspicion lies thick in the air, and some are pointing fingers at the Herron family. It's down to Scotland Yard DCI Archie Penrose to uncover the truth, despite being absorbed in a case of an unusual stabbing in a stairwell in Hoxton - with the help of Josephine, of course.

I am not actually going to say too much about the plot of this one, because spoilers would be involved, but there is no doubt that the themes of this gem delve into human depravity in a way that is very disturbing, with its focus on the fate of small children - as so spectacularly chillingly put in its title. However, as is her forte, Nicola weaves time and place so beautifully into her setting at this very moment in 1939, that I can forgive her for making this, in my opinion, one of the darkest of all the books in this marvellous series.

Suspicion, rumour, guilt, complicity, lost innocence, and twisted notions of protection dominate, and the way Nicola juxtaposes these with love, care, and generosity of spirit is sublime. The fear of change is so poignantly portrayed too, particularly when it comes to Josephine's personal life. Nicola is at the very top of her game in misleading and misdirecting as the search for a missing child throws up far too many suspects for comfort... until the terrible truth clobbers you like a punch to the gut in the final, twist by twist, swathes of the novel. This one hits hard, and I defy you not to weep, like dear old Archie, when the truth is revealed.

Not satisfied with having one crime writer on board in this instalment, I am delighted that Golden Age Queens Tey and Margery Allingham (author of the Albert Campion books) come together in a very enjoyable double-act. They hit it off instantly at the village fete, and their close examination of splendid agricultural produce, closely fought cake tasting, and fancy-dress judging, adds a nice touch of humour to the proceedings before everything goes awry. Lovely that Archie's romantic prospects take a turn in this one as well, with a little twist related to book seven, Nine Lessons. 

My revisit to Dear Little Corpses was via the splendid audio book narrated by Sandra Duncan, of course, whose dulcet tones I am addicted to by now. I am very much looking forward to listening to her in Shot With Crimson next, in my build up to the brand new Tey book, The Voices of the Dead!

Dear Little Corpses is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Nicola Upson's debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels whose main character is Josephine Tey, who - along with Agatha Christie - was one of the masters of Britain's Golden Age of crime writing. She was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nine Lessons and longlisted in 2021 for The Dead of Winter.

Roman Mornings by Matson Taylor

 

Roman Mornings by Matson Taylor.

Published 2nd July 2026 by Scribner.

From the cover of the book:

1952, Trastevere, Rome. An idyllic maze crammed full of narrow streets and eccentric characters. A young English woman, Clementine Severs, arrives armed with a teaching certificate and enough idealism to fill a host of Grecian urns.

By 1976, she finds herself wilting, her youthful dreams squashed by time and tide. A chance encounter between an angel and a speeding mint green Vespa brings her into contact with a troubled young carpenter called Montgomery Marsh. Clemmie and Monty forge an unlikely friendship that takes them on a magical ride through the Eternal City in search of fresh hope and a new way of living.

Fun, spirited and full of heart, Roman Mornings, like the city of Rome itself, is a novel of mysterious beauty that you will want to revisit time and time again.

***********

London, 1952. Clementine (Clemmie) Severs, newly qualified teacher from Harrogate, is bringing the delights of English literature to the young minds of North London - but she dreams of much more. Taking the plunge, she heads for Trastevere, Rome, where she hopes to indulge her passion for Keats, and become a fully-fledged writer.

Rome, 1976. Twenty-four years later, Clemmie's dreams seem like youthful fancy. Although living with her charismatic, much-married friend Floss and the splendid cat Octavian is never dull, the drudgery of her job translating less than exciting technical journals into English and the lack of romance in her life are bringing her down.

In an attempt to brighten Clemmie's outlook, the irrepressible Floss gifts her a mint-green Vespa, and instructs her to throw caution to the wind, but her maiden voyage ends in disaster when she runs down Monty Marsh, a young chippy whose eyes have been opened by the delights of Rome. It is a moment that will change all their lives for ever...

With character-led gorgeousness that brings all the wonder of the eternal City alive, and a delightful side-order of magical realism, Matson's delicious third novel, Roman Mornings, is a tonic for the soul.

The story centres around the sun-washed Piazza della Scala, where Clemmie and Floss abide, in a three storey house where history has seeped into its pores - and where Octavian rules in fluffy hauter. Into their lives comes Monty, in need of a place to stay and convalesce, via the serendipitous Vespa incident and some very unusual happenings amongst Rome's stately statuary (you have to be there).

Monty's arrival sets in motion a meandering tale filled with glorious characters, including the fabulous nuns Sisters Geraldine and Tomasina; all manner of Roman bit players; a naked German - and later down the line, the lovely Bob, on his odyssey through Europe in his converted Mr Whippy van. Everything comes together in an unconventional whole that celebrates the life-affirming highs and lows of their past, present, and futures, guided by the interventions of said statuary... and the prodding of Octavian's sage words in Monty's receptive ears.

Have the tissues handy, because Matson fills this novel with emotionally stirring moments, and he spares nothing in delving into heartbreak and revelations that tell of shocking history. But this is not a sad book by any means, the spark that grows between this little band of friends envelopes you in a big warm hug made up of gentle humour, second chances, slow-burn love stories, found family, hope, and healing. 

Matson shows a different, more mature, side to his writing from his previous books about Evie Epworth in this novel, and I was here for it all. Keep those tissues nearby for the epilogue, too... I sobbed. Wonderful stuff!

Roman Mornings is available to but now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Scribner form sending me a review copy of this book.

About the author:

Matson Taylor is the author of two best-selling novels. He is also a design historian and has worked at museums in London and Rome. Roman Mornings is his third novel.

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (2026)

 

Sleeping Murder (Miss Marple) by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 13th October 2022 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

A strange house...

A ghost from the past...

As soon as she moves into Hillside, Gwenda knows there’s something strange about this house.

A sealed room. A hidden door. The apparition of a young woman being strangled.

But strangest of all – this all seems quite familiar.

As her friend Jane Marple investigates, the answer seems to lie in a crime committed nearly twenty years ago.

The killer may have gotten away with murder. But Miss Marple is never far behind.

Never underestimate Miss Marple...

***********

Newly-weds Gwenda and Giles Reed met in New Zealand, where Gwenda was brought up. They decide to settle down to married life in Giles' homeland, so Gwenda heads to England first to find a home. Her search uncovers nothing of interest, until she discovers a house called Hillside in Dillmouth, Devon, and knows in her bones that this is what she has been looking for.

Gwenda sets to work organising improvements to Hillside in preparation for Giles' arrival. Right from the start, there are things about the house that feel familiar, even though she is sure she has never been in England before. She is at a loss to explain how she knows the pattern on the wallpaper that used to hang in the nursery, that there used to be connecting doors between the sitting room and the dining room, and that the steps in the garden seem to be in the 'wrong place' - but most worryingly of all, she is concerned about the vision of a young woman called 'Helen' lying strangled at the bottom of the stairs that haunts her.

Gwenda begins to feel she is losing her mind, but then she meets Miss Marple, and is reassured by the old lady's belief that the answers might lie in very real events that took place during Gwenda's childhood. Despite Miss Marple's advice to let 'sleeping murder' lie, Gwenda and Giles are determined to find out the truth. Miss Marple has no option but to become part of the investigation - especially since she seems to be the only one who can see that delving into the past could be very dangerous indeed...

The story begins with Gwenda's uncanny experiences at Hillside, and develops into a double-sided investigation. On one side, Gwenda and Giles track down leads about the mysterious 'Helen' with the gusto of youth (guided by Miss Marple's often cryptic advice); and on the other, Miss Marple engages in her more canny sleuthing in her characteristic guise of harmless old biddy. The clues begin to emerge slowly as the trio find out more about Helen, and Christie devises some lovely red herrings to keep you off the scent of who may, or may not, be guilty of causing her demise, by providing a set of very plausible suspects among the men in Helen's life nearly twenty years ago.

Christie delves nicely into murky memories of the past in this tale, hinging the plot on snippets of hearsay, and differing opinions of the murdered woman. She threads recurring themes of unhappy relationships, and mental instability hidden beneath outwardly respectable facades, through the story - and I love the way she contrasts the trusting tendencies of Gwenda and Giles with Miss Marple's hard-learned cynicism. Miss Marple's razor sharp ability to spot inconsistencies, half truths, and deliberate attempts to pervert the truth are key, and she saves the day most delightfully at the climax of  the story! Go Miss Marple!

“It's very dangerous to believe people, I haven't for years.” Miss Marple

This ambles along very enjoyably through clever twists and turns. I always love that the final flourish takes place in a location I know very well too - on the terrace of the Imperial Hotel in Torquay!

Sleeping Murder is my October choice for #ReadChristie2026 as one of her Best Cold Cases, and this year marks 50 years since it was published too! I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting it via the excellent audio book narrated by Stephanie Cole - whose dulcet tones work nicely as Miss Marple. 

Sleeping Murder is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen (Paperback Release)

 

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen.

Translated by David Hackston.

Published in paperback 24th September 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Sofas, secrets and a snowbound road to trouble…

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he's desperate.

A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.

With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.

That's when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special.

And that's when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…

A darkly funny and unexpectedly moving thriller about friendship, love and death – The Winter Job tears through the frozen landscape of northern Finland in a beat-up van with bad steering, worse timing, and everything to lose…

***********

Helsinki, 1982. Postal worker, Ilmari Nieminen has a problem: he has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but the financial demands of his recent divorce mean the coffers are bare. With only a few days to go until Christmas Eve, he is determined not to let her down, but how is he to lay his hands on the money he needs at such short notice? Then the perfect opportunity come his way when he lands a job transporting an antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.

With the sofa secured in the back of an old van, and plans to take in a couple of stops on the way to deal with unfinished business, Ilmari sets off into an increasingly heavy snow storm. Stopping off at a petrol station for assistance with his broken windscreen wipers, he meets up with childhood friend Antero, who fixes the problem in exchange for a lift.

As the pair head north, they notice that they are not alone. A mysterious green Saab 96, and an almost luminous yellow Lada seem to be in hot pursuit... and when they inspect the contents of the van, they realise that this is no ordinary sofa, and no ordinary job.

How I love an Antti Tuomainen book, and this brand new gem was an absolute festive delight. The story follows the progress of Ilmari and Antero's deliciously absurd road trip to Finalnd's icy north, cutting back and forth from their slow-burn, buddy story to the darkly comic agendas of their pursuers - a misfit pair of communist revolutionaries (one of whom is obsessed with the soap opera Dallas), and a violent outlaw with major anger issues.

Along the way, there are oodles of thrills, spills, and hilarious cock-ups as the assassins on their trail do their very best to wrest the precious sofa from Ilmari, against a cracking (mostly) 1980's soundtrack, and Antero proves his worth in his role as 'shotgun' (quite literally on occasion). Pitch black humour Tuomainen style is the order of the day, which gave me lots of chuckles, and the story is flooded with lovely themes about friendship and loneliness that strum mercilessly on your heartstrings in the way he does so well. Have the tissues handy for the touching moments, because you will need them.

David Hackston does a wonderful job translating this novel, as anticipated, and he pulls an absolute blinder when it comes to the choice words and phrases he uses to hit Tuomainen's farcical mark - particularly when it comes to the opening lines of the chapters about Otto, the wrathful outlaw, which are a riot!

Quintessential Tuomainen madness with a heartfelt core of pure gold, and with the magic of Christmas too. Perfection!

**Review originally published November 2025.

The Winter Job is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can also support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a review copy of this book, and Random Things Tours for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller and has been released as a TV series, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox and The Beaver Theory, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

About the translator:

David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories. In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. Follow David on Twitter @Countertenorist

The Marchesa by Sarah Dunant

 

The Marchesa by Sarah Dunant.

Published in paperback 7th October 2026 by Ravenna Press.

From the cover of the book:

From the acclaimed author of The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan comes a vibrant exploration of the Italian Renaissance through the character of Isabella d'Este, the first female art collector and patron of her time. Her famed collection has long since dispersed or been lost, but what remains is her correspondence - thousands of letters preserved in a deconsecrated church and convent in the archive of Mantua.

'For the longest time after my death, those who claimed an interest in history showed little interest in me. Or indeed women like me. Nor did they seem to care much about the wonder of our city states: Mantua, Ferrara, Urbino. We may never have been as grand or powerful as Venice or Rome or Florence but our great age - this thing that is now so valued and trumpeted as the Renaissance - would have been a much lesser affair without us.'

The Marchesa is Renaissance history at its most vivid, an immersive, multi-layered experience that mixes historical fiction with biography, scholarship and imagery, of both the people and the time. It is also a meditation on our attitude to history itself, challenging how far we can set aside our own values and certainties when it comes to understanding those who grew out of very different cultural soil.

***********

Isabella d'Este was born on 19th May 1474, the daughter of Ferdinand I, the Aragonese King of Naples, and Isabella of Clermont. From a young age it was obvious that her determination and intelligence would suit her perfectly for the kind of life she was born to live, and on her marriage to Francesco II Gonzaga, Marchese of Mantua, in 1490, she needed to draw on both to fulfil her duties as Marchesa.

Sarah Dunant tells Isabella's story in an unconventional way, beginning with the voice of her ghost, which haunts the archive that stores the many letters she wrote and received during her lifetime. As she looks over the shoulders of the latest researcher keen to unravel the secrets of her life, Isabella takes you back in time to the moments each document refers to.

The book splits nicely into sections that cover her life before and after marriage, and the many difficulties she negotiated as Marchesa of Mantua during times of war, pestilence, and the machinations of others, all the way to her death when the Dowager Marchesa. The story unfolds like a sequence of examinations of a journal, divided up by visits to the researcher in the archive, and excerpts from Isabella's letters. This makes for slow and reflective going at first, but gradually Isabella's voice captivates you, immersing you in the trials of marriage, motherhood, and the things expected her. By the time the disreputable Borgias entered the fray, I was hooked!

Isabella offers a fascinating perspective on a time of considerable political turmoil, dominated by powerplays between competing houses; the ambitions of France, Italy and Spain; and the influence of the church - all through the eyes of a wily and resourceful woman. The role of women behind the scenes when it comes to succession and diplomacy is especially interesting; and there is a wealth of detail about fashion, art, sexual politics, and the consequences of sexual impropriety. She was a prodigious collector of art, and a patron of many of the artists whose names have become synonymous with the Renaissance too, and Dunant takes time to go into detail about Isabella's passion to acquire her collection.

If there is anything I am unsure about here it is Dunant's choice to examine Isabella's story with the addition of a modern, unnamed, female researcher. The segues in the archive do tend to disrupt the flow of the story and introduce a separation between Isabella and the real meat of the novel - particularly when it comes to the impetus that builds up around the antics of the stellar cast of notable figures who make an appearance. However, you do get an intriguing extra dimension this way, which delves into the nature of archival research, and how individual researchers introduce bias. It also gives Isabella an opportunity to comment on episodes from her own life with hindsight. I will leave it to you to decide whether a straight-up historical retelling is your bag, or if a literary side-quest makes things more entertaining.  

This is an incredible journey through a turbulent period of history, starting in slow-burn country and burgeoning into a many-layered portrayal of a remarkable woman. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Isabella d'Este, Marchesa of Mantua. 

The Marchesa is available to buy now.

Thank you to Ravenna Press/Weatherglass Books for sending me a review copy of this book, and to Folk PR for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Sarah Dunant has written twelve novels, four of which have been short-listed for awards, and edited two books of essays. She worked for many years for the BBC in radio and television. She featured as an expert in the BBC2 'Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty' drama-documentary series which broadcast in December 2024. Her most recent five novels, set within the Italian renaissance, weave cutting edge historical scholarship into fiction, have become international bestsellers and have been translated into thirty languages.

 September 2026 Reading Round-Up

I cannot even begin to tell you how busy September has been on the home front, so it is frankly amazing that I managed to fit these ten books in as well (thank goodness for audio books)! There are some absolute crackers here, and you can find your way to my thoughts about each of them by clicking on the pictures below.

Sorry For The Dead by Nicola Upson

Murder At The End Of The World by Akane Araki

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie

Escape To The Turquoise Seas by Carrie Walker

The Dead Of Winter by Nicola Upson

Faculty Of Liars by R.L. Heber

Dead Man's Run by Murray Bailey

Family Friends by Chloe Ashby

The Last Tenant by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

The Treasures by Harriet Evans

October is looking very promising on the book front, and I cannot wait to get started!

The Treasures by Harriet Evans

 

The Treasures by Harriet Evans.

Published in paperback 2nd July 2026 by Penguin.

From the cover of the book:

One golden summer. One missing treasure. And a secret that binds two lives together.

Every year, Alice's father gives her a treasure. Then on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, her final gift vanishes - along with the fragile certainty of her world. Alice runs, towards New York City and away from the memories of that last summer at the orchard where she grew up.

Across the Atlantic, Tom has always felt that something is missing from his life. When he finds a long-forgotten letter, it leads him away from Sevenstones – the house at the heart of his family for generations – and towards a truth no one has ever fully told.

From post-war London to 1960s New York, Alice and Tom's stories become entwined. But will the secrets of their past bring them together, or break them apart?

***********

Every year Alice's father gives her a special gift on her birthday, after taking her for their traditional ice cream treat. Until the year she turns sixteen, when tragedy strikes, and Alice is unable to find her new treasure from the vague clues he gave her. Life is never the same after this moment, and eventually Alice escapes to New York City, leaving behind the painful memories of home and planning never to return.

In England, Tom's life is turned upside-down when he is taken from his father, and sent to live with his aunt and uncle in London. He has always felt something did not ring true about the story he has been told of his late mother. When his aunt leaves him a letter about what happened during the war at Sevenstones, the family estate, the revelation it contains send him to New York for answers.

Then, the two meet in New York, a city of great contradictions, as the Summer of Love boils over with anti-war protests, and their stories become entwined...

Beginning with a poignant prologue set in 2024, when Sevenstones is up for sale, this weaving epic is the opening instalment of a new family saga about the people connected with the house, and the treasures that found their way there.

The first part of the story follows Alice's upbringing in Orchard, Hudson Valley, where her parents are the custodians of and orchard owned by famous author Wilder Kynaston - until her father's death throws her life into disarray. Unable to find the final treasure he left her, Alice does her best to follow his mysterious clues about a place called Sevenstones and the advice to get to know Walder's eccentric and reclusive sister Teddy. But eventually, she is forced to flee her home, when a situation that is becoming increasingly difficult takes a dangerous turn.

The second part follows Tom as he moves from Scotland to London, and is immersed in a family that he knows little about. Feeling abandoned by his father, he is introduced to a new life, with new rules, and discovers Sevenstones - the place where so much of his family's past is centred. As he grows into a young man, he experiences loss and heartbreak, before heading to New York for the answers he is seeking - and a girl called Alice, who he once spoke to in a hurried phone call, on the day she escaped Orchard.

Then, one fateful day, the two meet in New York. They are drawn together, but there are obstacles to be overcome, questions to be answered in Orchard and at Sevenstones, and many miles more to be travelled in this story.

If you are looking for a fast moving, propulsive story, this is not it, despite the political turmoil and dramas that play out in the background. The excellent audio book, narrated by Emily Barber, was my way into all the attention Harriet gives to character-led loveliness in the story. She submerges you in themes of loss, gut-wrenching personal tragedy, disaffection, and injustice that lead you on to the meeting of its central characters, their search for purpose, and the healing they seek - before hooking you beautifully into the next book in the trilogy with jaw-dropping twists that left me breathless. 

I honestly was not sure what to make of this book at the beginning, but the slow-burn build up to the final compelling swathes of the novel is absolutely worth every meandering moment, when the truth of what happened at Sevenstones during the war comes out. I came to love Alice and Tom, and all the emotional groundwork Harriet puts in to make this a stunning introduction the Sevenstones series. I found myself sobbing as the threads pulled together - especially in relation to Teddy. Keep the tissues handy, you will need them.

 Wonderful stuff! I cannot wait for book two!

The Treasures is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a view copy of this book.

About the author:

Harriet Evans is the author of thirteen bestselling novels, most recently The Beloved Girls, a Richard and Judy Book Club Selection and the Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller The Garden of Lost and Found, which won Good Housekeeping's Book of the Year. She lives in Bath with her family and writes full time, when not distracted by her children, other books, gardening, her jumpsuit collection and star-gazing.

The Last Tenant (Forbidden Iceland Book Six) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

 

The Last Tenant (Forbidden Iceland Book Six) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir.

Translated by Victoria Cribb.

Published 10th September 2026 by Oranda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Trust can be deadly…

When the skeletons of a young woman and a baby are uncovered on a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður, it is clear they were buried years apart. West Iceland CID begins to investigate the disturbing discovery, aware that someone has gone to great lengths to keep the past hidden.

In Akranes, Karitas, a young single mother seeking a new start, settles in with her four-year-old son and rents a basement flat from an eccentric landlord. A cautious sense of happiness returns when she meets the boy next door.

But when news breaks that a local girl has been murdered, Karitas must decide who she can trust, knowing that one wrong choice could place her and her child in danger. Detective Elma is drawn into the case, forced to navigate long-hidden family secrets to understand a killer’s motive, while trying to hold together her increasingly troubled relationship with Sævar.

Dark, atmospheric and rich with psychological suspense, The Last Tenant confirms Eva Björg Ægisdóttir as one of Iceland’s finest crime writers, as a meticulous investigation and a series of unsettling discoveries draw a close-knit community towards a reckoning no one can escape...

***********

Two skeletons are found, buried in at a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður - the remains of a young woman, and a tiny baby. Detective Elma of West Iceland CID is rapidly drawn into the case, which becomes even more complex when it appears that the bodies were buried years apart.

In Akranes, single mother Karitas moves into a basement flat with her four-year-old son Bessi. She is looking forward to new start, and delighted when she begins a tentative relationship with her attractive new neighbour Kristófer. But she cannot shift the feeling that something is not quite right with her eccentric, ever-watchful landlord, Baldvin.

When the news gets out that the body of a local girl has been found, Karitas begins to question who she can trust in Akranes. And, Elma gets drawn into the victim's murky family history, which is full of secrets - while she tries to decide if her own partner, Sævar, is hiding things too...

Eva is back with her sixth darkly delicious book in the addictive Forbidden Iceland series. Told from the perspectives of Elma, Karitas, and Kristófer, with additional narratives carefully dropped in on occasion to set your brain off on scattered directions, this is a twisty delight typical of Eva's Agatha Christie-like style.

When two skeletons are found at a farm that has been abandoned for decades, Detective Elma has a tricky investigation on her hands that leads back to the disappearance of Sólrún, a young medical student from Akranes, who went missing six years ago. Why the remains were found beside a baby's at a location unconnected to Sólrún, but rich in an uncomfortable history all of its own, is a complete mystery - one which will take Elma a lot of digging into the past to solve. And she has her own distracting worries to contend with when Sævar's distance convinces her their relationship is in trouble.

In parallel, Karitas is trying to make the best of the turn of fate that has brought her to Akranes with Bessi, but her hopeful beginning quickly becomes clouded by worries about her strange landlord, and the nagging feeling that she is getting out of her depth with Kristófer - especially when she discovers Sólrún was his girlfriend at the time of her disappearance, and she was linked to Baldvin too.

The threads of this gripping story weave around each other, exploring a wealth of knotty themes around the relationships between mothers and sons, and the presence of monsters within. Eva uses the power of rumour beautifully throughout, manipulating what you think you know, keeping you guessing with more than one likely suspect for the murderer, and shifting your perception with sinuous twists that keep you engaged. There are some nifty elements about DNA evidence that are quite intriguing too. Victoria Cribb's translation flows nicely, as always, which is admirable given the number of complex storylines Eva loves to bring to her novels.

Just a good as I knew it would be, from one of Iceland's best Nordic noir writers. Eva never lets me down!

The Last Tenant is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a review copy of this book.

About the author:

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study her MSc in Globalisation when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland. Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel, The Creak on the Stairs. The book went on to win the CWA Debut Dagger, the Blackbird Award, was shortlisted (twice) for the Capital Crime Readers' Awards, and became a number one bestseller in Iceland. Five more books in the series have followed to date, plus a standalone mystery Home Before Dark.

Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.

Family Friends by Chloe Ashby

 

Family Friends by Chloe Ashby.

Published 9th July 2026 by Fig Tree.

From the cover of the book:

Since they first met at university twenty years ago, Maggie and Will have spent the last two weeks of every summer in France with their close friends, Lydia and Roland. Both families have been looking forward to this cherished annual ritual. But this year things are different.

Will has been hiding something from his wife, and is struggling to keep his deceit from seeping into the cracks in their marriage.

Maggie is worried about their withdrawn teenage son.

Roland is grappling with grief over the death of his first wife.

Lydia is trying to ignore past chemistry with an old friend while learning to play second fiddle to a ghost.

And then, into this conflicted fray steps Issy, Roland’s beguiling, irrepressible daughter from his first marriage.

As the August heat beats down, and the children find new ways to entertain themselves, it starts to feel as if the fault lines in these relationships might widen; that it might be harder to hide secrets here, under the bright sun.

***********

For twenty years, married couple Will and Maggie have spent the last two weeks of summer in France, with their friends Lydia and Roland. The holiday has become a tradition they all look forward to, since their meeting at university, throughout all the changes that have come with marriage and parenthood.

But this summer, things are different. Each of them is struggling with the emotional toll of secrets they are keeping, and the added presence of Roland's daughter, Issy, from his first marriage, is an ingredient that just might set this holiday on fire...

Chloe Ashby's novel is a literary triumph of beautifully portrayed drama between old friends mired in worries about the secrets they are keeping to themselves. The story flips between the present in France, where the two families meet for their traditional holiday, and moments from Lydia, Roland, Will and Maggie's pasts which build up a picture of the complex relationships between them all.

Ashby sets the scene by delving into the thoughts that occupy each of their minds - Lydia's concerns about the distance between her and Roland, the arrival of his sullen daughter, the sale of their holiday home, and the unexpected resurfacing of old passions; Roland's preoccupation with the funeral he has to organise for his late first wife, his guilt over the way their relationship ended when he met Lydia (a former student of his) and the fractured relationship with Issy; Will's whopping secret he has been keeping from Maggie, and how this has enmeshed him in complications; Maggie's worries about her and Will's withdrawn teenage son, Sam; and Issy's conflicting feelings about the turn of events that make her feel like an outsider here.

As the story winds its sinuous way through tension you can cut with a knife, the voices of the four friends and Issy totally immerse you in their troubles, anxieties, and the things they cannot say to each other. When Will is forced to confess his secret to an incredulous Maggie, the dynamic between them all shifts to set in motion as chain of events that affects everyone.

Ashby's writing is stunning, and she really knows how to use a weighty silence to effect. Rarely, have I read a book which brings the experience of characters coming together at a pivotal moment in all their lives so vividly, in a way that gives such attention to the history between them. She sets this against the simmering heat of their location with such skill - using the two to enhance atmosphere and discomfort to perfection. The revelations drop with well-judged precision, and the exploration of many facets of marriage, motherhood, friendship, love, coming of age, guilt, and divided loyalties is so well done.

This is a book that provokes a visceral response. Being immersed in the lives of characters with dilemmas it is not always easy to sympathise with sometimes makes for uncomfortable reading, but I have nothing but praise for the way Ashby pulls this off with such accomplished style. Absolutely compulsive reading.

Highly recommended if you also enjoy Kate Sawyer's excellent books.

Family Friends is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Fig Tree for sending me a review copy of this book.

About the author:

Chloë Ashby is an author and award-winning arts critic.

She is the author of three acclaimed novels: Wet Paint (2022), Second Self (2023), and Family Friends (2026).

She writes and reviews for publications including The Times, the Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, and the TLS. She regularly interviews artists and writers, and has written a Guardian column on the delights and dangers of introducing small children to art.

She is also the author of two non-fiction books on art history: Look At This If You Love Great Art (2021); and Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes (2022), a Times best book of 2022.