Love And Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm

 

Love And Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm.

Published 12th February 2026 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

Fake data is out of the question . . . but fake dating?

Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein has always had success on the brain. In grad school, she turned down a job - and her accomplished boyfriend - to forge her own academic path. Five years later, she's still single, hustling from project to project, and about to face her ex at a high-stakes conference - the same ex who once told her she'd never make it on her own.

When an argument with her meticulous and infuriatingly attractive rival Dr. Lewis North leads to a mistaken assumption that they're a couple, Frances accidentally confirms the misconception, inadvertently putting both their careers at stake. Forced to keep up appearances, Frances and Lewis know that for any scientist worth their salt, faking data is out of the question. But fake dating?

That might just be genius.

***********

Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein is determined to be a success in her field, but that elusive goal of tenure seems as far away as ever. Awaiting the result of yet another application for funding, she sets off to New York for a conference that might help her career along. The only problem is that it is being organised by her former boyfriend, Jacob, now an accomplished professor - the man she turned down years ago to forger her own path.... the man who said she would never make it on her own.

To say she is nervous would be an understatement, and when her anxiety transforms into a full-blown panic attack in the air, she is relieved to find a handsome fellow scientist on the flight who distracts her from her over-wrought state, only to find he is the man who launched his career using her research - her arch nemesis, Dr Lewis North.

Somehow, when they both arrive at the conference, Frances accidentally confirms the impression that she and Lewis are an item. To keep their professional reputations intact, they now have to pretend they are a couple for the entire two weeks...

Oh, how I adored this! Hannah Brohm weaves a delicious will-they-won't-they romance between Frances and Lewis that is full of fabulous tropes around enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity; and is packed with really insightful themes around the nature of academic research.

Frances and Lewis both come to this story with a lot of emotional baggage, not to mention a history of academic rivalry that began with Lewis acting so unprofessionally. As the conference progresses, Frances begins to see a different side to Lewis, and the competitive spark between them develops into attraction. But is it real or fake?

The irresistible chemistry between these two dominates as they get closer, and I was here for all the heat! Lashings of messy family stuff gets thrown up in the process, and they both learn things about themselves, and what they want, on the way to the sob-fest finale.

I am so impressed by how much Brohm explores about women in science, and the shifting global nature of the research community in this story, by touching on how the relentless pressure of results, publishing, peer-reviewing, obtaining funding, and doing good science affects both Frances and Lewis. The fine-line between rivalry and collaboration is examined so well, as well as the real danger of losing sight of the bigger picture, and the risk of burnout. This all adds to the tension between the two, professionally and romantically.

This has everything I want in a kick-ass romance: a smart story written with heart, humour, and HEAT; a great setting; and a stellar supporting cast (Brady was such fun). It gave me ALL the feels.

What a fabulous debut! More please Hannah Brohm!

Love and Other Brain Experiments is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Hannah Brohm penned her first novel when she was a teen, and yes, it was about vampires.

Fascinated by the human mind, she studied psychology in university and graduated with a PhD in neuroscience. After years of investigating memory and emotion, she rediscovered her passion for storytelling and swapped writing articles about brain science for nerdy romance novels.

Born and raised in Germany, Hannah lived in the Netherlands and the US, before moving to London, where she now lives together with her husband and an ever-growing collection of books and hand-knit sweaters.

The First Time I Saw Him (Hannah Hall Book Two) by Laura Dave

 

The First Time I Saw Him (Hannah Hall Book Two) by Laura Dave.

Published 15th January 2026 by Penguin.

From the cover of the book:

HE DISAPPEARED. NOW HE’S BACK. AND THEY HAVE TO RUN.

Five years ago, Hannah’s husband Owen vanished without a trace, leaving Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey to piece together a new life from the wreckage.

When Hannah spots Owen at her Los Angeles exhibition – silent, watching – she knows immediately that the danger they once escaped has found them again.

Then comes the message: 

‘GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. NOW’

Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them, pursued by enemies they cannot see and haunted by questions that have never been answered.

Why has Owen returned? Who is hunting them?

And can they finally uncover the truth before it destroys them all?

***********

Five years ago, Hannah's husband Owen left for work one morning, and then disappeared - leaving behind a note asking her to protect his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. It took all of Hannah's resourcefulness to do it, but her efforts bought them the freedom to live their lives, even if it meant never seeing Owen again.

When Owen makes a surprising appearance at one of Hannah's exhibitions, she recognises him straightaway, even underneath his disguise. She is puzzled about what this might mean for her and Bailey... and then a message from Owen arrives telling her to "Get out of the house. Now!".

The moment Hannah feared has arrived. The agreement she hoped would keep them safe has been broken. She and Bailey must go on the run, and she has no idea what safety will cost this time.

In a brilliant twist, this gripping thriller begins with a prologue that repeats the closing chapter of the previous book, The Last Thing He Told Me - when Hannah spots a heavily disguised Owen in the crowd at her exhibition. Dave uses this emotionally-charged moment to kick off an action-packed sequel in which Hannah and Bailey are forced to flee for their lives, after a change in leadership amongst the crime family Owen betrayed. 

Hannah and Bailey are in danger of becoming collateral damage in a long-standing vendetta once again, even though they have been reconciled with Nicholas, Owen's former father-in-law. Despite the closeness that has grown between Nicholas and Bailey (a closeness that has encompassed Hannah too), Hannah has never allowed herself to relax. She has planned for this eventuality, but even Hannah's foresight did not allow her to predict the chain of events that will take them right into the jaws of danger.

Unlike the first book, which unfurled from Hannah's point of view alone, Dave mixes things up beautifully in this follow-up. Hannah's voice is now joined by Owen's, giving his side of the story around his disappearance, and where he has been in the intervening years; and by Nicholas' as he tells about the relationship between himself and Frank (the crime lord who changed the course of his career, and became his closest friend).

The threads of the story weave back and forth in time, segueing between edge-of-your-seat peril in the present for them all as they try to negotiate an exit strategy with some very bad people, and revelations about the past from Owen and Nicholas' history that drastically change your perspective on the things you think you know about how this whole situation came into being. 

The action is relentless, with delicious twists and turns around schemes made in the wings of Hannah and Bailey's lives, and stunning disclosures that blur the edges between friends and enemies. The story develops so cleverly as Hannah, Bailey, Owen and Nicholas risk everything in one final play to ensure Owen can return to his family. Inevitably, there is a cost to pay, but what this will be only becomes clear in the tense climax.

I absolutely inhaled this book, totally caught up in a story that combines great characters with a genuinely exciting plot. I really enjoyed the themes of family, friendship, guilt, and reconciliation that run through the novel too. What a cracking sequel!

The First Time I Saw Him is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Both Hannah Hall books have been adapted for Apple TV+, as The Last Thing He Told Me. 

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Laura Dave was born in New York City and grew up in Scarsdale, New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English, and went on to gain an MFA from the University of Virginia's creative writing program. She was a Henry Hoyns Fellow and a recipient of the Tennessee Williams Scholarship.

She is the national and international bestselling author of Eight Hundred Grapes, London is the City in America, The Divorce Party, The First Husband, Hello, Sunshine, The Last Thing He Told Me, The Night We Lost Him, and The First Time I Saw Him. Her fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Redbook, The Huffington Post and The New York Observer. In 2008, Cosmopolitan named her a 'Fun and Fearless Phenom of the Year'.

She is married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Josh Singer, with whom she resides in Los Angeles, California.

Catherine by Essie Fox

 

Catherine by Essie Fox.

Published 12th February 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw’s death leaves Hindley, Catherine’s brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude.

Desperate to protect him, Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the handsome heir to Thrushcross Grange. She believes his wealth might free Heathcliff from cruelty – but her choice is fatally misunderstood, and their lives spiral into a storm of passion, jealousy and revenge.

Now, eighteen years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and seek redemption.

Essie Fox’s Catherine reimagines Wuthering Heights with beauty and intensity – a haunting, atmospheric retelling that brings new life to a timeless classic and lays bare the dark heart of an immortal love.

***********

High on the moors, free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw loves to roam amongst the heather. When her father brings home the foundling, Heathcliff, Catherine feels an instant bond with him, and soon her solo ramblings become hours they spend lost in each other's company. The two grow-up to become inseparable - like two halves of the same person - but when Catherine's father dies, Heathcliff is reduced to the status of servant by her cruel brother, Hindley.

Catherine decides the only way to save Heathcliff and herself from Hindley's wrath is to appeal to handsome Edgar Linton, heir to nearby Thrushcross Grange, but Heathcliff misunderstands her motives, and runs away. Heartbroken, Catherine marries Edgar in Heathcliff's absence... only for him to return years later, as a successful man bent on revenging himself against Hindley and the Linton family. Tragedy ensues. Now, eighteen years later, Catherine has risen from her grave to see the consequences of Heathcliff's vendetta, to tell her own side of the story, and to find redemption.

I am not sure Wuthering Heights, the singular (in every meaning of the word) novel by Emily Bronte, is one that needs much of an introduction, especially given the current hype around the new adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Catherine and Heathcliff's story is one which calls to many lovers of Gothic romance, but as much as I adore a bit of wind and wuthering, many of the novels written by the Bronte sisters, and Kate Bush's wonderfully nostalgic song, I have never really understood why it is lauded as a great romance.

Undoubtedly, it is has lashings of passion and yearning, and a wonderfully evocative setting, but the love story is so laced with toxicity, trauma, and tragedy through its themes of jealousy, betrayal, cruelty and revenge that I find the bitterness in it overwhelming. There is also something missing from the original, for me, and that is the voice of the one person who you need to make Emily Bronte's story more than a whole lot of angst-ridden shouting on the wild and windy moors - that of Catherine herself. So I am delighted the incredibly talented Essie Fox has taken it upon herself to right that wrong in this intriguing retelling, Catherine.

Fox's novel begins with Catherine rising from her grave, eighteen years after her untimely death, to tell her own side of the story. This fits beautifully with the unsettling parts of Emily Bronte's tale, where Catherine's ghost makes its presence felt, and sets the atmospheric tone for what follows.

Rather than hearing Catherine's tale at arm's length, Fox explores every aspect of her logic, her actions, and the unintended consequences of a situation that finds her caught between the different kinds of love she feels for Edgar and Heathcliff. We now feel the force of her feelings first-hand, especially during the essential parts of the story where she is teetering on the edge of womanhood, and making sense of marriage and motherhood. Fox goes 'beyond' Emily Bronte's chaste hints at intimacy too, so it is much more relatable for a modern audience, and hits just the right mark for those looking forward to Emerald Fennell's upcoming movie, which concerns itself with twisted love alone. Her ideas on Heathcliff's parentage also open up a whole new troubling can of worms!

Fox's Catherine is a woman with depth: one who has few choices, but makes the best of those open to her. I very much enjoyed this take on the original, where Catherine is often viewed as bringing about her own demise - stemming, I think, from the fact that Heathcliff gets far too much say on how things played out in Nelly's version. I also liked that Fox gives Catherine a chance to muse on the feelings she has for the daughter she never got to know, as she watches the turns of fate for the young cousins Cathy and Hareton (surely where the real romance and redemptive twist of fate actually lies, even if their close relationship is uncomfortable to modern eyes).

Just as I hoped, in Fox's hands Wuthering Heights becomes a more accessible story, with a leading female character made up of light and shade. Brava, Essie!

Catherine is available to buy now in beautiful hardcover, 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 proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Essie Fox is the Sunday Times bestselling author of seven historical novels, including The Somnambulist, shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and The Fascination, an instant Sunday Times bestseller. Her work has twice been selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month, most
recently for her gothic mystery Dangerous.

She appears regularly at literary festivals and cultural institutions and is the host of the podcast Talking the Gothic. She lives in Windsor.

Paper Sisters by Rachel Canwell

Paper Sisters by Rachel Canwell.

Published 12th February 2026 by Northodox Poress.

From the cover of the book:

Lincolnshire, 1914. As the First World War approaches, three women are living, trapped between the unforgiving marsh, the wide, relentless river, and the isolation of the fen.

Their lives are held fast by profound grief, haunted by the spectres of the past. Trapped by the looming presence and eerie stillness of a hospital that has never admitted a single patient.

Eleanor longs to escape. To make a life with the man she loves, leaving her sister, and all her ghosts behind. Clara's marriage is crumbling and violent and she yearns for peace and security for both herself and her innocent children. Meanwhile, Lily, a formidable force of will, stands resolute against the relentless tide of change. She will stop at nothing, no matter the devastating cost, to ensure that life, and her family, remain frozen in an unyielding embrace of the past.

The author, Rachel Canwell, grew up with the story of this forgotten hospital. Isolated, stocked weekly and cleaned daily but never admitting a single patient. The hospital was real, tended by her family for over sixty years and set against the ethereal beauty and loneliness of the Fens, is the inspiration for her novel.

***********

Lincolnshire, 1914. Three women, living on the edge of brooding marshland, are trapped by the consequences of loss. Eleanor and Lily are tied to an empty hospital on the 'wrong' side of the river that stands as a reminder of tragedy - Eleanor burdened with responsibilities, and Lily caught up in a world of grief. While Clara, married to their violent brother, longs for peace for herself and her children.

As war approaches, change beckons, but can they break free?

Inspired by the story of a forgotten hospital in the mysterious Fens, Rachel Canwell bases this incredible debut on her own family history. From her imagination springs three women bound together by the seemingly unbreakable ties of tragedy, grief, environment , and the strictures of the time in which they live - each of them outsiders in a community scarred by the disaster of 1894 that saw hopes and dreams disappear into The Wash, when the newly built port that offered them prosperity sank into the muddy waters. 

I was transfixed by theses women from the first page: Eleanor, left in charge of an empty hospital that stands as a reminder of what was lost, yearns to escape from the weight of her cares into the arms of a man who promises her love and security; Lily, the 'ghost at the window', stuck in a cycle of never-ending grief after the loss of her brother to the unforgiving marsh, doing whatever she can to keep Eleanor to herself; and Clara, their sister-in-law, crushed by the brutal beatings meted out by her husband, determined to withstand her lot for the protection of her children.

There seems no way these three can escape the fate that keeps them locked in their unhappiness, even if they wanted to, despite the fleeting pleasures they experience - for Eleanor and Clara at least, since Lily does not seem to want to recover from the loss that broke her. But when war comes, the story twists in unexpected ways, building into a breath-taking, storm-wrought climax that had my heart firmly lodged in my throat.

Through her characters Canwell delves with insight into so many wonderful facets of the lives of women impacted by the First World War. Eleanor and Clara, in particular, leap from the page in all the many glorious shades of living-breathing people, and Canwell explores so much about expectations placed on women through them. Lily is a more complicated character to warm to - her selfishness was a bitter pill to swallow, and even though her misdeeds come from a place of unfathomable sadness and her part in the story is intrinsic to its resolution, she wreaks such devastation on Eleanor and Clara through her manipulative ways. I adored Eleanor and Clara, especially Clara's formidable strength, and my emotions were well and truly put through the mill.

This is the kind of story that totally captivates you with its characters, thrums with atmospheric vibes of time and place, and leaves its mark upon your heart. Absolutely a must if you are engrossed by sensitive, well-written historical fiction set against the shadow of World War One.

Paper Sisters is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Rachel Canwell for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Rachel Canwell is an author who, having grown up in the Fens, has lived and worked in Cumbria for over twenty years.

​Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies. Her collection of flash fiction Oh I Do Like to Be was published in 2022 and her novella-in-flash Magpie Moon in 2023.

​Paper Sisters is her first novel.

The Last Thing He Told Me (Hannah Hall Book One) by Laura Dave

 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

Published 13th April 2021 from Viper.

From the cover of the book:

IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME: PROTECT HER

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect - his teenage daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As her desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn't who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen's true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen's past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again...

Now a major Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Garner and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, discover the book that everyone is talking about...

***********

On the day Owen Michaels disappears, he sends his new wife Hannah a mysterious message asking her to protect his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Then the news breaks that Owen's boss has been arrested, on suspicion of massive corporate fraud, and the police are looking for Owen.

Hannah has no idea where her husband has gone, her calls to him go unanswered, and she is at a loss about how to respond to the searching questions the police are asking her. But the one thing she is sure of is that she must do her best to carry out his request - even if Bailey wants nothing to do with her step-mother.

As Hannah's life comes crashing down, she decides to look into what Owen has been up to herself. She is shocked to discover that all he has told her about his past appears to be a lie. Who is this man she has married, and what is he really running from?

This gripping story unfolds through the perspective of Hannah, alternating between her desperate search for the truth in the present, and flashbacks to significant moments in her relationship with the man she knows as Owen Michaels. Hannah is determined to make sense of this mess, relying on what she feels she knows about the man she loves, rather than the ever growing number of lies that reveal themselves once she begins to question Owen's version of his past. She gradually realises that Bailey holds the key to finding out why Owen and his daughter are living under assumed identities, and the two of them embark on a cross-country journey that leads them into danger - caught between an F.B.I. investigation into fraud, the attentions of a US Marshall with unknown motives, long-held grudges on the part of some very bad people, and shocking information about who Owen and Bailey really are.

I loved how the gritty, and surprisingly emotional, threads of this story come together, twisting and turning as Hannah and Bailey follow a murky trail of clues drawn from Bailey's earliest memories and the nuggets of truth Hannah mines from her interactions with Owen. The relationship between Hannah and Bailey develops beautifully over the course of the story, as they both come to terms with the life-changing things they discover - the transformation from spiky hostility on Bailey's side to acceptance that she can rely on Hannah, and the strength Hannah finds from her own traumatic childhood, are especially heart-warming.

Dave's writing flows so well, and I enjoy how she explores some very knotty themes in her books, especially when it comes to family. Here she delves into abandonment, dysfunctional relationship dynamics, and the power of love to both blind you to the faults of your loved ones and cause you to take make of break decisions to ensure their safety. This all adds so much depth to the excellently wielded thriller elements.

I picked this one up ahead of reading the brand new sequel Dave has penned, The First Time I Saw Him - and I am so glad I did, because it establishes the unbreakable bond between Hannah, Owen and Bailey. And that killer last line! Right in the feels! I cannot wait to find out what happens next...

The Last Thing He Told Me is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Laura Dave was born in New York City and grew up in Scarsdale, New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English, and went on to gain an MFA from the University of Virginia's creative writing program. She was a Henry Hoyns Fellow and a recipient of the Tennessee Williams Scholarship.

She is the national and international bestselling author of Eight Hundred Grapes, London is the City in America, The Divorce Party, The First Husband, Hello, Sunshine, The Last Thing He Told Me, The Night We Lost Him, and The First Time I Saw Him. Her fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Redbook, The Huffington Post and The New York Observer. In 2008, Cosmopolitan named her a 'Fun and Fearless Phenom of the Year'.

She is married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Josh Singer, with whom she resides in Los Angeles, California.

Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

 

Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 18th July 2019 by Harper Collins.

Originally published 1952.

From the cover of the book:

An old widow is brutally killed in the parlour of her cottage…

‘Mrs McGinty’s dead!’

‘How did she die?’

‘Down on one knee, just like I!’

The old children’s game now seemed rather tasteless. The real Mrs McGinty was killed by a crushing blow to the back of the head and her pitifully small savings were stolen.

Suspicion falls immediately on her lodger, hard up and out of a job. Hercule Poirot has other ideas – unaware that his own life is now in great danger…

***********

The recent murder of an old char lady, Mrs McGinty, was not a case interesting enough to attract the attention of celebrated detective Hercule Poirot. However, his interest is piqued when Superintendent Spence of the Kilchester force confesses to him that he is not sure that the man who stands condemned of murder is actually guilty of the crime. Poirot pays a visit to Mrs McGinty's lodger, James Bentley, on death row. Although failing to find the man at all personable, he is intrigued enough to head to the quiet village of Broadhinny to look into the case.

He begins his investigation by visiting the employers of nosy Mrs McGinty to discover whether anyone else could have had a motive for killing her. His little grey cells are hampered by the uncomfortable surroundings he finds himself in as a paying guest of the chaotic Summerhayes family, but then he uncovers an important clue - Mrs McGinty had cut out an article from the racy Sunday Comet about murder cases from the past involving four different women. Was her interest in it the reason for her murder?

In a small village setting, that is usually more the province of Miss Marple, Christie has a lot of well-observed fun with Poirot amongst the 'very nice' people of Broadhinny in this mystery. And he has a helper in the delightful Ariadne Oliver, who is co-incidentally in the village working with the playwright Robin Upward on an adaptation of one of her novels - much to her frustration!

Christie uses four infamous historic crimes to muddy the waters in this story. As the layers of the complex mystery peel back under Poirot's razor-sharp gaze, intriguing motives for murder are explored by delving into the secrets, lies and potentially murderous backgrounds of the villagers, especially its female residents - with lashings of psychological depth, in the way Christie does so well. The red herrings keep you guessing right until the very moment of a final classic Poirot 'show-and-tell' in front of the suspects - when he ponders on lipstick, adoption, reputation, and the tempting charms of good old filthy lucre. Ah, so satisfying!

This month's #ReadChristie2026 prompt of Favourite Characters was always going to be a difficult choice when so many of them have a place in my affections, but this Poirot-Oliver partnership proved to be just the ticket. They are always great fun when they team up for some sleuthing, as their interactions are full of gentle humour.  In this instalment, Ariadne's frustration with Robin Upward's depiction of her problematic fictional detective, Sven Hjerson, and Poirot's obvious horror at the conditions he experiences as a guest of the Summerhayes family provide a goldmine of guffaws. Perfection!

I very much enjoyed revisiting this mystery via the audio book narrated by another of my favourites, good old Captain Hastings himself, Hugh Fraser.

Mrs McGinty's Dead 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 Hope (The Forcing Trilogy Book Three) by Paul E. Hardisty

 

The Hope (The Forcing Trilogy Book Three) by Paul E. Hardisty.

Published 29th January 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

The year is 2082. Climate collapse, famine and war have left the world in ruins. In the shadow of the Alpha-Omega regime – descendants of the super-rich architects of disaster – sixteen-year-old Boo Ashworth and her uncle risk everything to save what’s left of human knowledge, hiding the last surviving books in a secret library beneath the streets of Hobart.

But Boo has a secret of her own: an astonishing ability to memorise entire texts with perfect recall. When the library is discovered and destroyed, she’s forced to flee – armed with nothing but the stories she carries in her mind, and a growing understanding of her family’s true past. 

Hunted and alone, and with the help of some unlikely allies, she must fight to save her loved ones – and bring hope to a broken world.

Spanning three generations before, during and after the fall, The Hope is the shattering conclusion to Paul E. Hardisty’s critically acclaimed climate-emergency trilogy – a devastating, visionary thriller that dares to imagine the possibility of redemption in the face of near-total collapse. In a dying world, it asks the most urgent question of all: what if there’s still time?

***********

2082. The impact of climate collapse, war and famine has left the planet in ruins. The last vestiges of humanity are struggling to survive, while the cruel Alpha-Omega (A-O) regime (descendants of the architects of the fall) rule like new-age kings behind the high walls of their realms.

In Hobart, Tasmania, sixteen-year-old Boo Ashworth works with her Uncle Kweku to build a secret library, hidden underground. Their aim is to save what is left of human knowledge, even though discovery means death. When disaster strikes, and the library is destroyed, Boo is suddenly alone. But all is not lost, for Boo has perfect recall, and within her mind the stories she and Kweku rescued remain alive. Hunted by the son of the Eminence who established his A-O kingdom in Tasmania, Boo needs allies to help her save her loved ones...

The final book of The Forcing trilogy has arrived! You must have read the first two instalments (The Forcing, and The Descent) of this incredibly prescient trilogy before reading this book, as each one is integral to the story as a whole.

Picking up the thread of the previous epic trials and tribulations of the Ashworth family, Kweku, his wife Julie, his son Leo, and his niece Becky (Boo) have settled in Hobart - and are amassing a secret library of precious books in a propaganda-rife world that bans knowledge of the past. They risk detection at any moment - not helped by strife within the family (particularly when it comes to restless Leo); and Julie's terminal illness, which means venturing into the A-O city for medicine.

Boo takes up the narrative for the first time in this series. She has already been through many traumas, after her rescue from the A-O as a child, and she is about to come into her own as a 'fire-brand'. I loved Boo from the moment she speaks. She is strong, smart, and resilient, loves books and knowledge, and has enormous courage - which she certainly needs in this story, when disaster takes her into the heart of the dangerous A-O regime.

Weaving in-between Boo's coming-of-age narrative, the familiar voice of Kweku takes us back in time to revisit the actions of a murky character we encountered in the first book - Lachie Ashworth, Kweku's older step-brother. Lachie, once President of the USA, and instrumental in many of the misguided actions that helped the world fall, is now keen to tell his story. Bringing Kweku to his haven in the Alps to act as his biographer, he gradually tells his shocking tale - going right back to the shift in power to the younger generation that saw his political star rise. In a stunning twist, Lachie's story also holds within it the seeds of hope for a broken world - which connects beautifully with Boo's part in the novel.

Alongside a superb Dystopian plot, carried by Boo, the Lachie-Kweku storyline fills-in so many gaps about how and why events played out. I really enjoyed how this added oodles of detail to what we already know from both The Forcing and The Descent, and am impressed by Hardisty's skill as a writer in bringing everything full circle when the intricate threads collide in a breath-taking finale. Echoing themes of power, betrayal, and sacrifice run riot; strong female characters abound; and the exploration of the importance of knowledge and the written word is wonderful - especially, I think, when is comes to the clever way he refers to the 'truth' fiction can convey.

Hardisty does just what great speculative fiction should do in this series, by provoking your thoughts, and raising awareness about where humanity is heading, at the same time as immersing you in a cracking story. The unflinching way he reflects the current state of the world in Lachie's testament is especially brutal and hard to read, but he does not misrepresent the title of this book in any way by calling it The Hope - if only people will listen to what he has to say. Absolutely required reading when it comes to the very best of the cli-fi genre.

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

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Canadian Paul E Hardisty has spent 25 years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He has roughnecked on oil rigs in Texas, explored for gold in the Arctic, mapped geology in Eastern Turkey (where he was befriended by PKK rebels), and rehabilitated water wells in the wilds of Africa. He was in Ethiopia in 1991 as the Mengistu regime fell, and was bumped from one of the last flights out of Addis Ababa by bureaucrats and their families fleeing the rebels. In 1993 he survived a bomb blast in a café in Sana’a. Paul is a university professor and CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

Paul is a sailor, a private pilot, keen outdoorsman, conservation volunteer, and lives in Western Australia.

 January 2026 Reading Round-Up

It's been a nice gentle start to the year, with ten books that get your pulse racing, and really stir the emotions!

You can find your way to my reviews by clicking on the pictures below.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson

The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead

The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray

The Ice Angels by Caroline Mitchell

Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten

The Island Between Us by Dougie McHale

Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

Stop All The Clocks by W.H. Auden

Onwards to February!

Stop All The Clock's: Poems Of Love And Loss by W.H. Auden

 

Stop All The Clock's: Poems Of Love And Loss by W.H. Auden.

Published 20th November 2025 by Faber Books.

From the cover of the book:

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone . . .

W. H. Auden was the consummate poet of love and heartbreak. Stop All the Clocks presents a selection of his best known, most lucid poems, poems that pitch human frailty against a persisting desire for love and belonging.

Here are the anxieties that beset our waking and sleeping hours: the delirium of desire, the torture of unrequited love, the trauma of loss and displacement. And here, in these resonant, dazzling poems, is the understanding we might be looking for.

***********

There cannot be many people who have not cried their eyes out at the scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral where John Hannah puts his heart and soul into his recitation of Funeral Blues, at the funeral of his dead lover - I know I have every time I have seen it. It beautifully conveys the utter devastation of raw grief, and it remains one of my favourite poems.

But I must admit that when it came to the work of W.H. Auden, I would have been hard put to name more than two poems by him, despite the fact that he was a prolific writer of poetry throughout his life -the other poem being, Tell Me The Truth About Love. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to discover more about Auden through this wonderful collection of his poems about love and loss, entitled with the first line from his most famous poem.

I was pleased to see that both the poems I am familiar with are included here: the rest of the book is a revelation. The most surprising thing is the incredible breadth of subject matter Auden explores when it comes to different facets of love and loss. There are poems here that instantly connect with relatable feelings about attraction, yearning, desire, romance, and enduring love, as well as the sting of rejection, long distance relationships, and the unbearable pain of lost partners - but there are also reflections on belonging and identity, ideology and even the experience of refugees, which I was not expecting.  

After consuming Auden's powerful lines, I found myself wanting to know more about the man himself and his inspirations. I ended up going down a rabbit hole about his life, which was fascinating, especially his relationship with Christopher Isherwood of Goodbye to Berlin (aka Cabaret) fame. 

This is a truly intriguing collection, which I can highly recommend to anyone who also wants to delve into Auden's work beyond Funeral Blues. It is beautifully produced in hard back, with lovely endpapers too!

Stop All The Clocks is available to buy now in hardcover.

Thank you to Faber Books for send8ng me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

W. H. Auden (1907-1973) was born in York and brought up in Birmingham. His first book, Poems, was published by T.S. Eliot at Faber & Faber in 1930. In 1939 he and Christopher Isherwood left for America, where Auden spent the next fifteen years lecturing, reviewing, editing, and writing poetry and opera librettos. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1948.

Anatomy Of An Alibi by Ashley Elston

 

Anatomy Of An Alibi by Ashley Elston.

Published 13th January 2026 by Headline.

From the cover of the book:

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi...

Camille Bayliss suspects her husband Ben hides a dark secret. But as he tracks her every move, she cannot prove it.

Aubrey Price believes lawyer Ben Bayliss knows the truth about the night that wrecked her life a decade ago. But she needs a way in.

When Camille and Aubrey meet, they hatch a plan.

For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille's place. Ben will track the wrong woman, Camille can spy on Ben, and both women will get their answers.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered.

Two women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone...

***********

Camille Bayliss wants out of her marriage to high profile lawyer, Ben. She suspects he is keeping a secret from her, and plans to use this to her advantage, but how can she discover it when he keeps tabs on her every move?

Aubrey Price was left an orphan by a car accident that killed her parents when she was sixteen. Now, the man who was convicted of the crime has contacted her to say he has evidence that can prove he is innocent. She believes Ben Bayliss is somehow involved in keeping the truth hidden, but getting close to him may prove difficult.

When Camille inserts herself in Aubrey's life, they find they have a common interest. Aubrey agrees to impersonate Camille to give her the freedom to spy on Ben, but during the hours they swap places someone kills Ben. It dawns on Aubrey that in giving Camille an alibi she now does not have one of her own. One false step might just bring everything crashing down...

In an absolute masterclass of storytelling, Ashley Elston weaves her magic through scenes that happen BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER the alibi, from the perspectives of three central characters - Camille, Aubrey, and Ben's lawyer partner Hank. Added snippets from Ben himself take the story back ten years to the accident that killed Aubrey's parents, and the consequences of a cover-up engineered by Camille's powerful (and decidedly dodgy) father.

Gradually, the secrets and lies are revealed as Elston deftly drops her reveals - especially when it comes to the deal Camille and Aubrey make with each other, and their reasons for wanting the truth from Ben, which make things extra dangerous when a murder case ensues. What you think you know changes dramatically over the course of the novel, as red herrings abound, and there are so many suspects who have skin in the 'getting rid of Ben' game. I genuinely did not know how this would end until the final delicious twist, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So clever!

First Lie Wins was a hard act to follow, but the way Elston choreographs the threads of her second grown-up novel is an absolute triumph. There are so many lovely things about what she does here - playing Camille and Aubrey off against each other works beautifully, and the threads draw together so skilfully via Hank's determined sleuthing. There are really interesting facets of birth and found family explored throughout when it comes to Camille and Aubrey too - I promise you will come to love the little band of friends that do their all to help Aubrey out of her predicament.

I absolutely consumed this book from cover to cover - it is so darned good! It also made me think a lot about the nature of alibis...

"It's not just the anatomy of an alibi - having someone vouch that you were somewhere else when the crime was committed - but it's the psychology of it; that that someone is believable."

Intriguing!

If you are a fan of Megan Miranda and you have not discovered Ashley Elston yet, then I highly recommend you get yourself a copy of First Lie Wins and Anatomy of an Alibi - they are both crackers, and Elston hits exactly the same satisfying spot. I cannot wait for book three!

Anatomy of an Alibi is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Headline for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Ashley Elston is the author of the million-copy-selling thriller First Lie Wins - a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

She is the author of several young adult novels, including The Rules for Disappearing (a finalist in the Best Young Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Awards) and 10 Blind Dates.

Her work has been translated into 23 languages.

Ashley lives in Shreveport, Louisiana with her family.

The Island Between Us (The Hellenic Collection) by Dougie McHale

 

The Island Between Us (The Hellenic Collection) by Dougie McHale.

Published 29th January 2026 by Vinci Books.

From the cover of the book:

Two lives bound by love and sacrifice, across decades, across an island, across time itself.

Carissa thought she had escaped her past when she fled Edinburgh for the sunlit island of Skiathos. But her peace is shattered when her former partner finds her, determined to drag her back into his control.

Her only strength lies in the friendships she forges with Thomas, a WWII veteran who carries the burden of betrayal and loss, and with Demitris, who offers the love she desperately needs. As Thomas recounts his wartime mission, where danger, loyalty, and love collided, Carissa finds the courage to stand against the shadows threatening her own life.

***********

Edinburgh, 2007. Leaving a relationship that had become dangerously toxic, Carissa takes a job as a hiking guide, on the beautiful Greek island of Skiathos. The change of pace, and beautiful surroundings, start to work their magic. Soon Carissa feels like her old self. 

One day, while on a tour, she discovers an elderly man who has collapsed in his garden. She stops to get him some much needed assistance. Wondering how he is recovering from his ordeal, Carissa decides to pay him a visit, and is astonished to discover that Thomas is British.

Thomas begins to tell Carissa of his World War Two experiences working alongside the Greek resistance, and the two become firm friends. As Thomas delves into the memories that haunt him, Carissa is forced to confront her own demons - especially when her past finds its way into the haven she has found.

The novel unfurls in two compelling timelines that weave beautifully together: following Carissa from the break-up of her relationship to a controlling partner called Stuart, in the present; and the story of Thomas' war-time adventures between 1942-43. As their friendship grows, Thomas introduces Carissa to fascinating, and poignant history about the events that happened after he was dropped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Greece, as part of Operation Harling. Meanwhile, Carissa's new start in Skiathos is called into question by the arrival of creepy Stuart, who proceeds to stalk her from the shadows.

I was completely drawn into both storylines. McHale does a cracking job investing your emotions in Carissa's story, as her new life, with its enchanting romance with colleague Demitris, is threatened by the menacing Stuart - and he paints an authentically disturbing picture of what it is like to be stalked by a former partner. In parallel, McHale explores some really intriguing history about the work of the SOE in mainland Greece, by inserting fictional Thomas into real events amongst the divided loyalties of the Greek resistance, and he even incorporates a heart-rending forbidden romance for him to give an extra tug on the heart-strings.

I could not put this book down until all the threads of Carissa and Thomas' stories flowed to their tear-jerking conclusions. And I am seriously impressed by the magical way McHale reflects his themes of love, loss, danger, betrayal, and much needed healing through both timelines.

I have not come across Dougie McHale's novels before, but this is every bit as good as any epic story by Victoria Hislop, hitting the same 'heart-wrenching fiction meets engrossing history under the Greek sun' spot. I cannot wait to lose myself in the other Hellenic Collection novels!

The Island Between Us is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to Ed PR for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

In a past life, Dougie has been a dockyard worker, student, and musician. Writing has always been in his blood and bone.

He draws inspiration from his love of Edinburgh and Greece. Their people and histories have all found their way into the books he writes.

Dougie is the author of several novels of both Contemporary Women's Fiction and Second World War Fiction.

His novels are rich with characters that face impossible choices, extraordinary circumstances and the power of secrets told through ordinary people reacting to the ups and downs of the human condition and the complexity of the heart.

Dougie lives with his wife, daughter and forever hungry golden retriever in an intermittent empty nest as his son comes and goes.

Discover the books that readers are describing as an emotional roller-coaster of intrigue and drama, love and hope.

Hidden In Shadows (The Åre Murders Book Two) by Viveca Sten

 

Hidden In Shadows (The Åre Murders Book Two) by Viveca Sten.

Translated by Marlaine Delargy.

Published 5th December 2023 by Amazon Crossing.

Audio book narrated by Laura Jennings.

From the cover of the book:

Secrets, vengeance, and a brutal murder unsettle an idyllic winter paradise...

In the Swedish ski resort of Åre, crime is rare. Certainly nothing so brutal as the murder of Johan Andersson, a former Olympic skier found bound and beaten to death in the forest. According to his distraught wife, he didn’t have any enemies in the world. To Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog, the crime proves otherwise. But what could have provoked such rage? And in whom?

As Hanna and Daniel search for answers, Rebecka Ekvall, a vulnerable pastor’s wife, is trapped in an abusive marriage. Isolated from her congregation, she’s afraid of her husband and even more fearful for her life. Because Rebecka carries a fateful secret. But she isn’t the only one in Åre with something to hide.

As Hanna and Daniel continue to untangle the dark histories of a growing list of suspects, they realize that Johan’s murder is just the beginning of a disturbing case about survival and revenge—at any cost.

***********

Just a few months after the community of Åre was shocked by the killing of a teenaged girl, another murder in this quiet Swedish ski resort has everyone talking. Plumber, Johan Andersson, has been found battered to death in the snow. Everyone liked the personable former Olympic skier, and it seems impossible that someone could have killed him in such a brutal fashion.

Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog have a another difficult investigation on their hands...

Following on from the first book in the series, Hidden in Snow, this opens with the discovery of Johan's body, sparking a new murder investigation in Åre. Hannah and Daniel are on the trail of a murderer once again, but why anyone would want to kill a man who was apparently so well-liked is a mystery - until they discover that his gambling-addicted business partner had threatened Johan and his wife in the weeks running up to the crime. He seems the obvious culprit, but is the case really that simple?

The story unfolds through a number of narratives, as in the previous book, largely through the voices of Hannah and Daniel, and a character called Rebecka Ekvall, the wife of a pastor from the ultra conservative Light of Life church. It takes some time to discover quite how Rebecka's account of an abusive and controlling marriage fits into the big picture around Johan's murder, and Sten builds lovely suspense going back and forth between the complexities of the investigation, and Rebecka's worsening situation, before the threads of the plot cross over.

Additional narratives from Johan's wife, Marion, and Hannah and Daniel's colleague Anton are used cleverly - Marion's to provide a persistent little niggle in the back of you mind, and Anton's to add an interesting side-plot around his struggles with opening up about his sexuality (and his attraction to a witness in the case). I was less enamoured by Sten's decision to add the voice of Daniel's one-dimensional partner, Ida, to the mix.

It was great to see Hannah finding her feet in the wake of her personal and professional troubles, but I would like to see something more from the Daniel-Ida dynamic than the guilt-trip vs jealousy vibe. Either properly explore the issues that both of them have with some couple's counselling (could be interesting), or leave Daniel's constant buffeting between a rock and a hard place to the cop-has-difficulty-maintaining-a-settled-home life trope we all know and love. Two books in and it is getting tedious in a way that interrupts the flow of the story.

I really enjoyed how the pieces of this puzzle gradually come together though, especially when the significance of Rebecka's part in the plot is revealed. The tension in the final stages of the story is first-class, and I found myself holding my breath at more than one point as all the threads collide in the midst of a raging snow storm (just my cup of tea). The continuing themes of dysfunctional relationships, violence against women, and what goes on behind closed doors are explored well too.

Laura Jennings' capable narration carried me through this one, as in the first instalment, and I am looking forward to listening to her once again in book three, Hidden in Memories.

Hidden in Shadows is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

The Åre Murders series is currently available free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

About the author:

Viveca Sten is the author of the Åre Murder series and the #1 internationally bestselling Sandhamn Murders series. Since 2008, the series has sold close to eight million copies, establishing her as one of Scandinavia’s most popular authors. Set on the island of Sandhamn, the novels have been adapted into a Swedish-language TV series shot on location and seen by almost one hundred million viewers around the world.

Viveca lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children, but she alternates between Sandhamn in the summer and Åre in the winter, where she writes and vacations with her family.

The Ice Angels (Detective Elea Baker Book One) by Caroline Mitchell

 

The Ice Angels (Detective Elea Baker Book One) by Caroline Mitchell.

Published 15th January 2026 by Penguin.

From the cover of the book:

Ten years ago, in the depths of the Finnish winter, Detective Elea Baker’s daughter was taken―and never found.

Now, in the quiet streets of Lincoln, girls are disappearing again. When one is found on the cathedral steps, clutching a chilling clue linked to the decade-old abduction, there’s only one person who can solve the case: Elea.

Dragged back into her nightmare, she’s determined to bring her daughter home this time―no matter the cost.

But is she chasing a ghost, or on the verge of uncovering a truth that will shatter everything?

***********

Ten years ago, Detective Elea Baker's twelve-year-old daughter disappeared on her way home from school, leaving her bag lying in the snow. Elea has searched tirelessly for Liisa, and the two other Finnish children taken, determined that the Ice Angels case remain open, despite no trace having been found of any of them.

Now, there is a new lead. Miles away in quiet Lincoln, England, girls are going missing. When one reappears, huddled on the steps of Lincoln Cathedral, she is found in possession of a clue that connects her to the unsolved Ice Angels disappearances. Elea's estranged husband, DCI Swann, is heading up the UK investigation, and invites Elea to join them as a consultant - even though he is aware it might mean disruption for him both personally and professionally. Can Elea conjure up the break they need?

In a delicious clash of two of my favourite things - an ice cold Nordic noir thriller, and home-grown police procedural with a team you can whole-heartedly pin your colours to - this first instalment in a brand new crime series was everything I hoped it would be, and more!

Elea, trailing havoc in her wake, blows into the incident room like the force of nature she is. Stirring up trouble almost as soon as she steps off the plane, her ball-busting, unconventional methods soon provide impetus to the investigation - and bring new hope that Liisa's fate might finally be revealed.

As the story unfurls, following the narratives of Elea and Swann in the present, and Lissa in the past, Mitchell spins her emotionally charged threads with accomplished skill, and uses the slow-burn terror of Liisa's predicament, the authentic feel of an investigation mired in politics and paperwork, and the sparks that fly between Elea and Swann, to drive the plot in equal measure. She introduces the different characters in Swann's team in a way that makes their individual personalities stand out, and ensures you know exactly what Elea's arrival means for Swann's new relationship - cue lots of drama, given the palpable unresolved feelings that still lie between Elea and Swann.

Lovely themes run through the whole novel around the weight of things unsaid, mothers and daughters, the complex dynamics between captive and abductor, and the first-class twists come like a sucker-punch to the midriff!

I absorbed this gem from cover to cover, totally invested in the characters, and cannot wait to get to know more about them as the series develops. I need more Caroline Mitchell in my life!

The Ice Angels is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Caroline Mitchell is a New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and international #No. 1 bestselling author who has sold over 2 million books . She originates from Ireland and now lives in a woodland village outside the city of Lincoln. A former police detective, she has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time.

Her books have won first place as ‘Best Psychological Thriller’ in the US Reader’s’ Favourite Award Contest, been shortlisted for the International Thriller Writer Awards in New York and been shortlisted for ‘Best Procedural’ in the Killer Nashville awards and the Audie awards. Her crime thriller, Truth And Lies is a No.1 New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for TV.

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray

 

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray.

Published 15th January 2026 by Fig Tree.

From the cover of the book:

Introducing an outstanding new voice in literary fiction: a sensual, sharp, and utterly compelling campus novel about grief, reinvention, and the ripple effects of telling lies

If I ever woke up with an ungodly dread ― that I could change it all now, turn around, and confess ― I ignored it. I had never been good, and there was no point in trying now.

On a small liberal arts campus in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden.

Charlotte had never been close with her classmates but as she repeats her tale, their expressions soften into kindness. And so she learns there are things worth lying for: attention, affection, and, as she embarks on a relationship with fellow student Katarina, even love. All she needs to do is keep control of the threads that hold her lie – and her life – together.

But six thousand miles away, alone in the grey two-up-two-down Staffordshire terrace she grew up in, her father is very much alive, watching television and drinking beer. Charlotte has always kept difficult truths at arm’s length, but his resolve to visit his distant daughter might just be the one thing she can’t control.

***********

On a small liberal arts college campus in Pittsford, New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie, by telling fellow student Katarina her father had a heart attack and died over the summer -when he is, in fact, alive and well back home in Lichfield, England. 

Charlotte has never connected with her fellow students, but suddenly she is an object of kindness from those around her, and she starts to enjoy being noticed. But once the lies begin, it is impossible to stop - especially when she embarks on a relationship with Katarina that is founded on falsehoods.

Murray sucks you in this literary delight through the perspective of her unreliable narrator. Charlotte's voice grips you from the first page, completely immersing you in a novel that begins wreathed in acid wit, and then has you run a gamut of heart-rending emotions. 

In an effort to distance herself from the bleakness of her life in England, Charlotte has attempted to reinvent herself, without success - until a whopping lie brings her the contact she craves. Suddenly feeling seen, for the first time in her sad life, she quickly becomes addicted to the attention. Drawn into a relationship with her unwitting confidante, a young woman she has previously found ugly, she is seduced by Katarina's kindness and affection. Charlotte becomes overwhelmed by the feelings she has long supressed, and finds herself falling in love, but disaster awaits...

I found it impossible to look away as Murray gradually peels back the layers of Charlotte's dysfunction, revealing the unresolved traumas that have shaped her, and why she feels the need to fill the void inside with lies. She makes it her business to take a good long look at complicated family history, painful childhood experiences, guilt, shame, estrangement, loneliness, and yearning, freewheeling towards the inevitable moment when the consequences of Charlotte's actions play out - and then takes you beyond to a messy kind of healing. There is nothing vaguely comfortable about the experience, but, my goodness, the writing is a joy to behold.

And if that was not enough, this is also a seriously clever dig in the ribs to the absurdity of the world of art, especially the pretentious folly of the liberal arts college campus scene.

What an absolute cracker of a debut, with a wonderfully apposite title! Quietly devastating, it is like a gut punch to the emotions, with shades of Rebecca Wait's mix of pitch black humour and raw sentiment, and it held me fast, all the way to a perfectly contrived ending. I cannot wait to see how Grace Murray's career develops, because this is an impressive opening gambit.

Blank Canvas is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Fig Tree for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Grace Murray was born in 2003 and grew up in Norwich. She has recently graduated from Edinburgh University, where she read English Literature and found time to write between her studies and two part-time jobs. Her short fiction has been published in The London Magazine.

In writing Blank Canvas, Grace set out to explore themes of Catholic guilt and queer identity, clashing moral codes and lies, and the opportunity for reinvention presented by moving between countries and settings.

Blank Canvas was written over the course of a year as part of WriteNow, Penguin Random House’s flagship mentorship scheme for emerging talent. Grace Murray won one of nine places on the scheme on the exceptional strength of her writing, selected from a pool of over 1,300 applicants.