Farah Ghuznavi

From the sensory delights of birdsong in the morning and sunset views from a lookout point to the less appealing realities of monitoring stagnant pond water and counting newts, we accompany Katie on her journey of discovery.

Set in 1979, this is a story of monsters—the ones who prey on the vulnerable, the ones that exploit our weaknesses, and the ones that we elevate to positions of power.

Surveying the decorated wall now vibrantly alive with Winnie the Pooh and Harry Potter characters, Sarah allowed herself a satisfied grin.

I’m not sure when I first realised that we’d met before. In the beginning, you were just the elderly man I often noticed pottering around our communal rooftop.

The slamming of the front door sounded an ominous note, warning of trouble to come.

Addison Square is one of those hidden enclaves where well-heeled Londoners tuck themselves away to create bubbles of “civilised life” from which they can exclude the riffraff surrounding them in the mega-city they call home.

The very first time I came across a description of this book, previously published under the title The Nigerwife (Atria Books, 2023),

A visit to any bookshop today will attest to the reading public’s fascination with crime (and criminals).

It’s a truism to say that modern life is complicated, but even a couple of decades ago, it would have been hard to predict the things we are dealing with today.

I first came across Anastasia Ryan’s work through my Instagram wanderings and was instantly intrigued by the sound of her recently released novel. Not least by its title, You Should Smile More.

If you are looking for something different from your next read—especially if you’re interested in reading a story that offers a window into another Asian culture—then Bad Kids by Zijin Chen might be a good choice. This book was an instant bestseller when it was published in China, and has since been adapted for the small screen.

When DC Clements misses, by just a few hours, the opportunity to recover the abducted Kylie—who was being held prisoner by an unknown captor in the initial period after she disappeared—the police officer becomes obsessed with finding out what actually happened to the missing woman.

This is a beautiful book about a teenager looking for the answers in life, the joys of found family, and the experience of love in its many forms.

Hannah's protagonist Freddie is attempting to make progress on her novel by working at the Boston Public Library, when she—along with three of the people she is sharing a table with—are transfixed by the sound of a woman screaming somewhere in the Library.

A major scientific breakthrough has ensured that boys born with a particular gene can be identified as having the potential to grow into violent men.

The book combines the intrigue of a classic domestic suspense novel with a high level of psychological insight and skilful character development.

These are novels where the suspense is often drawn from the subtleties of character development, which become more evident as the story unfolds.

I was amused to see a recent Facebook status update from my friend, the Indian writer Madhulika Liddle.

That is a really interesting question, and before answering it, there is another question that needs to be considered: whose idea of success are we talking about? Because the truth is, that could be the determining factor in providing an answer to the question being posed.

Glancing nervously at the dogs that lay basking in the winter sunshine, I tried to move ahead with confidence, telling myself that the venerable Tollygunge Club would never allow their clientele anywhere near animals that hadn't had their rabies shots.