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.
Tag: general fiction
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 Book of Secrets
by Anna Mazzola — We are plunged into 17th century Rome, where women strive to survive in a patriarchal world perhaps not so very different from our own.
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.
Violet Hamilton, Lady Detective series
by Hannah Dolby — Meet the most delightful detective ever written, Violet Hamilton, in No Life for a Lady and How to Solve a Murder Like a Lady.
What Doesn’t Kill Us
by Ajay Close — A beautifully written, gripping and immersive, and still very relevant historical novel about misogyny and activism.
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 Hunter
by Tana French — Another episode of American ex-cop Cal Hooper in rural Ireland. Intelligent, insightful and well written. French gets better all the time.
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband
by Alexia Casale — The Best Way to Bury Your Husband is, surprisingly, a very moving AND uplifting AND very funny book about domestic abuse and violence. Really!
The List of Suspicious Things
by Jennie Godfrey — A child tries to track the Yorkshire Ripper. Immersive and multilayered.
The Lost Cause
by Cory Doctorow — Is the world a lost cause? We should be screaming a warning from the rooftops. I applaud Doctorow for trying.
The Wren, The Wren
by Anne Enright — Not a narrative of grand events but an exploration of the intricate threads that bind couples and families.
A Bird in Winter
by Louise Doughty — A Bird in Winter is beautifully written, well paced, at times exciting, at times more reflective. Older, career women will appreciate it!
Bad Men
by Julie Mae Cohen — Bad Men is sharp and fast and clever and very funny. You’ll love it. (Maybe less so if you’re a scumbag who hurts women.)
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.
Lioness
by Emily Perkins — Therese questions herself and her life, and feels the urge to break out, smash everything and live more authentically. Who doesn’t, right?
Tell Me What I Am
by Una Mannion — Portrays coercive control and domestic violence. Highlights the difficulties facing victims’ families and the lack of legal support.
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies
by Alison Goodman — When the days are dull and lifeless, you need The Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. Thrilling, moving, clever.
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.