Main Characters by Bobby Palmer

 

Main Characters by Bobby Palmer.

Published 2nd July 2026 by Headline.

From the cover of the book:

Clara and Seb are about to fall in love. They don't know it yet. But everybody else does.

When Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it's the start of something. She wants to be a director. He's an actor, unsure what he wants from life.

Their connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like this. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the happiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.

Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of friends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their first date to the moment they fell apart.

Everyone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story ends...

***********

Seb and Clara meet one afternoon in Golden Square, London. There is an instant connection between the aspiring actor and upcoming film-maker, but although it is clear to everyone looking on that they will fall in love, their relationship only begins after a false start or two.

In time, the attraction grows into a deep, passionate partnership that promises a lifetime of happiness, but when Clara casts Seb in the production that cements her reputation as a director, a devastating betrayal shatters their relationship...

Bobby Palmer's latest novel is his most intriguing yet. This is a love story like no other I have read before, following the course of Seb and Clara's relationship through the years, but told entirely from the perspectives of a number of onlookers, never from the points of view of the actual couple. The observations of friends, family, flatmates, neighbours, exes, and even total strangers they meet in passing, paint a picture of a love story that buds, grows, and disintegrates, which makes this a very unconventional novel.

I have to confess that (along with many of the people who have read this one) this was not an instant hit with me - in fact, I debated more than once confining it to the DNF pile and having done with it. Although the format is genuinely clever, I struggled with Seb and Clara in the first part of the novel, as they are immature, pretentious, and utterly infuriating! But something kept me reading, and I am very glad that I persevered.

This is one of those books where you really do have to trust the process, because once the observations of the lookers-on start to fill in pieces of the Seb-Clara puzzle, something completely unexpected happens. After a while, I found I could not look away, and was completely entranced for the rest of the story - even if it has to be said that Seb and Clara continue to be a couple who would benefit from the occasional sharp rap on the noggin!

The magic comes from the weaving together of many voices, in a way that gives you a startlingly insightful view of Seb and Clara's relationship, particularly the moments where the people who really care about them describe pivotal conversations provoked by heightened emotions. There is a 'more than the sum of its parts' quality to the story, which builds beautifully to explore love, loss, friendship, family, ambition, desire, and the weight of things both said and unsaid. It is all incredibly messy and complicated, just like real life, and I laughed and cried with so many of the characters, not just Seb and Clara. 

This is Palmer's most ambitious novel so far - quirky in its make-up, quiet and loud, tender and traumatic, and all-consuming by stealth... once you make it past the tricky beginning. The story comes elegantly full-circle, and I especially enjoyed the contributions made by the young members of the literary throng of voices, whose poignant innocence made me sob. Come for the main characters, but stay for the full-cast.

Palmer continues to surprise me. I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Main Characters is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Headline for sending me a proof of this book.

About the author:

Bobby Palmer is both an author and journalist. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Isaac and the Egg, was a Waterstones Paperback of the Year in 2022; his second novel Small Hours was published in 2024.

 Bobby co-hosted the podcast Book Chat with Pandora Sykes and his writing has appeared in GQ, Esquire, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan amongst others. He lives with his family in Sussex.

Time To Burn by Ellery Lloyd

 

Time To Burn by Ellery Lloyd.

Published 23rd July 2026 by Pan Macmillan.

From the cover of the book:

If the past catches up with you, time travel can be murder...

London, the present day: commercial time travel is a reality.

Tempus Tours – owned by controversial tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank – offers the wealthy a chance to witness pivotal moments in history.

To immortalise his achievement, Frank enlists award-winning filmmaker Phoebe Hunt to create a fly-on-the-wall documentary. On her first day shadowing Inigo, she is set to witness the return of a billionaire property developer and his family from their trip to the past. But instead of their awe-filled return, she captures the group arriving bloodied and traumatized, with one of their number missing.

Not only that, but Phoebe recognizes the missing woman. She knows not only that she's not who she claims to be, but that the woman has every reason to harbour a grudge against her. And as events begin to unravel in the present day, it seems increasingly clear that the woman had sinister motives for returning to the past – and that people close to Phoebe are in danger.

Can Phoebe stop the ripple effect before she loses everything – and everyone – she holds dear?

***********

For those who have the means, time travel is now a reality, thanks to the controversial tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank. His company, Tempus Tours, offers the super-wealthy the chance to go back in time and witness the past, under strict conditions of course - and currently only as far back as the government will allow.

Award-winning film-maker Phoebe Hunt has been commissioned to produce a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Inigo's life and work, and has been granted unprecedented access to the man himself. Her first day filming gives her the chance to witness the return of the latest group of affluent time travellers, businessman Harry Allen and his family, who popped back to 1941 for a celebratory meal at the famous Cafe de Paris. But when the portal opens, everyone is shocked by what they see - a battered and bloody group of 'tourists'... with one of their party missing.

Somehow, on their way back to the retrieval site, amidst the chaos of the Blitz, Harry's daughter-in-law Sasha disappeared. While the Tempus Tours team work out how they are going to find her and bring her home, Phoebe realises that the woman they know as Sasha is not who she claims to be, and Phoebe suspects she has deliberately stayed behind for sinister reasons. 

As Sasha puts her secret plans into action in the past, Phoebe begins to see glitches in the present - ones that eventually touch her own life. Can she stop the ripples before she loses everything she holds dear?

I applaud the way the way Ellery Lloyd (aka writing and life partners Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos) spin timelines in their novels, but I must admit that the last thing I was expecting from them was a bone fide time-travel tale... which is exactly what this is, and a darned excellent one at that!

The story unfurls in past and present, following Sasha's concerted tinkering in 1941 to alter the future; the tragic events that took place in 2007 during Sasha and Phoebe's childhoods at a progressive commune run by Phoebe's father; and the edge-of-your-seat action as Phoebe films her documentary in the here and now.

Weaving between the timelines, the story comes together via first-person accounts from Phoebe and Sasha, interspersed with descriptions of footage and interview transcripts from Phoebe's award-winning 2023 documentary A Complicated Man about her father. With jaw-dropping skill, all the little pieces of the scattered plot combine in a delicious mash-up of atmospheric period piece, dysfunctional family drama, cult-based thriller, compulsive murder mystery, touching love-story, and speculative stunner as good as any Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton novel I have had the pleasure to consume.

And if that was not enough, the Ellery Lloyd duo manage to explore a wealth of thought-provoking themes around money; class; legacy; dodgy corporate dealing; ethics; shame; guilt; memory; deja vu; and that big old chestnut, the fabric of space and time.

I am fascinated by any novel that tackles time and alternate realities, and loved every breath-taking, supremely clever moment of this book. There is scope here for a sequel that I am aching to read too! Quite simply the most entertaining time travel book I have read in a long time!

Time to Burn is available to by now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a proof of this book.

About the authors:

Ellery Lloyd is the pseudonym for London-based husband-and-wife writing team Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. 

Collette is a journalist and editor, former features editor at Stylist, content director of ELLE UK and editorial director at Soho House. She has written for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Sunday Times, as well as two travel books.

Paul is the author of two previous novels, Welcome to the Working Week and Every Day Is Like Sunday. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Greenwich.

Singapore 52 by Murray Bailey (An Ash Carter Mystery Thriller: Book One) (Series Reboot).

 

Singapore 52 by Murray Bailey.

First published 1st September 2017.

From the cover of the book:

Chinese New Year 1952

British ex-military investigator, Ash Carter finds himself in the middle of a political game between the army, the police and a Triad-style gang.

Someone intends to attack Singapore and Carter is tasked to stop it. But Carter is more intent on solving the mystery of who and why someone killed his friend.

A mystery-thriller for fans who like a strong protagonist and a twist in the tale.

Ideal for fans of Lee Child, Baldacci, Scott Blade etc who like the twist of a Harlen Coben novel.

***********

Singapore, 1952. Ash Carter has resigned his commission as an officer in the SIB of the British Army following an incident he would rather forget, and made a hasty exit to Singapore after receiving a message from his old friend Tom Silverman asking for his help. When he gets there he finds that Tom has recently been killed in a car crash in the middle of the night on an isolated road. Immediately suspicious that this might not have been an accident, Carter is determined to find out exactly what happened to his friend and why.

Singapore is a small place and Carter's reputation as a first-class investigator has preceded him. Before he can begin his search for Tom's killer, he is drafted by the powers that be into heading up an investigation into rumours of an impending attack, possibly using guns stolen from the military. With pressure from both the political and military authorities to get this sorted as soon as possible, and more than a little interference from the Chinese Secret Societies concerned Carter will poke his nose in their affairs, he has his work cut out for him.

Meanwhile, Carter is unaware that he has a secret opponent called Jin who is making plays behind the scenes to manipulate him, and there is a beautiful woman to distract him from his investigations too...

The Ash Carter Mystery Thriller books are one of my favourite historical adventure series, so I am delighted to reshare my thoughts about the first instalment of Carter's Singapore adventures as the series gets a reboot!

The Ash Carter Mystery Thriller series as a whole follows former Captain Carter during his Private Investigator years in Singapore, beginning as he sets foot in Asia in 1952, having escaped a spot of bother in the Near East. You can discover more about Carter's earlier adventures in the prequel series, the Ash Carter Near East Thrillers, but you do not need to have read them to enjoy Singapore 52. 

Murray has an impressive knack of immersing you in the nitty gritty of the post World War II landscape, and this book does a splendid job of referencing all the many vying interests in Asia at this time, calling on deep rivalries left over from the WWII, the influence of the battles still being fought, and the shifting power plays that hint at the political changes to come - and he ties it all together in the form of a pacy thriller that holds your attention throughout.

There are two main threads to this story, one following Carter's search for his friend's killer, and the other, the rumoured attack by unknown insurgents, with some lovely little sub-plots around intrigue and deception that tie them together. Bailey brings in all the evocative vibes of a setting rich in sights, sounds, smells and the clash of cultures that make up the exotic melting pot that was Singapore during this period, using them nicely to enhance the story.

Carter gets himself here there and everywhere as he solves the many mysteries at play, characteristically not always on the right side of the law, making friends and enemies in true righter-of-wrongs style. He is not perfect, and this does get him into trouble at times, but it is always in the name of justice which is just what you need in an engaging protagonist. I particularly enjoy how Murray pitches Carter's adventures to appeal to anyone who loves an intelligent, well-crafted thriller of the Jack Reacher type while still retaining the right feel for a period piece, weaving in a little James Bond and the delicious noir feel of a Sam Spade to somehow bring everything out just right for a 1950's story.

This is a tale full of danger and suspense, with an unsettling whisper of menace from the sinister interjections of the mysterious Jin, who Murray very cleverly contrives to keep a secret until the end of the story. It certainly kept me guessing, and had me turning the pages faster and faster as everything built to a tense climax when Carter finally puts all the little pieces together.

I have read many of Murray's excellent novels since picking up Singapore 52 in 2020, and have enjoyed them all. His thrillers have all the elements I look for in novels that entertain and immerse you in intriguing periods of history and I cannot recommend his books highly enough!

Singapore 52 is available to buy now in hardback, paperback and ebook formats (ebook free on Amazon).

A version of this review was first published by me in 2020.

About the author: 

Murray Bailey Is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father's experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines. The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.

Murray is well traveled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.

Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.

The Rose And The Yew Tree by Agatha Christie (writing as Mary Westmacott)

 

The Rose And The Yew Tree by Agatha Christie (writing as Mary Westmacott).

This edition published 15th June 2017. Or8ginally published 1948.

From the cover of the book:

A captivating novel of love and intrigue.

Everyone expected Isabella Charteris, beautiful, sheltered and aristocratic, to marry her cousin Rupert when he came back from the War. It would have been such a suitable marriage. How strange then that John Gabriel, an ambitious and ruthless war hero, should appear in her life. For Isabella, the price of love would mean abandoning her dreams of home and happiness forever. For Gabriel, it would destroy his chance of a career and all his ambitions…

Famous for her ingenious crime books and plays, Agatha Christie also wrote about crimes of the heart, six bittersweet and very personal novels, as compelling and memorable as the best of her work.

***********

When Hugh Norreys is badly injured in a car accident, the course of his life drastically changes. Instead of the future he expected by running away with his married lover, he finds himself a broken man unable to walk. He moves in with his artist brother Robert and sister-in-law Teresa, and joins them in relocating to the Cornish town of St Loo.

Teresa becomes involved in the 1945 political campaign to elect a new M.P. for St Loo, and Hugh watches the resulting drama from his couch. His status as invalid encourages visitors to open up to him, and he becomes the confidante of a number of characters - notably pushy John Gabriel, who is standing as the Conservative candidate; and beautiful Isabella Charteris, who lives with her three elderly aunts at St Loo Castle.

As the campaign proceeds, Hugh begins to intensely dislike cynical, working-class Gabriel, who insists on sharing with him how he intends to get one over on the upper class element of St Loo to cement a rise in his fortunes. Meanwhile, Hugh becomes very fond of the otherworldly Isabella, who waits for her war hero cousin, Rupert, to return to St Loo to claim his bride. What Hugh does not foresee is that Gabriel will be willing to throw up his aspirations in pursuit of his baser instincts.

This is the fourth book Agatha Christie published under the pen name Mary Westmacott, and the last to be published before the real identity of the author was revealed to the public. This is my #ReadChrsitie2026 #BiggestBestBeloved pick for July, for the prompt Hidden Gem, and my first Mary Westmacott novel!

The story is narrated by Hugh, beginning with a surprise visit from a stranger requesting he visit John Gabriel on his death-bed, some years after the events in St Loo. He then tells the story of the election campaign from his perspective, by way of his own romantic and physical misfortunes. Hugh's impassioned account, which thrums with bittersweet emotions, immerses you in the complicated relationships between the principal players, and the shocking events elicited by the arrival of John Gabriel. Hugh follows the St Loo shenanigans with more drama around his reunion with Gabriel in post-war Eastern Europe. He then ties up all the loose ends by returning to the present, detailing what he learns from a dying Gabriel.

Without giving the game away, this is a story full of twists and turns that delve into love, class, innocence, sin, and redemption. It beautifully explores how people appear in different guises to others, often with startlingly different results. There are lovely echoes of Gothic tragedy, and Christie does an incredible job of getting into all the political and prejudicial nitty-gritty of the time and place in which the story is set.

I really did not know what to expect from this one, as it is not a one of the crime mysteries I know and love from Christie, but this book actually bears all the hallmarks of the excellent way she cuts to the heart of the human aspects of her other work. I was utterly immersed in the story, hanging on the humour, heartache, and carefully crafted nuances in the characters - Teresa was my favourite - on the way to a very thought-provoking ending. 

A hidden gem, indeed. I cannot wait to get to know the other Westmacott novels.

The Rose and the Yew Tree 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.

Never To Be Found by Jo Spain

 

Never To Be Found by Jo Spain.

Published 2nd July 2026 by Zaffre.

From the cover of the book:

She helped him disappear.

She'll wish she hadn't . . .

In Japan, one hundred thousand people voluntarily disappear every year, aided by those who help them start over. They call them Johatsu - the evaporated.

I brought the idea to England. No judgement, no questions. Just new identities, packed bags, and discreet escape plans from abusive partners, debt, or simply lives that no longer fit.

I thought I was doing something good - honourable, even. Until now.

I know now that not everyone is fleeing hardship. I've helped someone who committed a crime to flee the police. I've disappeared a murderer.

And unless I find him, I don't know what he'll do next . . .

***********

In Japan, one hundred thousand people a year choose to vanish from their lives, helped by a network of yonige-ya, or Night Movers - the Japanese call them the Johatsu, the 'evaporated'. Emulating the Japanese model, Veronica Page set up a business in the UK to help people disappear and start again, and she makes a good living aiding them to escape their lives, without judgement.

Veronica devotes herself to her job, almost to the exclusion of every other part of her life, but she begins to question her chosen vocation when she is shocked to discover she may have helped a murderer evade justice...

Never to be Found explores the intriguing concept of the Johatsu - the Japanese people who leave behind the burdens that weight them down, in a heavily honour-based society.

The story unfurls largely from the perspective of Veronica, who was driven to help the vulnerable and desperate to begin again, after her own life was touched by an experience in Japan she is sure was Johatsu related. She has a well established, secretive network of her own in the UK, and she firmly believes she is doing an honourable job - one that helps her deal with the unresolved trauma that haunts her.

But then police detective Seb Ashcroft inserts himself into her comfortable life, and sets her questioning if the service she provides is noble as she thought. Having always trusted her instincts to steer her right, it appears she made a grave error in helping one of her clients, Mark Drake, to evade justice - a man she now learns is suspected of brutally killing his wife and sister-in-law.

Seb has been searching for Drake for months, and he makes it his business to guilt-trip Veronica into aiding him in his quest to track him down, even though she has no idea of the name Drake is now using, or where he is living... and even attempting to follow his trail breaks every rule her business model relies on.

Veronica gradually gets pulled into Seb's obsession to find a killer, touched by the heartache that motivates him, and the undeniable sexual attraction she feels growing between them. As the action moves between York and the south coast of England, the plot thickens when the less than legal, parts of Veronica's rigidly compartmentalised working arrangements threaten to bring her whole life crashing down.

Twists and turns abound, pivoting on revelations that blow open carefully guarded secrets and sinister motivations, and there is a lovely sense of danger throughout. I really enjoyed how Spain delves into Veronica's personal life in parallel with the gritty crime plot, which fills out the fascinating  Johatsu elements of the story. She explores knotty themes of loss, mental health, control, and manipulation in telling this tale too.

This one really kept me guessing, and the pacy plot makes it a very entertaining page-turner. It is my first Jo Spain thriller, and it definitely will not be my last!

Never to be Found is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Zaffre for sending me an ecopy of this book, and to Compulsive Readers for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Jo Spain is the author of thirteen bestselling thrillers, including her three No.1s, The Trial (Ireland), The Confession (Ireland) and Dirty Little Secrets (Audible). She is translated into seventeen languages and was nominated as Irish author of the year in 2024.

Jo is also a full-time screenwriter. Along with her writing partner, David Logan.

Three Summers by Karen Swan

 

Three Summers by Karen Swan.

Published in paperback 18th June 2026 by Penguin.

From the cover of the book:

1950's Italy.

1957: The summer of innocence.

Amongst the lemon trees, Rafaella Parisi impatiently waits for the summer visitors to arrive in her small fishing village on the coast of Puglia. She may be dating Fon Giannelli, but there is one person she longs to see: Cosimo – son of the wealthy Franchetti family.

1958: The summer everything changes everything.

After a devastating accident at the lavish Franchetti villa, Rafa makes a vow that changes the course of all their futures.

1961: The summer they meet again.

When Rafa and Cosi’s worlds collide, Rafa faces an agonizing choice. Is she willing to risk the life she has for the future she once dreamed of?

***********

1957, Puglia. Rafaella Parisi and her friends are looking forward to summer, even if they have to work for a living now adult responsibilities beckon. Rafa also has another reason to be excited... wealthy Cosimo Franchetti will soon be here, when his family return to the village for their annual summer holiday. 

Although she is dating local fisherman Fon Giannelli, something passed between her and Cosi last summer that ventured beyond friendship, and she is keen to see how things stand between them. But when he arrives, jealousy leads to betrayal that and leads to a catastrophe that rocks the village.

1958. The consequences of last summer's tragedy has changed everything. The vow Rafa took separates her from Cosi, and sets her life on a different path.

1961. Rafa is now settled into an unfulfilling married life to Fon, as he pursues fortune at the side of his cruel and ambitious brother, Dante. But her life is thrown into turmoil when she is reunited with Cosi, and they discover that their love for each other is a strong as ever. Rafa and Cosi face difficult and dangerous choices is they want to finally be together...

Karen Swan's move to a new publisher, Penguin, brings with it a different kind of novel than the one I usually expect from her pen. The story unfurls through the eyes of Rafa, Fon and Cosi, opening with a coming of age summer in a small fishing village in Puglia, which lays bare the differences between wealthy summer visitors, the Franchetti family, and the locals. 

Rafa and her close friend Gina have grown up sharing their summers with Cosi Franchetti and his younger sister Romola. This summer the prospect of change sparks between the friends, driven by simmering tensions within the Franchetti family, the seeds of a romance between Rafa and Cosi, and jealousy in the hearts of Fon and his arrogant brother Dante. Plenty of drama results. just when Rafa and Cosi hope to cement their relationship an accident shatters the future they hoped for.

The following summer, which is mentioned only briefly, shows how things have changed, before the story moves forward in time for a glimpse of the married life between Rafa and Fon, and between Dante and Gina. This section of the story is much darker, following Dante's desire for power, and the actions he persuades Fon to undertake - include abduction of someone very close to Cosi. Cosi also reappears on the scene to rekindle his romance with Rafa, leading to more ructions on the way to an action filled climax.

The pace of the novel is much more fast paced that Swan's typical style. A lot of characters are introduced in the first section of the book, which feels weighty for a stand-alone story, and this gets in the way of her typical slow-burn romance threaded with intimate character studies - even if she does have a role for many of them to play later down the line, when the reckoning roll around.

I think it is fair to say this is one which will divide the Karen Swan fan crowd. The name-of-the-game is rather more corruption-meets-forbidden love that Swan's usual fare, ramped up with sun, sea, sex and secrets. Sure to appeal to anyone looking for a beach read that evokes a scorching La Dolce Vita atmosphere by way of a gangster-themed twist. 

Three Summers is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Penguin for sending e a copy of this book, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Karen is the Sunday Times and international best-selling author of twenty-nine books which have sold over 5 million copies around the world. A prolific author, she writes two novels a year and her books are known for their evocative locations. Karen sees travel as vital research, and likes to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

A former fashion editor, she lives in Sussex, England with her family and three dogs.

June 2026 Reading Round-Up

 

I spent time with some of my favourite authors in June, and also discovered intriguing debuts, via excellent books about love, loss, second chances, and a side order of edge-of-your-seat thrills!

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

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Stop Dead by Katrin Júlíusdóttir

This Is How You Lose The Time War
By Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Dwell by Rue Baldry

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

A Strange Way To Die by R. Pearl and G. Bamford

A Smart Girl's Guide To Second Chances by Steph Vizard

The Glass Key by Amanda Geard

Love, After All by Ewald Arenz

Glad You Came by Chloe Ford

Smallie by Eden Mckenzie-Goddard

The Sisters Of Hope Square by Faith Hogan

What a month!

The Sisters Of Hope Square (Pin Hill Island Book Two)

 

The Sisters of Hope Square (Pin Hill Island Book Two) by Faith Hogan.

Published 4th June 2026 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

All Blythe Carney ever wanted was to become a hotelier and run her family's business, the Hope Square Hotel. But fate, and her grandfather, intervened and it fell into her younger sister Rae's lap, taking her dreams with it. Now Blythe owns Still Water House, the most exclusive guest house on Pin Hill Island, but she can't help but feel she's still not living the life she was meant to.

Rae Johnson had no interest in taking over the hotel, her dreams lay elsewhere, but when she ended up with the family business her sister had set her heart on, her sense of duty to continue their family legacy with her husband was too strong to ignore.

Now, fifteen years later, newly widowed Rae is struggling to keep the hotel afloat and she knows that selling it could be the final straw in her already fragile relationship with her sister.

What do you do when your sister lives the life that you'd set your heart on? And when the perfect storm is brewing, surely, it's time to put aside the jealousy and disappointment that can tear a family apart, and fight for the future you have always dreamed of?

***********

From her childhood, Blythe Carney longed to take over the family business, Hope Square Hotel, on Pin Hill Island. The hotel was in her blood, unlike her younger sister Rae, but when the moment for Blythe to step into her grandfather's shoes came, he gave the hotel to Rae. Blythe was devasted by this unexpected blow, and even though she inherited her family home Still Water House, which she and her husband Kip have transformed into a luxury guest house, she still feels something is missing from her life.

Rae Johnson was never interested in taking over the family business. Her sister Blythe was always the natural heir to Hope Square Hotel, but when love came calling in the shape of smarmy, ambitious hotelier Marcus Johnson, she found herself blindsided by her grandfather's plans. Their grandfather's betrayal opened up a gulf between the sisters that has never been breached.

Fifteen years later, Marcus has died leaving Rae with a raft of debts and no idea how to make the business pay. Her only option is to sell, but this might be the final blow that breaks the relationship between her and Blythe, who sees Hope Square Hotel and Still Water House as the legacy of her daughter Siggy...

There can be few relationships more complicated than that between sisters, and the brilliant Faith Hogan explores just about every inch of those complexities in this book, the second one of her Ballycove spin-off series set on Pin Hill Island.

The story weaves beautifully between the present, and the past, taking you on an emotional whirlwind that explores the twists of fate that have brought Blythe and Rea to a pivotal moment in their relationship that might finally bring their fragile truce crashing down. The voices of Blythe, Rae, Blythe's beloved daughter Siggy, and Blythe's husband Kip carry the threads of a story that has more than its fair share of tear-jerking family dramas.

Once close, and sure of the paths their lives would take, Blythe and Rae offer two sides of a messy tangle of heartache and recriminations. Blythe is the dominant character, and the trickiest to come to terms with, given her strong opinions and dogged determination to keep Siggy close, no matter how much you come to understand the experiences that have shaped her. It is easier to take Rae to your heart, who also had little choice in the overall scheme of things, and was saddled with a marriage that was not what it appeared to outside eyes. Caught in the crossfire sit Siggy, smothered by her mother's hopes and fears, and lovely Kip who has been gradually pushed to one side by Blythe's obsessions. There are lots of other characters to love, and to hate too (I see you, Marcus).

Faith works her magic by totally immersing you in themes of love, loss, sibling rivalry, betrayal, prejudice against outsiders, class, and sexism in this small community, echoing through the timelines and voices of her characters - always her specialty. My heart took a pounding through all the carefully-crafted turns, on the way to an ending suitably full of hope for the Sisters of Hope Square. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking way she echoes her themes in the parts of the story about Blythe and Rae's German grandmother and new arrivals Val and Danial. The appearance of familiar faces from the stunning first Pin Hill novel, The Women of Ocean's End, was a lovely bonus.

I always know I am going to need a boxful of tissues with one of Faith's books, and I think the combination of tender and poignant moments in this story might make this the most tear-jerking of her novels yet. I am already looking forward to the next one.

The Sisters of Hope Square is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria, Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book.

About the author:

Faith Hogan is an award-winning, million copy best seller. She is a USA Today, Irish Times Top Ten and an Amazon UK Number 1 Best Selling writer of contemporary fiction novels. Her stories have charmed readers around the world - she's sold internationally and translated widely. She writes grown up women's fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel-good and inspiring.

The Bookshop Ladies was shortlisted for an An Post Book Award in 2024.

The Sisters of Hope Square is her brand new summer read coming June 2026. It is a gripping and poignant story of two sisters divided by jealousy and disappointment who must put their differences aside to save the inheritance that drove a wedge between them decades earlier.

She writes twisty contemporary crime fiction as Geraldine Hogan.

She lives in the west of Ireland with her family and their Labrador named Penny. She's a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger - except of course when it is raining!

Smallie by Eden Mckenzie-Goddard

 

Smallie by Eden Mckenzie-Goddard.

Published 7th May 2026 by Viking.

From the cover of the book:

Smallie adj. |smal·lie|

Definition: Caribbean (informal). Describing or relating a person from a small island; a small islander.

In 1961, nineteen-year-old Lucinda Brown travels to England in search of her son’s father, Clarence Braithwaite, who left Barbados to join the British army. But aboard the ship to Southampton she meets a man named Raldo who offers her a glimpse of a new life, a freer life. Bound by the memory of her son waiting at home, she chooses Clarence – realizing too late that war has made a stranger out of him.

Nearly fifty years later, Lucinda receives a letter from the Home Office that threatens to tear her world apart. Her children rally together to prove her legal arrival, and to do so they must track down an elusive man from her past, a man she wanted to love but instead lost, a man who now holds the key to her family’s future. Raldo . . .

An exhilarating and expansive tale of a family thrown into collision with the Windrush scandal, Smallie shows just how easily the past can spill into our lives, even when – especially when – we think we’ve closed the door on it.

***********

1961. Nineteen-year-old Lucinda Brown travels to England, searching for Clarence Braithwaite, the man whose promise of love resulted in the young son she has left behind in the care of her grandmother. Clarence had left Barbados to join the British army, leaving her to raise Reggie alone. All she knows is that he is now living in a place called Tottenham.

On the journey she meets a man called Raldo, who offers her the chance of a different kind of life, but shaped by her upbringing with a strict father she believes her future lies with Clarence - only to realise too late that he has been changed by his experiences fighting in Kenya, and is no longer the person she fell in love with.

2015. Years later, an unhappy marriage to Clarence has resulted in a family filled with tension. Lucinda receives a letter from the Home Office that shakes her to the core - she has been deemed to have no legal right to remain in the UK, despite arriving in England on a British passport and long-service as an NHS employee. Her family rallies round to help fight her case, but evidence she travelled here before the cut-off date for automatic citizenship for Commonwealth residents is elusive. Only one person can provide the proof they need - Raldo - and Lucinda has not seen him since the day they said goodbye in 1962. 

This beautifully written and many-layered debut novel is a compelling combination of family drama and powerful examination of the shocking Windrush scandal of recent years. The story unfurls in two compelling timelines, following Lucinda's arrival in England in 1961, and the fall-out of the letter she receives in 2015.

The story weaves beautifully between the timelines, delving into expansive story-lines about broken promises on an international, institutional and personal level, as the Windrush generation face betrayal in the past and the present. Lucinda's heart-rending first person account of her upbringing, meeting with Raldo, reunion with Clarence, and the choices she makes are an utterly compelling account of life for a Smallie (small islander) in the 1960s. In parallel, the incisive contemporary drama in the present addresses the shameful treatment of so many people like Lucinda, when political point-scoring rides rough-shod over their lives. 

This is a novel of intense moments that hit you hard, with a high proportion of tear-jerking human frailty and whopping injustice, but there are golden moments that will make you cry for more positive reasons too. I am seriously impressed with the way Mckenzie-Goddard writes so well about complicated families and tricky relationships against the wider backdrop of the Windrush scandal - and he threads a very clever vein of mystery through the whole wonderful lot that only reveals its significance right at the climax of the story.

If you love a novel that captures you heart and soul, and leaves you with a lot to think about when it comes to uncomfortable history, then this is the debut you need. I could not put it down until I had absorbed it cover to cover!

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

Thank you to Viking for sending me a proof of this book.

About the author:

Eden McKenzie-Goddard is a writer with Barbadian-Jamaican roots. Smallie is his first novel.

Glad You Came (Just4Summer Book One) by Chloe Ford

 

Glad You Came by Chloe Ford.

Published 16th July 2026 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

She's a runaway bride. He's a runaway popstar.

After calling off her wedding at the very last minute, Sara does what any self-respecting woman would do: she goes on her honeymoon alone.

But the fifteen-day luxury cruise around the Mediterranean implodes almost immediately when Sara misses the ship at its second stop. Stranded, sunburnt, and spectacularly unprepared, she's bracing for disaster. until she realises she's not alone.

Gus - member of the world-famous pop sensation Just4Summer - has also been left behind. Desperate to avoid the headlines and savour one rare taste of anonymity, he teams up with Sara to chase the cruise across the Adriatic.

Cue dodgy buses, missed connections, the storm of the century, and far too much proximity. As they stumble from city to city, the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. But when real life comes calling, Sara must decide: is this just a summer romance. or the love story she never saw coming?

***********

Sara is used to being the responsible one in her family, having taken care of her three younger sisters (and father) after the death of their mother, so when she skips out of her wedding moments before walking up the aisle she cannot believe how rash she has been - even if she knows in her heart it was the right decision. 

After wallowing in self-pity for a couple of weeks, her sisters are determined to pull her out of her slump. Millie, Abby and Gemma persuade her to throw caution to the wind by heading off on the luxury cruise around the Mediterranean that was supposed to be her honeymoon. 

But her fifteen day cruise goes seriously awry when she misses the boat at the second stop - and she is not the only one. Annoying fellow guest, Gus, a member of the hugely famous pop group Just4Summer travelling under the radar, has also failed to return to the ship on-time. 

Despite failing to hit it off when they met, they decide to team up to make their way to the ship's next destination. Mishaps, near misses, and a huge storm keep the pair constantly one step behind the cruise itinerary, and forced proximity soon reveals that there is an attraction between them they cannot deny...

Chloe Ford's first series following the members of fracturing boy-band Just4Summer gets underway with a delicious romance-meets-travel caper, when runaway bride Sara is thrown together with runaway pop-star Gus.

Both characters come to the story with a lot more baggage than that in their suitcases, and as they find themselves careering through the Adriatic in a mad-cap quest to rejoin their cruise, they gradually open-up the things that they have been running from, and become each other's safe space - Sara learning to let go, and Gus forging a connection he has not felt for a long time. But Sara has doubts about how real their relationship can really be in the long term, especially when Gus' fame intrudes on their adventure.

Ford knows how to write a good rom-com, with plenty of heat, as evidenced by her previous stand-alones Work Trip and House Party, but this is my favourite one yet. There is ample opportunity for laughter and tears as themes about taking on too much too young and becoming trapped are explored, and Sara and Gus carry their sides of the plot beautifully as their hopes, dreams and fears bring them together and then throw hurdles in the way of their romance. The chemistry between them is to die for, with plenty of steamy suspense, and the threads all tie-up in one luscious bow at the end. This book has my favourite supporting cast of Ford's yet too, with a celebration of sisterhood. 

Absolutely perfect summer reading! I cannot wait to see which member of Just4Summer gets to find true love next!

Glad You Came is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a proof of this book.

About the author:

Chloe Ford grew up in rural Sussex but is now based in South Gloucestershire. She has an affinity with all things country, from riding horses to muddy walks. Her love for writing began at secondary school when her English teacher would set a writing task for the whole hour. An avid reader, she started sneaking Mills & Boon books out from under her mum's bed as a teenager and hasn't stopped devouring romance books ever since.

Love, After All by Ewald Arenz

 

Love, After All by Ewald Arenz.

Translated from the German by Rachel Ward.

Published 18th June 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

When Clara meets Elias, she isn’t looking for love. Widowed and wary of being hurt again, she has built a careful life of work and quiet independence. Elias, an actor in his thirties, is trapped in a relationship that no longer feels real, more at ease slipping into a role than being himself. Yet from the moment they meet, something genuine sparks between them – something neither has felt in years.

They fall into step easily, sharing secrets, laughter and the sense of being seen. But there is the age difference, the miles between their worlds, and the lingering guilt that ties Clara to her past. When a new job takes her to another part of the country, she ends the relationship before he can – certain that love like theirs cannot last. And then Elias falls ill, forcing them both to confront what truly matters.

Told with warmth, gentle humour and quiet insight, Love, After All is a luminous portrait of two people finding the courage to open their hearts again – proof that love, at any age, can still take us by surprise.

***********

Widow Clara is navigating the single life, happily settled in a flat that is perfect for her, and working part-time as a photographer for a newspaper. She decides the time is ripe to let go of the holiday cottage she bought with her late husband, Paul, and is glad of the funds this will bring when she discovers her job is to be phased out.

Elias is drifting through life as an actor. He enjoys his work, but other aspects of his life are less satisfying. He acknowledges that his private life involves a good deal of play-acting, especially when it comes to his some-time girlfriend, Vera. However, when it comes to his relationship with his daughter, Jule, he does his best to be 'real'.

Neither Clara, nor Elias, are looking for love, but when they meet - at the threshold of Clara's cottage, when Elias accompanies Vera so they can have a nose around the quaint property - something clicks between them. A relationship ensures, but the age difference between them eventually proves a stumbling block... until Elias becomes seriously ill.

Best-selling German author Ewald Arenz has a deft touch when it comes to writing about family and relationships, and this latest novel is a great showcase for his talents. The story unfurls from the perspectives of Clara and Elias, delving into the subtleties of their lives, and showing how their expectations and experiences come between them.

For Clara, this means examining her contradictory recollections of marriage to Paul, especially about the late-diagnosed cancer that rapidly consumed him; her acceptance of widowhood; the sudden prospect of unemployment in middle life; and the growing burden of dealing with her father's paranoia, and her mother's increasingly worse dementia. In parallel, Elias has troubles of his own to contend with, which mostly revolve around his inability to connect with anyone on a meaningful level, leading to relationship dramas and self-doubt.

Arenz writes compellingly about them both, showing sensitivity and insight when it comes to the past that has shaped them, their hopes and dreams, and more particularly their fears. The way Clara gradually reveals the course of Paul's illness is handled very well, and the combination of warmth, humour and heartache that threads through Clara's experiences with her family is wonderful. Elias' determination to be a good father to Jule is also examined nicely, although he does tend to come across as rather self-absorbed in other areas of his life.

What absolutely shines throughout this novel is the way Arenz charts the course of Clara and Elias' relationship from the first spark of attraction, to a rupture in their romance, and beyond to when Elias' sudden illness brings them into back into the same orbit. If you love a quiet novel that brings to mind the way Elizabeth Strout writes about feelings, family ties, and the myriad things that fate throws in the way of happiness then you will adore what Arenz does in this story - emotional highs and lows, moments that stand still, tenderness, unburdening, laughter and tears, and a realisation of what is important in life... all this is here and more.

I was already a fan of Arenz before embarking on this novel, and it cements everything I admire about his writing. Rachel Ward's translation is a thing of beauty too, bringing every carefully-crafted nuance alive. I swallowed it whole!

Love, After All 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 proof of this book, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Ewald Arenz, born in Nürnberg in 1965, studied English and American literature and history. He is a teacher at a secondary school in Nürnberg. His novels and plays have received many awards. Ewald lives near Fürth with his family.

About the translator:

Rachel Ward is a freelance translator of literary and creative texts from German and French to English. Having always been an avid reader and enjoyed word games and puzzles, she discovered a flair for languages at school and went on to study modern languages at the University of East Anglia. She spent the third year working as a language assistant at two grammar schools in Saaebrücken, Germany. During her final year, she realised that she wanted to put these skills and passions to use professionally and applied for UEA’s MA in Literary Translation, which she completed in 2002. Her published translations include Traitor by Gudrun Pausewang and Red Rage by Brigitte Blobel, and she is a Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

The Glass Key by Amanda Geard

 

The Glass Key by Amanda Geard.

Published 18th June 2026 by Headline Review.

From the cover of the book:

In Ireland, Maggie has grown up hearing her mother tell her the bedtime story of The Glass Key. It's a Nordic fairytale passed down by Maggie's grandmother Anna Swan, who mysteriously left her home one stormy night years ago, never to return. Now Maggie's grandfather has died and going through his things, Maggie is shocked to discover a faded wartime letter, asking him to take in a baby. In that moment she realises that Anna Swan was a woman of many secrets.

Only by travelling to Norway and discovering the story of four brave young women whose lives were forever changed by the occupation of their tiny islands, can Maggie uncover the shocking truth about her family - and finally unlock the mystery of the glass key...

***********

County Kerry, Ireland. 2005. With a broken marriage, and failed gardening business, in her wake, Maggie Swan has returned home for the funeral of her beloved grandfather, Atticus. She has no plans to return to Dublin, and the uncertainty about what life holds for her now is clouded by her mother's determination to sell Atticus' sprawling home Hellebore House - a place where secrets lie as thick as the dust in its once stately rooms.

Maggie's grandmother, Anna Swan, left Hellebore House one stormy night in 1959, to never return. Her mother Freya, a famous author who continues Anna's tradition of telling magical Nordic fairy tales such as The Glass Key, rarely speaks of her, but Maggie has always been fascinated by the mystery of why she left that night. As Maggie begins to sift through Atticus' belongings, she comes across a wartime letter asking him to take in Anna and become her father-figure to baby Freya, which throws into question so many things she thought she knew about her family.

Maggie learns that the answers she is seeking lie in Norway, where she must go if she wants to learn the truth...

Amanda Geard is one of my favourite authors for many reasons. I adored both of her glorious previous novels, The Midnight House (2022) and The Moon Gate (2023), and my love affair with her work continues as strong as ever with this brand new gem The Glass Key.

The story unfurls in two compelling timelines: in 2015 from the perspective of Maggie, as she pursues her quest for the truth about the disappearance of Anna Swan, the grandmother she never knew; and in 1940's Norway, during the German occupation, through the voices of Anna (also known as Astrid) and Nina (custodian of the beacon on the tiny coastal island of Lysøya, with her wild younger sister Liv).

I am so excited that Amanda has chosen incredible Norway for her latest novel, a place that both fascinates me and is beloved to Amanda herself. She excels in shining an insightful light on areas of history that deserve much more attention, particularly when it comes to the underrepresented roles that women have had to play, and the plight of wartime Norway is perfect fodder for her talents. 

In a way that always leaves me in awe, the timelines weave beautifully together to immerse you in storylines about love, loss, family and friendship - bleeding cleverly between atmospheric locations and objects present in both timelines, and turning on pivotal moments steeped in closely guarded secrets, yearning, motherhood, and profound grief. Her characters are complicated creatures, filled out in realistic shades of grey, and they take you on a journey that runs the gamut of emotional highs and lows, laughter and tears. I especially loved the sensitive way Amanda explores the complexities of survival and resistance in small communities during war, particularly when it comes to collaboration with the enemy - there are stars to pin your colours to... monsters to be feared too... all inspired by real events that will send you spiralling down rabbit holes. And oh, how she uses Norse fairy tales to capture your imagination, and perfectly echo her themes! Superb!

Once again Amanda threads elements of mystery through her story with accomplished style. The answers to Maggie's questions comes after many twists and turns, and I cried pretty much solidly through the final third of the novel unable to look away as past meets present in a series of breath-taking moments. The combined impact of revelations, reconciliations, and remembrances had me sobbing, not to mention more than one superbly wrought love-story - there are a few nice surprises from Amanda's previous visits to County Kerry too, and her communities are a joy.

There can be no doubt that The Glass Key stands loud and proud as one of my books of 2026. It has everything I want in a historical novel - just as I knew it would. More please, Amanda.

The Glass Key is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Headline for sending me a copy of this beautiful book.

About the author:

Born in Australia, Amanda Geard has lived all over the world, from a houseboat in London to a tiny island in Norway before settling in County Kerry in Ireland. Her debut novel The Midnight House was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection and her novels have been translated into multiple languages.

A Smart Girl's Guide To Second Chances by Steph Vizard

 

A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances by Steph Vizard.

Published 18th June 2026 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

What happens when the man who broke your heart reappears just before your wedding?

To Do List

1. Replace decapitated groom cake topper.

2. Complete twenty-page questionnaire for second-choice celebrant.

3. Break family curse.

4. Ignore ex-boyfriend / current client.

Rebecca, a super-smart consultant, is determined to defy the family marriage curse, which claims no woman marries their first fiancé, and prove that Matt is The One.

Although the wedding planning lurches from one disaster to the next and she has to steer a major work project before the big day, Rebecca is sure she can stay on top of things. That is until Alex – the ex who dramatically broke her heart at Oxford University – reappears in the boardroom as her new client. How dare he still be as infuriatingly clever and hot as before? And since when did he start wearing shirts with collars?

As Rebecca's past and present collide, she realises her choices can't be resolved with a trusty pros and cons list, and she'll have to finally come to terms with the age-old question: head or heart?

***********

Super-smart business consultant Rebecca is about to get married. She is sure her fiancé Matt is The One, but nothing seems to be going right when it comes to the wedding preparations - a burned out wedding venue, a photographer struck blind, no wedding celebrant, an over-sized wedding gown, and broken cake toppers... everything seems to be going wrong. 

If the stress of rescuing the wedding was not enough, Rebecca also has a big project coming up at work - one which might bring the promotion she has been hoping for.  Preparing to get stuck in, she heads to the boardroom to meet her new client, only to discover that it is Alex, the man who broke her heart at Oxford years ago.

Rebecca begins to wonder whether the universe is trying to tell her that Matt is not the perfect choice she thought he was. Could the wedding curse her mother keeps mentioning, that means women in her family never marry their first fiancé, actually be true? 

This highly enjoyable rom-com offers a great twist on the second-chance-at-love trope, when Rebecca finds herself caught between deciding if her head or heart should win out when it comes to her future. The story unfurls from Rebecca's perspective, moving back and forth between her time at Oxford, when she fell head over heels for post-grad hottie Alex; and the present, as she looks forward to marrying Matt, back home in Melbourne.

Rebecca was sure her life was on track when she met Matt. Their easy relationship had her certain he was the perfect choice for her, even if their wedding plans keep throwing up problems. The reappearance of Alex, who is much more her intellectual equal, sets her head spinning, and she wonders if Matt is actually the safe choice, rather then the right one. 

Vizard does a fantastic job weaving oodles of lovely threads about family, friendship, and paths not taken, as Rebecca works through the heartache of the past - all while fielding significant hurdles in the present. The mystery around what really happened between Rebecca and Alex, during their heady university days, keeps you guessing right until the climax of the tale, and feeds perfectly into the 'wedding curse' element of the story. Vizard then pulls off the very best of in-the-feels endings, tying up all the loose ends in the most satisfying way possible.

Absolutely top-notch rom-com fare. I swallowed it whole!

The Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Steph Vizard is an Australian writer and lawyer. After studying literature at Oxford University, she worked in publishing in London. Her debut romantic comedy, The Love Contract, won the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize and has been optioned for a TV series by a major UK production company. She is a connoisseur of salt and vinegar chips and lives with her family in Melbourne.

Home Before Dark by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir (Paperback Release)

 

Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir.

Translated by Victoria Cribb.

Published in paperback 4th June 2026 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

November, 1967, Iceland. Fourteen-year-old Marsí has a secret penpal – a boy who lives on the other side of the country – but she has been writing to him in her older sister’s name. Now she is excited to meet him for the first time.

But when the date arrives, Marsí is prevented from going, and during the night her sister Stína goes missing – her bloodstained anorak later found at the place where Marsí and her penpal had agreed to meet.

November, 1977. Stína’s disappearance remains unsolved. Then an unexpected letter arrives for Marsí It’s from her penpal, and he’s still out there…

Desperate for news of her missing sister, but terrified that he might coming after her next, Marsí returns to her hometown and embarks on an investigation of her own.

But Marsí has always had trouble distinguishing her vivid dreams from reality, and as insomnia threatens her sanity, it seems she can’t even trust her own memories.

And her sister’s killer is still on the loose…

***********

Iceland, November 1967. Marsi strikes up a correspondence with a secret penpal. One night, she arranges to meet this boy, but when the time comes she is unable to make it to their assignation. That same night, her older sister Stina goes missing, leaving behind a bloodstained anorak on the roadside. She is never seen again. Marsi becomes consumed with an idea: that her sister's disappearance is connected to her penpal... because she has been pretending to be Stina.

Ten years later, the mystery of Stina's disappearance remains unsolved. Plagued with insomnia, and feelings of guilt she can never admit, Marsi returns home to her broken family for the anniversary of that fateful night. But this year something is different - her penpal has contacted her once again, and she is frightened he might be coming for her next. The time has come for her to find out once and for all what happened to her sister.

Every time I read one of Eva's cracking Nordic noir mysteries I am struck with the well-deserved comparisons between her work and that of the eminent Agatha Christie. I think this book, more than any of hers I have read before, shows every ounce of the talent that has earned her this reputation.

The story unfurls in two deliciously twisted timelines, through the narratives of Marsi in 1977, and Stina in 1967. In classic Eva style, she begins from the outset to lay plenty of false trails as the two timelines weave back and forth, delving into the tragic consequences of family dramas, friendship clashes, and coming of age struggles. 

Marsi's desperate quest for the truth drives the story, and she makes for a gloriously unreliable narrator. Chronic insomnia; the toll of the guilty feelings that haunt her; and half-remembered memories al warp her perception of events in past and present. As she delves into matters others would prefer she left alone, suspicion of those she thought she could trust only clouds her judgement further. 

The plot is devilishly clever. Eva deftly spins multiple threads of mystery about Stina's disappearance, shocking secrets, and Iceland's uncomfortable post-WWII history. She misleads, misdirects, and springs her carefully concealed traps like never before, all while immersing you in the gritty reality of a family torn apart by loss, and things that remain unsaid. And the atmosphere! It is thick with all the edgy suspense that comes from unsettled weather, brooding landscape, capricious characters with murky motivations, and unsettling locations you are bound to revisit in your nightmares.

I could not put this book down. Victoria Cribb's translation is crisp and viscerally gut-wrenching, doing full justice to the imagination of one of Iceland's most accomplished crime writers. Simply superb!

Home Before Dark is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support the very best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof of this book, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

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. The critically acclaimed Girls Who Lie (book two in the Forbidden Iceland series) soon followed, with Night Shadows (book three) following suit in July 2022. You Can’t See Me (book four) was released in 2023, with Boys Who Hurt in 2024.

Eva lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík.