Contemporary Fiction

The Mother-In-Law, by Sally Hepworth

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From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was held at arm’s length. Although Diana is always polite to a fault, Lucy knows that even after marrying Oliver, she and Diana will never have the close bond she imaged and hoped for. Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don’t get to choose your mother-in-law. Diana is the matriarch of a loving family, a pillar of her community and Lucy just wanted to please her.
That was ten years ago. Now Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But things do not add up; the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation, the suicide note was left concealed in a drawer, and everyone in the family is hiding something… Read More »

The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin

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Stranded in Salt Lake City by a blizzard, two strangers decide to charter a plane together, hoping to return home sooner. Ben Payne is a talented surgeon, returning home from a conference, Ashley Knox, a magazine writer, is desperate to get home for her impending wedding. When tragedy strikes, the pair find themselves stranded in Utah’s most remote wilderness in the dead of winter. Badly injured, miles from civilisation, without food or shelter and with only Ben’s mountaineering gear to help them survive.
Ashely and Ben’s chances of survival look bleak, as days in the mountains turn to weeks and their hope for rescue dwindles. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever? Read More »

Bird Summons, by Leila Aboulela

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Salma, Moni and Iman, friends and active members of their local Muslim Women’s Group, set out on a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Their destination is the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobbold, who was a Victorian convert to Islam and the first British woman to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. The three women are each on a personal pilgrimage of sorts and each hope to gain something from this journey. When they are visited by the Hoopoe, a sacred bird from Muslim and Celtic legends, all three women start to question their relationships to faith and femininity, love, loyalty and sacrifice. Read More »

Something To Hide, by Deborah Moggach

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Petra’s love life has always been a bit of a disaster and now, in her sixties, she is becoming increasingly lonely. Until she falls in love with Jeremy that is. Jeremy is an old friend, visiting from abroad, and they quickly fall for one another. The only problem is that Jeremy is Petra’s best friend’s husband. Just as everything seems set for Petra’s happily-ever-after, tragedy strikes and she finds herself on a plane to West Africa, on her way to support Bev, who she has been betraying so terribly.
Meanwhile, on opposite sides of the world, two other women are struggling with their own secrets and betrayals. In Texas, Lorrie is desperate to hide her secret from her husband, and she is prepared to do anything to cover it up, including the biggest deception of her life. In China, Li-Jing is living in a golden cage and has no idea what her husband does in his business in Africa and what he is planning. Read More »

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell her life story and spill the tea on those infamous seven marriages and countless scandals. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant to write the story, no one is more surprised than Monique herself. Monique’s personal and professional lives are going nowhere at the moment, so she jumps at this opportunity to make a name for herself as a writer.
Invited into Evelyn’s sumptuous apartment, Monique is quickly absorbed and fascinated by the actress’ incredible story. From poverty in Brooklyn to a life of fame and fortune in Los Angeles, Evelyn Hugo seems to have lived a charmed life. But her story is also one of ruthless ambition, fear, determination and forbidden love. As her story comes to a close, Evelyn’s reasons for choosing Monique become clear, as do her motives behind finally sharing her story. Read More »

The Road Trip, by Beth O’Leary

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Addie and her sister have planned the perfect road trip to their friend’s wedding in Scotland, the snacks are packed and the playlist ready. But shortly after setting off, someone drives into the back of their Mini. The other drive is none other than Dylan, Addie’s ex, who she hasn’t seen or spoken to since their traumatic break-up two years ago. Dylan and his best friend were on their way to the same wedding, but now their car is a wreck. Addie and her sister have no choice but to offer them a lift. Soon the tiny car is full of luggage and limbs, tension and secrets. With three hundred miles ahead of them, Addie and Dylan can’t avoid confronting the messy end of their relationship. But is it really the end of the road for these two? Read More »

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

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Nora Seed is miserable. She just lost her job, she is estranged from her brother, her mother passed away recently, she gave up on her dreams, she ended her engagement just days before her wedding. And her cat just got killed by a car. Life doesn’t seem worth living, so she decides to end it.
But instead of dying, Nora ends up in the Midnight Library. In this library between life and death, the shelves go on forever and they are all filled with books. Each book represents a different life she might have lived, had she made different choices. With the help of the librarian, she must now try to find what makes a life worth living, and discover what that life might look like. Read More »

Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon

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Live life in a bubble? Or risk everything for love?
Maddy is allergic to everything. For as long as she can remember, she has lived in the safe bubble of her house. Her only contacts with the outside world are her mother, her nurse and her tutor. She is perfectly content with her safe routine until Olly and his family move in next door. Through her connection with Olly, Maddy will start to question what it means to really live, and what she is prepared to risk to have the life she wants. Read More »