Book Review: Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.”

Set to be published on 30th August, Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid follows retired tennis player Carrie Soto who is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan. At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record.

Audiobook Review: Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

“Five killers. One train journey. But who will survive?”

Originally published in 2010 and with the movie-tie-in edition set to be released on 17th March, Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka was originally published in Japan with the title Maria Beetle.

The story follows fourteen-year-old Satoshi who looks like an innocent schoolboy, but he is really a viciously cunning psychopath. Kimura’s young son is in a coma thanks to him, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Nanao, the self-proclaimed ‘unluckiest assassin in the world’, and the deadly partnership of Tangerine and Lemon are also travelling to Morioka. A suitcase full of money leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will get off alive at the last station?

BOOK TOUR: The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

“By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands.”

Set to be released on 3rd February, The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan is set in an isolated retreat, deep in the Northumbria moors, where three women arrive for a weekend getaway. Their husbands will be joining them in the morning. Or so they think.

But when they get to Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note that claims one of their husbands has been murdered. Their phones are out of range. There’s no internet. They’re stranded. And a storm’s coming in. Friendships fracture and the situation spins out of control as each wife tries to find out what’s going on, who is responsible and which husband has been targeted. This was a tight-knit group. They’ve survived a lot. But they won’t weather this. Because someone has decided that enough is enough. That it’s time for a reckoning.

Book Review: Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman

“There is a fine line between coincidence and fate…”

Set to be published on 27th January, Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman is set in London, 1799, where aspiring jewellery artist Dora lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.

Book Review: Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

“Tell me the story of how you two met…”

Set to be published on 11th November, Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens follows journalist Laura who spends her life asking couples the all-important question, “How did you meet?”. She has built a career out of finding the most epic love stories for her column on relationships. The trouble is that Laura has never had her own meet-cute. Thirty years old and single, she is starting to wonder if she’ll ever have her sliding doors moment. So when Laura picks up the wrong suitcase at the airport on a work trip to the Channel Islands, she gets the sign she has always dreamed of. She knows it’s crazy, but she can’t help but think that the owner of the suitcase might really be the man of her dreams. If Laura job has taught her anything, it’s that when it comes to love, you can’t just let the opportunity pass you by. She must make it her mission to return the suitcase, and maybe, finally find the one.

Audiobook Review: Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

“If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?”

Set to be published on 14th September, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty follows the Delaney family who love one another dearly — it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The four Delaney children — Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke — were tennis stars in their younger years. But as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. That’s okay, as they are all now successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon. Their parents, Stan and Joy, have just sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are they so miserable?

One night, a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. But when Joy goes missing and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure. But as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.

Audiobook Review: A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

“What is wrong with you?”

The 2021 book by Paula Hawkins, A Slow Fire Burning follows three women. Laura has spent most of her life being judged. She’s seen as hot-tempered, troubled, a loner. Some even call her dangerous. Miriam knows that just because Laura is witnessed leaving the scene of a horrific murder with blood on her clothes, that doesn’t mean she’s a killer. Bitter experience has taught her how easy it is to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Carla is reeling from the brutal murder of her nephew. She trusts no one: good people are capable of terrible deeds. But how far will she go to find peace? Innocent or guilty, everyone is damaged. Some are damaged enough to kill.

Book Review: Invite Me In by Emma Curtis

Set to be published on 2nd September, Invite Me In by Emma Curtis follows mother and wife Eliza Curran who appears to have it all with her stunning family home and wealthy, adoring husband. No one would guess the reality of her life: trapped in an unhappy marriage to a controlling man.

When she takes on a new tenant, her life changes unexpectedly. Dan Jones is charming and perceptive and quickly becomes a close friend to the whole family. But Dan’s arrival threatens to tip Eliza’s fragile world out of balance. And when someone has as many secrets as Eliza does, the smallest slip could destroy everything . . .

Book Review: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

Set to be published on 22nd July, The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell follows Grandmother Kim who is babysitting her teenage daughter Tallulah’s one-year-old son, Noah, so that she can go out on a date. But as the night turns into early morning, Kim is still waiting for her return. The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah’s friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place. But she never returns. A year later, Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head-teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree which says “DIG HERE”. Is a clue to Tallulah’s disappearance finally about to be unearthed?

BOOK TOUR: The Whispers by Heidi Perks

“A missing wife. Four friends. Who is telling the truth?”

Set to be released in hardback on 15th April and now available in eBook, The Whispers by Heidi Perks follows the disappearance of Anna Robinson who hasn’t been seen since she went on a night out with her four closest friends. She has a loving husband and a son she adores. Surely she wouldn’t abandon them and her perfect life? But what has happened to her? At the school gates, it’s not long before the rumours start. Anna’s oldest friend Grace is beside herself with worry – desperately searching for answers, and certain that someone is hiding the truth. With each day that passes, Anna’s life is under increasing threat. And as the pressure mounts, it won’t be long before something cracks…