Not sure what to do over the bank holiday weekend? Why not get yourself comfy, make a cuppa and get between the covers…
by Andrew Hirst
How to be eaten
by Maria Adelmann
This darkly funny and provocative novel reimagines classic fairy tale characters as modern women in a support group for trauma.
In present-day New York City, five women meet in a basement support group to process their traumas. Bernice grapples with the fallout of dating a psychopathic, blue-bearded billionaire. Ruby, once devoured by a wolf, now wears him as a coat. Gretel questions her memory of being held captive in a house made of candy. Ashlee, the winner of a Bachelor-esque dating show, wonders if she really got her promised fairy tale ending. And Raina’s love story will shock them all.
Though the women start out wary of one another, judging each other’s stories, gradually they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they supposed…
Release date: 31 May
With a mind to kill
by Anthony Horowitz
Horowitz’s third foray into the world of Bond is set to be another hit riding on the wave success of Die Another Day. In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, James Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be. M’s funeral. One man missing from the graveside. The traitor accused of his murder. Bond.
Release date: 26 May
The Baker by the Sea
Written and illustrated by Paula White
Paula White story guides us around the Beach Village that once stood where she grew up, in Lowestoft. This busy, bustling place once made its living from the sea – but was eventually swept away by those very same waves.
Set against the backdrop of a seaside fishing village on the East Coast of Suffolk, The Baker by the Sea, by debut author and illustrator Paula White, is a lyrical, richly illustrated story about the importance of community and family.
A young boy watches the grown-ups in his village go about their work. Everyone is busy: the blacksmith, the boat-builder, the baker. But most important of all, he thinks, are the fishermen who bring in the catch. The boy’s father is a baker, but he wants to be a daring fisherman when he grows up, brave enough to sail through stormy seas.
For over 100 years, Lowestoft was a thriving fishing community. Every year, for the ‘home fishing’ season, hundreds of Scottish fisher-girls and men who followed the fish along the east coast were welcomed into the Beach Village to help pack and pickle the fish. Offering a glimpse into the past and guiding us around the village that once stood there, The Baker by the Sea is an atmospheric exploration through pen-and-ink artwork of a traditional way of life, and a timeless reminder that everyone is important, no matter how seemingly small their role.
Release date: Out now
22 Seconds
by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
SFPD Sergeant Boxer has guns on her mind. There’s a rumour of a last-ditch shipment of drugs and weapons crossing the Mexican border ahead of new restrictive gun laws. Before Lindsay can act, her top informant tips her to a case that hits disturbingly
close to home.
Former cops. Professional hits. All with the same warning scrawled on their bodies. You talk, you die. Now it’s Lindsay’s turn to choose. Women’s Murder Club fans have been waiting for the 22nd instalment of the series… another surefire winner from Patterson.
Release date: Out now