by Susanna Beard — An absolutely gripping, unputdownable thriller. Michelle races to implicate a pharmaceutical lab before it’s too late.
Category: 4 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The House of the Witch
Immersive story, set in the 17th century and the present, about female defiance of patriarchal control.
The Red House Mystery
by A.A. Milne — The Red House Mystery has it all; the country house, the witty dialogue, the tight plotting, superb writing, … Oh it’s a proper treat!
Versions of a Girl
by Catherine Gray — A superb novel. Beautifully written, highly insightful. Do we become who we are because of our past or in spite of it?
Sipsworth
by Simon Van Booy — Sipsworth is a gentle, beautifully written meditation on love, aging and connection. And a mouse. For anyone who has ever loved an animal.
The Revenge of Rita Marsh
by Nilesha Chauvet — Rita Marsh is not in a good place. The last paedophile she exposed committed suicide soon after. Now her friend Leila needs help…
The Silence Factory
by Bridget Collins — Gothic, historical fantasy. The Silence Factory is an imaginative, immersive and spellbinding story. I was thoroughly captivated!
A Curtain Twitchers Book of Murder
by Gay Marris — Highly entertaining yarn about a 1960’s London street where murder is just behind the curtains. Well written and great fun.
Birding
by Rose Ruane — Birding is an immersive novel about women’s lives, consent and about how acknowledging and verbalising abuse can lead to greater clarity.
The Household
by Stacey Halls — A mystery and fictionalised account of the setup, by Charles Dickens and a wealthy heiress, of a house for fallen women.
The Husbands
by Holly Gramazio — What if you could order an unending list of husbands (and lifestyles) to choose from? An imaginative, funny, philosophical fantasy novel.
The Trials of Marjorie Crowe
by C.S. Robertson — Murder in a small community. Robertson does it again, with another great female character, Marjorie Crowe. Gripping and immersive.
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill
by C.S. Robertson — Grace is a death scene cleaner. A well written, character-driven, immersive crime read. I loved it. Dark, disturbing and unusual.
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
by Melinda Taub — Funny, clever and very, very entertaining pastiche with witchcraft and tomfoolery.
Murder by Natural Causes
by Helen Erichsen — If I’m going to use murder as light entertainment, at least it’s nice for the protagonist to be a woman. Especially if she’s good at her job.
Black Thorn
by Sarah Hilary — A tense and claustrophobic mystery. An incisive look into family life and loyalties, ambition, criminal negligence, toxic greed and cover-up.
Such Sharp Teeth
by Rachel Harrison — Rage, trauma, resilience and transformation. Women finding strength and learning to face the world without (or with less) fear.
The Other Half
by Charlotte Vassell — Witty and well written satirical crime novel about contemporary London socialites.
The Darlings of the Asylum
by Noel O’Reilly — Gripping and exciting gothic novel. A wayward young woman is locked up in a Victorian asylum. Why? What happened? And how can she get out?
The Splendid City
by Karen Heuler — The Splendid City is set in a alternative reality. It’s loads of fun but also a serious satire of a world becoming ever more dystopian.