Readers Recommends - 22 May 2023
Reader's Recommends is our weekly live session, streamed live on Facebook, where we recommend the best, the popular and the latest Reads from all genres and WHY you should read them!
This week, our representative Thomas Bulpin was joined by two exceptional colleagues: Samantha Jacobs from Jonathan Ball Publishers, and Gabi Blight from Penguin Random House in South Africa.
They delved into a thrilling selection of adult books, ranging from captivating and immersive fiction to revelatory and enlightening nonfiction.
Samantha's Recommends
Standing In The Shadows by Peter Robinson
In November 1980, Nick Hartley returns home from a university lecture to find his house crawling with police. His ex-girlfriend, Alice Poole, has been found murdered, and her new boyfriend Mark Woodcroft is missing. Nick is the prime suspect.
Decades later, in November 2019, an archaeologist unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more contemporary than the Roman remains she is seeking.
As the two cases unfurl, the investigations twist and turn to an explosive conclusion.
The Red Bird Sings by Aoife Fitzpatrick
When young Zona dies only a few months after her wedding, her mother Mary becomes convinced that Zona was murdered by her husband, Trout. But no one believes he could have done it, apart from Mary and Zona's best friend Lucy.
Mary and Lucy must decide whether to reveal Zona's greatest secret in the service of justice. But it's Zona herself, from beyond the grave, who still has one last revelation to make.
Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn
From the brilliant minds of Julia Quinn, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, and television trailblazer Shonda Rhimes comes a powerful and romantic tale. This enthralling tale is inspired by the original Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, created by Shondaland.
Gabi's Recommends
The Half Burnt House by Alex North
Katie always prided herself on being a responsible big sister - until she left her brother Chris alone for one selfish afternoon, and everything fell apart. Although he survived the attack, the scars ran deep - physical, and emotional.
Now they're adults, and they haven't spoken in years. Then she gets a call - from a detective. A body has been found and Chris is the prime suspect.
Truth to Power by Andre De Ruyter
De Ruyter candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility. And as someone who worked at the highest levels of the state but is not beholden to the ruling party, he is uniquely placed to speak truth to power.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
'When vengeance calls and the gods stop watching, what do we do to those who harm the people we love?'
Wife. Mother. Fighter. Conspirator. Queen. CLYTEMNESTRA.
This is Clytemnestra, the most notorious heroine of the Ancient World.
Clytemnestra understood something that the others didn't: If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.
Harriet and Wyn, who broke up months, ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends - they can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts
Thomas' Recommends
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere.
Another Life by Kristin Hannah
Angie DeSaria has spent years of her life trying to have a child. Now, her marriage has crumbled under the strain. Adrift and alone, she returns to her childhood home, to help try and rescue the beloved, failing family business.
When Angie hires Lauren - a senior in high school - to work at the restaurant, they form an immediate bond, which deepens when Lauren’s mother abruptly leaves town and Angie offers her a place to stay.
Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast. By day she teaches at a parochial school; at night she fills in at her family's pub. There she meets Michael Agnew.
Against her better judgment - Michael is not only Protestant but older, and married - Cushla lets herself get drawn in by him and his sophisticated world, and an affair ignites.
Reader’s Warehouse Top 5
Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley
Co-authored by her son, Harry Whittaker, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt draws the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley's multimillion copy sensation, to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion.
Truth to Power by Andre De Ruyter
De Ruyter candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility. And as someone who worked at the highest levels of the state but is not beholden to the ruling party, he is uniquely placed to speak truth to power.
Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.
The Wedding Planner by Danielle Steel
Faith Ferguson is New York’s most in-demand wedding planner. As much as Faith enjoys her work, her two failed engagements leave her with no desire to get married herself.
This year, new clients have flocked to her, But weddings are not always all champagne and roses, and in no time, Faith is grappling with private quarrels, unplanned pregnancies, family scandals, dark secrets, and the possibility of cancelled ceremonies.
Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.
Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.
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