The Grief House, the forthcoming novel from Rebecca Thorne, has picked up a couple of fantastic endorsements within the last week: "Dark and creepy and deeply satisfying, this will be lapped up by fans of both Susan Hill and Sarah Pinborough." Kevin Wignall "A brooding, haunting and deeply heartfelt thriller that kept me turning the pages long into the night." Chris Whitaker |
Jo Thomas' gorgeous new summery read, Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe, was published last week in paperback - and to celebrate, her publishers at Transworld took her and the book out in an ice-cream van, around various bookshops in South Wales! A dream home Beca Valentino is ready to escape the city. When she sees the perfect house for sale in her hometown, it seems like fate. Is this her chance to build the foster family she dreams of, on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast? |
A big mistake? Returning home isn't as easy as she thought, however. Her family's beloved ice cream café is gone - turned into a soulless wine bar by her hateful ex-boyfriend. Reconnecting with her oldest friend, fisherman Griff, isn't straightforward either. And when, instead of the children she expected to take in, two wary teenage boys appear on her doorstep, Beca fears she's made a terrible mistake. A recipe for change But an old family recipe book is just the inspiration she needs. Soon, with a little help from friends old and new, Beca is selling mouth-watering homemade gelato from a pop-up café on the beach. |
We were delighted to see Annie Taylor's forthcoming psychological thriller, The Truth About Her, featured in Delia Online's Books of the Month! Published by Michael Joseph books in July, the book has been hailed by Heather Darwent as "an absolutely gripping thriller that combines a seductive setting, a twisty plot, and complex characters". |
The other book published last week was No Ordinary Day by Matt Johnson, a true crime account of the murder of WC Yvonne Fletcher in 1984. Lee Child calls it "an important book", and within its first few days on sale, hit the No.1 spot on Amazon's Espionage True Accounts list. The book was launched last Thursday at London's Goldsboro Books. Behind one of the greatest tragedies in UK policing lies an incredible political scandal. On 17 April 1984, as demonstrators gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London, two gunmen lay in wait inside. At 10.18 a.m. automatic gunfire rained down on the protestors and WPC Yvonne Fletcher fell, mortally wounded. |
While researching this moving account of one man’s dogged pursuit of justice for a murdered colleague, Matt Johnson uncovered secret-service deals and government duplicity, all part of a plan to force an end to the National Union of Mineworkers’ strike. He discovered the real reason Yvonne’s killers were allowed to go free and how events that day led to thirty years of growing political control of policing, resulting in the disarray increasingly evident today.
This compelling account pulls seemingly unconnected threads into a coherent – and shocking – whole. It provides startling insights into how decisions taken by our politicians and the actions of our intelligence agencies, supposedly in our best interests, may be anything but.
You magazine selected Heather Darwent's debut, The Things We Do To Our Friends, has one of their 'Best Fiction Books of 2023 (so far)'. "Heather Darwent’s page-turning debut is dark, twisted and intoxicating." The book, published in January this year, became an instant Sunday Times top ten bestseller. |
One murder...
Someone knows what they did.
Escape to the French Farmhouse by Jo Thomas has been sold to Bastei MOBA in the Czech Republic, while The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir has been sold to Nordiq in Serbia.
The Glass Bell Award is judged by David and his team at Goldsboro Books. It is the only prize that rewards storytelling in all genres – from romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction – and is awarded annually to ‘a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised’. The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 27th July, with the winner – who will receive £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade glass bell – announced on Thursday 28th September 2023.
The book was selected for BBC 2's Between the Covers and was a Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month.