The play date started well. The children happy in one room while their mothers relaxed and drank wine in another.

But then the stranger appeared at the window. And then he was inside the house. And then he grabbed the knife...

Alice only means to stop him. She doesn't mean to hit him so hard. She didn't mean to kill him.

The police conclude that she acted in self-defence, but wracked with guilt, Alice sets out to apologise to Linda, the mother of the young man she killed - only to find she is unable to come clean about who she really is. But as Alice learns more about Ezra and why he was at her house, she starts to wonder whether she really has the full picture about what happened that day...

This latest simmering suspense novel from the internationally bestselling Katherine Faulkner is a unputdownable must-read that will have you hooked from the first twist to the last.

The story of a group of wildly different people whose fates are improbably yet inextricably linked, the new novel from the bestselling and prize-winning author.

It is summer, and Sebastian is in treatment following a breakdown that has left him with a fragile hold on reality and a persistent hunger to connect with the mother who abandoned him as a child.

His therapist, Martin, is also facing challenges, including his adopted daughter Olivia’s tenuous relationship with her biological mother – a predicament that makes Sebastian’s struggle feel uncannily close to her own. Olivia is producing a radio series on natural disasters, which itself seems to be running parallel to the events unfolding in her personal life, as her best friend Lucy faces a grave diagnosis and her husband, Francis, pursues his mission of rewilding the world.

Over the course of the next year their fates collide in outrageous and poignant ways, as each of their destinies is revealed in a marvellous new light.

Written with Edward St Aubyn’s trademark wit and inimitable style, Parallel Lines is a novel about connection, love and the cascading consequences of our choices. It is a vibrant, moving celebration of the life of the spirit and the life of the mind from one of our most irresistible storytellers.

A beautiful novel of self-discovery and new beginnings set against the backdrop of Paris and the isolated French coast, from the multi million-copy bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop

Claire Cousteau is one of France’s most esteemed biologists, with a seemingly perfect family life, but she has become increasingly frustrated by her marriage and her husband’s affairs.

As the Cousteaus prepare for a summer in Brittany, Claire’s son Nico asks if his new girlfriend, Julie, can join them? Julie has conundrums of her own - she is an ambitious woman, and unsure if Nico really is her match. But what the family don’t realise is that Julie and Claire have met before, in a Parisian hotel during a night that Claire thought was her secret.

Beneath the Breton sun, could their surprising bond alter the course of their lives for all time?

Annabel is in the thick of sandwich generation territory.

Widowed for nearly a decade and bringing up two teenagers alone, she now faces the dilemma of what is best for her ageing mother.

Her strong-willed sisters, Ginnie and Clarissa, have already mentally sold her mother’s London house, mentally spent the proceeds, but Annabel isn't sure what her mother will think of their plan. . .

After a decade on her own, Annabel's children have also decided now is the time to act as match makers. Before she knows it, Annabel has two romantic prospects; the charming, ex-army builder currently doing the loft extension in her home and, even more unexpectedly, the vicar from her local church.

But when family secrets come to light which threaten the entire fabric of Annabel’s childhood and family, what what — or who — she needs in her life comes becomes suddenly crystal clear to her, in the most surprising of ways. . .

On a bright summer day in 1989 New England, Abi, three years old, vanishes from her aunt’s secluded home. Upstairs, her young cousins are looking out of the window. Something is unfolding in the distance at the edge of the forest – something sinister that is watching them back.

The adults don’t seem to notice that the youngest of the group has disappeared. Too busy bickering over politics and reminiscing about the family’s domineering late matriarch, Beezy, they leave the children with no choice but to get Abi back themselves. As the cousins embark on a quest through their grandmother’s sprawling estate, buried family secrets come to light and long-awaited plans are set in motion. Will they lose themselves while trying to find her?

Idle Grounds is a chilling, evocative and darkly comic debut about childhood, legacy, and the burdens and privileges we carry with us.

A pulse-pounding novel of class, privilege, sex, and murder, from the New York Times bestselling author of Two Nights in Lisbon and The Expats.

Chicky Diaz is everyone's favourite doorman at the Bohemia, New York City's world-famous home of celebrities, financiers, and the cultural elite.

Gathered in the Bohemia's basement, the almost entirely Black and Hispanic staff is reeling. Just a few miles away, a Black man has been killed by the police, leading to a long night of violence across the city.

But the rising tensions aren't what most concern Chicky. He knows that there's more going on within the rooms of the Bohemia than anyone's aware of. In fact, ahead of tonight's shift, he bought a gun even before he knew of the rising pandemonium.

Tonight, enemies will clash, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be revealed – and lives will be lost.

New York City is a tinderbox – just one more spark and it will go up in flames…

In the sequel to The God and the Gumiho, a trickster god must work with his reincarnated lost love to solve the mystery of his brother's murder on board a luxury underworld cruise ship in this charming and clever contemporary fantasy romance.

Seokga the No-Longer-Fallen is looking for his love. Since he lost Hani and was reinstated as a god, nothing has felt right - and he's been desperately searching for her reincarnated form ever since.

But when the red thread of fate leads Seokga to a cruise down the river of the dead, the woman he finds isn't Hani . . . she's Yoo Kisa, and she has no memory of him whatsoever - with seemingly no interest in regaining it either.

But when the Heavenly Emperor of Okhwang is murdered, Seokga and Kisa must solve the crime before the cruise ends. And as the mystery draws them closer, they will have to decide what they truly mean to each other.

There's something bigger at play aboard the ship, something that holds the key to their fated connection - and the very fate of the world.

At forty, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than
Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for twenty years returns to haunt him. Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat centre she founded after leaving his father, is wounded by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago banished from her mind the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life forever, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.
 
With unsurpassed emotional depth,  Mothers and Sons  reveals all that is lost by looking away from the past and the love that might be restored by facing it. In his spellbinding new novel, Adam Haslett demonstrates yet again his mastery of “a rich assortment of literary gifts” (New York Times).

A deeply moving novel set against the glitz and chaos of early 2000s pop stardom. Equal parts heartfelt family saga and behind-the-scenes look at fame, this is a story about sisters, secrets, and the power of second chances.

Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover of Rolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up.

Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.

With richly developed characters, a nostalgic nod to the pop culture of the 2000s, and a resonant tale of ambition, forgiveness, and family, The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits will captivate readers from the first note to the final encore. Whether you’ve followed Jennifer Weiner for years or are discovering her for the first time, this book is a must-read for music lovers, fans of sisterly dramas, and anyone who cherishes a great story of second chances.

An arrest for cocaine possession in the Hamptons on the last day of a sweltering summer leaves Smith, a young Black Queer graduate, in a state of turmoil. Pulled into the court system and mandated treatment, he finds himself in an absurd but dangerous situation: his class protects him but his race does not. It is just weeks after the death of his beloved roommate Elle, a glamorous member of the Black elite, and he is still reeling from the tabloid spectacle - as well as the lingering question of how well he really knew his closest friend and what happened to her the night she died.

When he flees to his hometown of Atlanta and generations of his family of doctors and college presidents and lawyers - the weight of expectations haunts him. Then Carolyn, the closest friend he has left, goes off the rails, Smith returns to New York only to lose himself in his old life, drawn back into the city's underworld. Will his search for the truth about Elle cost him his freedom and his future?

Smith goes on a dizzying journey through the New York City nightlife circuit, anonymous recovery rooms, Atlanta's Black society set, police investigations and courtroom dramas, and a circle of friends coming of age in a new era. Great Black Hope is a propulsive, glittering story about what it means to exist between worlds, to be upwardly mobile yet spiralling downward and how to find a way back to hope.

You’d never guess Lottie Jones had skeletons in her closet.

She’s lived in town for decades now. She’s getting older. She lives for the simple pleasures of weekly bingo games at church, and gossiping with her friends about their children’s love lives.

But when investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past, and specifically about her connection to numerous unsolved murders, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realises this crime might just be the death of her…

Her trial obsessed the world. Only she knows the truth. The Girl in Cell A is an unforgettable suspense novel from the acclaimed and award-winning author of the Malabar House historical crime series.

Convicted of murder at seventeen, infamous killer and true crime celebrity Orianna Negi has always maintained her innocence.

Orianna has a blind spot over that fateful day: she can't remember what happened. Forensic psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth.

Orianna grew up in Eden Falls, ruled by the insular Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch , Amos. As their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna's past to a shattering realisation....

Scandal. Sex. Power. Race. And murder. Between guilt and innocence lies a fallen Eden.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones, an unforgettable story of hardship and hope, courage and resilience, that follows one young woman’s journey through war-torn Italy.

1940, Emilia Romagna. Lili and Esti have been best friends since meeting at the University of Ferrara; when Esti’s son Theo is born, they become as close as sisters. There is a war being fought across borders, and in Italy, Mussolini’s Racial Laws have deemed Lili and Esti descendants of an ‘inferior’ Jewish race, but life somehow goes on—until Germany invades northern Italy, and the friends find themselves in occupied territory.

Esti, older and fiercely self-assured, convinces Lili to flee first to a villa in the countryside to help hide a group of young war orphans, then to a convent in Florence, where they pose as nuns and forge false identification papers for the Underground. When disaster strikes at the convent, a critically wounded Esti asks Lili to take a much bigger step: To go on the run with Theo. Protect him while Esti can’t.

Terrified to travel on her own, Lili sets out on an epic journey south toward Allied territory, through Nazi-occupied villages and bombed-out cities, doing everything she can to keep Theo safe.

A remarkable tale of friendship, motherhood, and survival, One Good Thing is a tender reminder that love for another person, even amidst darkness and uncertainty, can be reason to keep going.

A hilarious and whip-smart crime novel by the multimillion-copy bestselling author of the Horrible Histories. The perfect mystery for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Robert Thorogood and Ian Moore.

It is 1973 and the lives of four people are thrown into turmoil when sharing a carriage with an unremarkable little man with glasses, on the night train back to Newcastle.

By the end of the following day, one of them will be dead, one will turn blackmailer and another forced to commit a crime. And all of them will be under the astute observation of Aline, the local police officer with her own agenda to fulfil...

When the body count begins to rise, the question is: just how many murderers are out there... and who will be the next victim?

Arkady Renko returns in this tense political thriller about what it means to fight for truth and justice in today’s Russia, from one of the undisputed masters of the genre.

When Arkady Renko is charged with investigating the murder of Alexei Volkov – a wealthy Russian businessman and the son of Moscow’s mayor – he knows he has to tread carefully. Maxim Volkov is a high-profile politician and has a complicated relationship with Putin. This investigation clearly has Kremlin approval, but, as with everything in Russia, things are not always what they seem.

Already preoccupied with his developing Parkinson's, Arkady finds he has more to worry about. The war in Ukraine is gaining momentum, and his son Zhenya has become involved with the Black Army, a Russo-Ukrainian group of hacktivists. Moreover, as Arkady digs deeper into Alexei Volkov’s murder, he realizes that the man's death may have been more politically motivated than he first assumed.

Now it seems that the people behind the killing have him firmly in their crosshairs – but this time Arkady's life is not the only one on the line.

From a massive rising star in the world of Korean female sci-fi comes the gripping, heartrending tale of how two sisters train a worn-out racehorse to run the slowest race of its life.

2035: In the shadow of a race-course, two sisters grow up, helping their mother at the local cafe that serves renowned ramen. Family life is fractious especially when one of them loses their day-job to an automaton. When the sisters discover their beloved race-horse Today is being sent to the knacker's yard after a lifetime of over-racing, they are determined to rescue her.

To remind Today of happier times, they hatch a plan to let her run one last race. But it will be no ordinary event. They will train her to run the slowest race of her life.

Narrated by a most unusual and unforgettable storyteller, A Thousand Blues is a powerful hymn to our humanity. Brimming with heart, hope and rage, it is a book to cherish, share and re-read.

Iona Griffri returns home one evening to find her family murdered and her father, Eurov, missing. Her family home is entirely submerged in water, and a strange, unnamed girl lies dead in her bed.

As the police declare her father the main suspect, Iona is forced to confront how much she really knew about the man who raised her. Could he have been capable of such a crime? And who is the mysterious girl left behind?

With the help of the morgue attendant looking after her family's bodies, Iona goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind those final weeks of her family's life. Hidden in the fragments of her father's final manuscript, recovered from the flood, an unimaginable secret slowly rises to the surface. A terrible sin finally revealed...

A haunting, boundary-pushing thriller told through the lens of a lyrical family drama, from a captivating literary talent. The House of Water will rush over you like a torrent from the opening page to the very last.

Tanja and Jerome are navigating a long-distance relationship in a world of constant communication and emotional hyper-reflection.

Whether they're texting one another trip updates from midday raves or debating the best trainers in the own-brand aisle of Decathlon, every gesture is controlled and self-aware. This is love in the therapeutic age.

Written with crackling insight, dry humour, and deep emotional intelligence, Allegro Pastel proclaims Leif Randt as the premiere German stylist of his generation and is his breakout work, a bestseller in Germany that has been translated into thirteen other languages.

An alternative-history scenario of Nazi leader Hitler secretly surviving World War Two to establish a dynasty that would, one day, deliver on his despicable mission . . .

On 10 August 1944, with Germany on the verge of a crushing and humiliating defeat, Heinrich Himmler, the second most powerful Nazi and head of the notorious SS, holds a clandestine meeting in Strasbourg, with a handful of elite industrialists and bankers.

A covert organisation is born, codenamed 'Die Spinne' - The Spider. The network is tasked with helping senior SS officers to escape the clutches of advancing allied forces. New identities are created, bankrolled by illicit funds, allowing these notorious criminals to begin new lives in Europe and South America. Many of them land key roles in the worlds of politics, banking, and industry. Decades later they're able to pass on a privileged and influential birth right to their descendants.

In November 2024, a few weeks before the annual UN COP Climate Conference due to be held in Argentina, a stolen USB stick containing the coded names of prominent politicians - neo-Nazis who are members of the Spider Network - falls into the hands of Chief Inspector Nicolas Vargas of the Buenos Aires Police Department and Troy Hembury, the Head of Internal Security at the White House. The pair join forces to try and expose a dark political conspiracy, which threatens to rock the very fabric of world stability.

Employing a level of AI technology years ahead of anything currently known, the Spider network controls a secret facility based in Strasbourg capable of creating undetectable deep fakes of their own extremist politicians, able to conduct live interviews on a video stream with any news outlet in the world. At a time of world disorder, with bitter wars raging across Europe and the Middle East, the leaders of 'The Spider' look to seize their opportunity of grabbing control of the levers of political power.

Two loves. One soul. One choice.

Fenny’s got that boss glow. Not only did she just have the best sex of her life, but she’s finally about to direct the TV show she’s been a screenwriter on for ten years. Only one thing could floor her—finding out she’s been replaced by a hotshot director named Jude. Wait, no. Two things. Jude looks exactly like the guy who just turned her bones to jelly. Same dimples, same eyes, but he looks older and has a sadness Fenny wants to fix.

Last weekend, Fenny met Sam when he movie-style rescued her from a storm on Catalina Island. Here he is again, just … different. Can Sam and Jude be the same man? And if they are, will Fenny’s love be enough to put him back together?

The thrilling conclusion to Juan Gómez-Jurado's international bestselling Red Queen Trilogy.

"I hope you haven't forgotten me. Shall we play?"

Antonia Scott knows exactly who sent her this message: the mysterious Mister White, whom she has been tracking for years. She also knows that it is almost impossible to win against him. But if she loses this game, Inspector Jon Gutiérrez will pay with his life.

Antonia and Jon have one last chance: they must solve three cases that are considered unsolvable. A game of life and death begins...

If you could see your future, how would you live now?

Margot Wayward is in manically gleeful self-destruct mode. Following the implosion of a ten-year relationship, she’s wilfully derailing her successful career, joyfully taking down men on dating apps, and living in total chaos.

Until one day, when Margot has a vision of herself with a man she’s never met before. She doesn’t believe in fate. But when Margot meets single-dad Henry, the vision comes true: exactly as she’d foreseen it.

As her future continues to reveal itself, a glimpse at a time, Margot realises she knows exactly what’s going to happen, and when. And there’s nothing she can do to change any of it.

So Margot has to decide how to live, how to love again, and how to be herself… Because if you can’t change your destiny, how on earth do you live your present?

When the end comes, what will you wish you had done?

In 2050s London, fear grips like a vice as a deadly virus sweeps the globe. The British prime minister tells her people to remain calm. A vaccine will be available soon, and as a precautionary measure children will be whisked away to undisclosed locations, kept safe until the storm passes.

Marianne, Downing Street press secretary, doesn’t realise the futility until it is far, far too late. When the truth hits her, Marianne is forced to choose: stay with her family, or do whatever she can to help the doomed survive.

As London falls, seven-year-old Maia is one of the last to escape the city. In an evacuation camp, she binds herself to Finn: in the absence of everything she knew, he becomes her everything.

Yet as the years roll on and hope fades, Maia sees the bubble of safety is also a prison. She realises there is only one choice: to leave the camp and find what remains on the outside.

An utterly compelling and unforgettable tale of humanity, resilience and the lengths we will go to for love. The Tomorrow Project is the stunning first novel from H Critchlow.

The spellbinding new cosy fantasy from Lucy Jane Wood, celebrating found family, unconditional love and the joy of letting go of perfectionism and people-pleasing.

Annie Wildwood is the perfect witch, her life a haze of pink, magic and impossibly high standards. The proud owner of Celestial Bakehouse, a bustling London bakery, she devotes her powers to pleasing others, and while perfection exacts a magical toll, it’s a price Annie is more than willing to pay.

But, when she is tasked by her coven with mentoring a troubled teenage witch, Annie’s charmed existence is thrown into chaos. She and fiery, stubborn Maeve couldn’t be more different, and Hal, the gruff, handsome owner of their temporary lodgings, is not best pleased to find the coven has offered up his woodland cottage home to two headstrong witches.

As the unlikely trio slowly bond, outside forces begin to take an interest in Maeve’s extraordinary powers – will Annie risk everything to protect the true magic she’s finally found?

“We love rainy days, don’t we, baby?”

Dominic King doesn’t want or need anything . . . except his freedom.

The key to his cage is tucked in the suit pocket of his overbearing, overprotective, older brother, Tobias — the leader of a secret vigilante group Dominic helps govern.

Their mission? Destroy Roman Horner. And what better way to start than with their target’s daughter?

The problem is, the moment Cecelia Horner arrives in Triple Falls, plans and motivations change. For Dominic, she’s a potent reminder that there’s still good in the world. With Tobias away for the summer, things start to quickly heat up until she’s not just a want, she’s a need. With the Ravenhood’s fate on his shoulders, Cecelia becomes Dom’s only solace, and a light for his tortured soul. Because he knows, better than anyone, that a choice is coming. And once the decision is made, there’ll be no coming back . . .

One Last Rainy Day is the first book deliciously steamy continuation of the internationally bestselling Robin Hood retelling that set Tiktok on fire. Kate Stewart's The Ravenhood Legacy series is an irresistibly edgy spin-off series shedding a new light on the secret, morally grey brotherhood – this time from the brooding and magnetic perspective of Dominic.