Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong man.

Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most sociable guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour. That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread...

As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.

And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed. It still isn’t.

No one else could have done it. Could they?

Twintig jaar gelede moes Ada haar geboortegrond, Bloukoeniekraal, noodgedwonge verlaat. Nou keer sy terug na die geheime van haar kinderjare wat aan die oewers van die getyrivier lê.

Deur haar skryfwerk probeer Ada die skimme van die verlede tem. Maar hoe word jy vry van ’n verlede wat steeds hier rondspook?

Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they’ve never quite lost touch with each other – or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik, a Czech always more concerned with the wider world than with exam results.

Now, both Libor and Finkler are recently widowed, and with Treslove, his chequered and unsuccessful record with women rendering him an honorary third widower, they dine at Libor’s grand, central London apartment.

It’s a sweetly painful evening of reminiscence in which all three remove themselves to a time before they had loved and lost; a time before they had fathered children, before the devastation of separations, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. Better, perhaps, to go through life without knowing happiness at all because that way you have less to mourn? Treslove finds he has tears enough for the unbearable sadness of both his friends’ losses.

And it’s that very evening, at exactly 11:30 pm, as Treslove, walking home, hesitates a moment outside the window of the oldest violin dealer in the country, that he is attacked. And after this, his whole sense of who and what he is, will slowly and ineluctably change.

The Finkler Question has been awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2010.

From the Pulitzer-winning, Booker-shortlisted Elizabeth Strout comes a stunning standalone novel of love, loneliness and new beginnings.

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad―at himself and the people around him―and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear―and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

With exquisite prose and profound insight, Elizabeth Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. The Things We Never Say is a stunning new novel from one of our most acclaimed observers of the human heart.

Richter het 'n verlede, maar dis die hede wat hy ontglip.

In die krake van dinge beweeg hy, systap hy die gesagte en die laspostenare, al die bakhand tentakels van die unitêre staat, Uiopa. Toe hy mis trap, moet hy vlug. Saam met Margaret reis hy deur 'n nagmerrielandskap 'n bisarre avontuur in.

Helikopters, duikbote, kindersoldate, ongediertes, mensvreters… Wit leuen wemel van onwerklikhede, afdraaipaaie, en verrassings.

A heart-pounding journey through the parts of Cape Town where loyalty is myth, survival is everything, and hope dwindles in the darkest moments.

The Ashes of Euphoria is a gritty novel set in the streets of Kraaifontein, Cape Town. This novel follows three complex and beautifully drawn characters: Jameel, a Media Studies graduate working at Shoprite; his cousin Zaid, a Bolt driver creating a porn website; and Stacey, an unemployed Geology graduate who performs in Zaid's videos for money.

When Zaid's website attracts a supposed investor, the trio attends what they believe is a business meeting. But the encounter turns deadly: Zaid is murdered, Stacey is kidnapped, and Jameel is forcibly recruited into the gang.

This masterfully crafted story is action-packed and balances gut-wrenching tragedy with unexpected moments of wit and humour. A stellar new voice on the South African literary scene.

Secrets are stacking up like wine barrels in the heat.

And this year’s ferment? It’s definitely going sour.

Winfred and Sylvie are keeping one eye open for the menacing villager who knows too much and another on the dismal bank balance of their bookshop-café, The Novel Eatery. Their side-hustle isn’t exactly legal . . . and now someone knows their secret.

Just as the tension threatens to boil over, news breaks that a wine-themed reality TV show is coming to town. The villagers are in a froth of excitement, giving the two friends a momentary reprieve. But the cameras bring their own complications. Sylvie is convinced the
slick presenter is greasier than her freshest vetkoek, and Winnie nearly chokes on her Sauvignon Blanc when she hears that Skokiaan, the mampoer king, is suddenly bottling five-star wine.

Lifting the Lid is filled with sharp wit, layered characters, and a setting that simmers with charm and danger. In a village like Riviersvalleij, nothing stays buried forever.

Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story.

That is until it became the prologue to his actual love story with his childhood bestie, Petra.

Which is how Daphne ends up rooming with her total opposite and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra's ex, Miles.

As expected, it’s not a match made in heaven – that is until one night, while tossing back tequilas, they form a plan.

And if it involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex . . . right?

The New York Times bestselling author of Flight Behaviour, The Lacuna, and The Poisonwood Bible returns with a timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval.

Willa Knox has always prided herself on being the embodiment of responsibility for her family. Which is why it’s so unnerving that she’s arrived at middle age with nothing to show for her hard work and dedication but a stack of unpaid bills and an inherited brick home in Vineland, New Jersey, that is literally falling apart. The magazine where she worked has folded, and the college where her husband had tenure has closed. The dilapidated house is also home to her ailing and cantankerous Greek father-in-law and her two grown children: her stubborn, free-spirited daughter, Tig, and her dutiful debt-ridden, ivy educated son, Zeke, who has arrived with his unplanned baby in the wake of a life-shattering development.

In an act of desperation, Willa begins to investigate the history of her home, hoping that the local historical preservation society might take an interest and provide funding for its direly needed repairs. Through her research into Vineland’s past and its creation as a Utopian community, she discovers a kindred spirit from the 1880s, Thatcher Greenwood.

A science teacher with a lifelong passion for honest investigation, Thatcher finds himself under siege in his community for telling the truth: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting new theory recently published by Charles Darwin. Thatcher’s friendships with a brilliant woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor draw him into a vendetta with the town’s most powerful men. At home, his new wife and status-conscious mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his financial worries and the news that their elegant house is structurally unsound.

Brilliantly executed and compulsively readable, Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts. In this mesmerizing story told in alternating chapters, Willa and Thatcher come to realize that though the future is uncertain, even unnerving, shelter can be found in the bonds of kindred—whether family or friends—and in the strength of the human spirit.

You never forget your first love. 18 years ago, Olivia learned to live without Sean Kenyon.

She moved on, building a life with her husband Richmond and their two children in the picturesque town Kesterley-on-Sea.

But when Sean unexpectedly appears on Olivia’s doorstep, her world is turned upside down once more.

As old feelings resurface, and new truths come to light, Olivia finds herself questioning everything.

his is Salman Rushdie at his best. A magical realist feminist tale in an historical setting that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries - from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie.

In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati, who begins to speak out of the girl's mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana's comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga - literally 'victory city' - the wonder of the world.

Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's, from its literal sowing out of a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that Parvati set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry - with Pampa Kampana at its center.

Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient epic, this is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.

New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb returns with a novel following a young father grappling with unbearable tragedy as he searches for hope, redemption, and the possibility of forgiveness.

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart.

Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model.

Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

Muhammad has always tried to be the praise-worthy son. In the close-knit Muslim community in Cape Town where he was raised by his fiercely religious mother, Zaynab, he performs his prayers on time and he lives by the rules of his faith. But beneath the surface, Muhammad feels trapped between who he is expected to be and who he truly is.

When Muhammad meets Riyaaz at a braai one evening, his world suddenly shifts in drastic and unexpected ways.

Set against the vivid backdrop of Cape Malay culture and the complexities of Coloured identity, Haram is both tender and unflinching. The novel captures the rhythms of prayer as well as the secrets that families hide – in a bustling city alive with unspoken desires.

When Daphne notices an older gentleman following her around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she doesn't expect it to be Eddie - her former stepfather.

Married to her mother for a short time when Daphne was nine, she hasn't seen Eddie for many years; not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives.

Meeting again now, Daphne and Eddie feel that time has fallen away. Their earlier relationship was brief but had a profound impact on both of them. Together, they consider not only their past, but the joys of the present and their commitment to face the future together.

A moving, luminous story about how family, memory and love endures, Whistler paints an intimate portrait of how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.

An addictive workplace romance from the bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.

Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that's always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it's ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it's a fun place to work, even if 'fun' isn't exactly Lauren's middle name.

Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World - whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren.

When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day...

In Tasneem’s close-knit Muslim Indian community the stigma of divorce is a heavy burden to carry, and her mother insists on finding her a husband – even if it means orchestrating a traditional ‘samoosa run’.

When she meets Aadil, an unexpected connection sparks and they strike a deal: a pretend engagement to keep their families off their backs.

But a simple ruse soon grows complicated because one of them is hiding a life-changing secret . . .

Each door at The Plex is painted a different colour. As Rafi Paterson soon realises, this is no ordinary suburban complex. Residents are urged to meditate, body corporate meetings take place in a dark warehouse, and the martial arts trainer from the end cottage offers to attack her to improve her self-defence skills.

What the hell?

Then the godsisters arrive for a two-week reunion in Cape Town: Elvi, the impeccable younger sister, and Bruna, the glamorous Italian who once lived with the Paterson family as an exchange student. When an art academic disappears after a party at The Plex, the godsisters turn to the sex diary found under Rafi’s bed for answers.

If you had the ability to avert a global disaster, would you step in — even if it meant never finding your way back?

Infused with subtle magic and sensual realism, The Which Word is a novel about selfhood, women’s bonds, and the dangerous power of language.

In this title, Seven Steps To Heaven, this streetwise philosopher of the shebeens and entrepreneur par excellence takes the back seat as her son Kokoroshe, street urchin turned lawyer, takes centre stage.

This is a multilayered family saga, a riveting tale of love, betrayal, and a search for identity - sexual and otherwise.

Dark and understated, but sometimes boisterous and with the in-your-face humour that made Bitches' Brew a hit with readers and critics alike, is the engine that drives Seven Steps To Heaven to a painful yet satisfying climax.

On New Year's Eve in 1987, lightning kills Nate's and Danny's mother. To deal with the loss and make sense of a world seemingly governed by chance, their distant and eccentric father creates the Nicotine Gospel.

"According to him, an eight by five cardboard box containing somewhere near twenty machine-made cigarettes would tell you all you needed to know about a man."

The boys throw themselves into the lessons to be close to their dad, but as nate grows up and begins to understand how strange the family gospel (and their father) truly is, he starts to worry. While Nate excels at school and finds ways to escape their father's neglect and the increasingly ramshackle house in Durban, Danny seems to revel in courting danger and death.

Decades later, upon learning of their father's death, Nate and Danny, long estranged, decide to drive from Durban to Cape Town to attend the funeral. On the journey, they must confront each other and their troubled past to find a way forward.

Die Keerpunt is die ontroende verhaal van Dawie, n jong man wat die liefde en vertroeteling van sy ouers prysgee ter wille van sy selfbehoud en emosionele welstand. En van Rabia, n jong vrou wat haar eie persoonlikeheid uit ontkunde en weerloosheid inboet ter wille van haar respek vir ouergesag en haar geloof in Allah.

Eweneens is dit die tragiese verhaal van pa's wat nie besef dat hulle hul kinders en, almal onder hulle hoofskap, van hulle vervreem nie, hetsy met goedbedoelde liefde of goedbedoelde onverbiddelikheid van ouers wat hul gesagsposisie teen kinders misbruik en hulle gevolglik met lewenslange emosionele letsels laat.

Die leser kry ook n blik op die vreedsame leefwyse van Moesliems in die Kaap.

After a bad break up, doesn't every girl wish for the same things?

* For her ex-boyfriend to stay single forever.
* Or maybe emigrate to a remote, uninhabited island?
* Better still - that she'd never met him in the first place!

But what if one of those wishes came true?

Tess is heartbroken when Seb breaks up with her and can't help blaming herself. If only she'd done things differently. If only she could make right all her regrets. Drunk and upset on New Year's Eve, she wishes she'd never met him... But when she wakes up to discover this dream has come true, Tess realises she has a chance. To do it all over again. And to get it right this time.

From the bestselling author of ME AND MR DARCY, this heartwarming love story is for every girl who has loved, lost and dreamt of getting her man back.

A powerful story of family, survival and hope, from billion-copy bestselling author Danielle Steel.

Darcy Gray leads a charmed life. A wildly successful blogger and influencer, she has spent twenty happy years with her husband, Charlie Gray, the equally high-powered head of a fashion retail empire. Together with their twin daughters, who are both studying abroad for college, they form one of New York’s most successful families.

But, when a shocking betrayal leaves Darcy reeling, she flees to Paris, devastated and nursing a broken heart. As she struggles to rebuild her sense of self, rumours of a dangerous virus begin to circulate, forcing Darcy to take refuge at the home of eccentric retired actress Sybille Carton, along with a fellow lodger, the handsome and enigmatic Bill Thompson.

As the world enters a terrifying period of global lockdown, the Gray family are torn apart, scattered across two continents and three different countries. They must find ways to cope in the toughest of circumstances, letting go of old dreams and working towards new, unexpected futures.

In times of terrible crisis, hope and resilience are what carry us through . . .

A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of an entirely different journey.

Miranda July’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom.

Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic and domestic life of a 45-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectations while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.

Bringing head and heart together with its own crazy glue, Lost Lambs follows the spectacular falling apart – and eventual coming together – of the Flynn family.

Think your family is dysfunctional? Meet the Flynns.

For the three Flynn daughters, it’s been disastrous since their parents opened up their marriage. Abigail, the eldest, is dating an ex-soldier several years her senior nicknamed ‘War Crimes Wes’. Louise, the middle child, maintains a secret correspondence with an online terrorist. And the brilliant youngest, Harper, is being sent to a wilderness reform camp due to her insistence that someone – or something – is monitoring the town’s citizens.

Casting a shadow across their lives is Paul Alabaster, a nefarious local billionaire. Rumours of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig too deep. No one except Harper, whose obsession with Alabaster’s machinations sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy – one that may just, finally, bring them closer together.

The bestselling novel from the author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START AGAIN. AND AGAIN. It's always awkward when five thousand kronor goes missing. When it happens at a certain grotty hotel in south Stockholm, it's particularly awkward because the money belongs to the hitman currently staying in room seven. Per Persson, the hotel receptionist, just wants to mind his own business, and preferably not get murdered. Johanna Kjellander, temporarily resident in room eight, is a priest without a vocation, and, as of last week, without a parish. But right now she has two things at her disposal: an envelope containing five thousand kronor, and an excellent idea . . . Featuring one violent killer, two shrewd business brains and many crates of Moldovan red wine, Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All is an outrageously zany story with as many laughs as Jonasson's multimillion-copy bestseller The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. 'Enormous fun' The Times 'A thrilling ride' Financial Times