Books
Summer Reading
Slip between the covers with our guide to the best holiday books.
EDITED by ALLEY PASCOE
FOR THE THRILL OF IT
The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves, Pan Macmillan
On the Orkney Island of Westray, there are two Neolithic ‘story’ stones engraved with Viking graffiti. One of them was used to murder Westray local Archie Stout. The man’s childhood friend, Detective Jimmy Perez, is sent to investigate. Fans of the TV series Shetland will rejoice at the return of Detective Perez. An Ann Cleeves crime novel is a spectacular thing.
Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben and Reese Witherspoon, Century
Two blockbuster names, one epic story. With Reese’s experience growing up on defence bases, surrounded by medical military families, and Harlan’s superb storytelling abilities, the result is a sure-fire hit. The protagonist, army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe, becomes a fugitive after taking on a mysterious client. And so, the mystery begins …
Franz Josef
by
Alan Carter,
Freemantle Press
The town of Franz Josef on New Zealand’s South Island sits on a fault line where two tectonic plates rub together. The locals live with the threat of a massive earthquake, and a plan is in motion to relocate the township. Before ‘Operation Exodus’ is complete, a body is found suspended in a glacier. The setting will cool you, the plot will captivate you, and the writing will impress you.
FOR A TUG ON THE HEART STRINGS
Wreck: A Novel by Catherine Newman, Penguin Random House
Catherine Newman’s writing is delightful, tender-hearted and anxiety-inducing. Wreck captures the family dynamics of Rocky, husband Nick, and children Willa and Jamie, over a single year. They are a ‘normal’, loving, anxious, messy family. Rocky is the beating heart of the family, but a suspicious rash and a car and train crash make her question accidents and inevitability. It’s easy to relate to Rocky and her struggles, especially with character descriptions like: While Nick’s personality is very “cross that bridge when you come to it”. Rocky’s is very “apply to engineering school in case there’s a bridge that might need crossing but it hasn’t been designed yet”.
Heart the Lover by Lily King, Canongate
The intensity of young love is captured by Lily King in this novel, which is split into two parts. The book opens with Jordan as she starts her senior year of college and meets Sam and Yash. Their lives soon become entwined, and the relationships shapes who they are.