THERE ARE ROMANCES AND REVELATIONS, DRAMAS AND DILEMMAS IN ANNE CATER’S FICTION HIGHLIGHTS
THE VANISHED BRIDE ★★★★
by Bella Ellis
Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99
BELLA Ellis takes three of our most famous female writers – and their wayward brother – and turns them into detectives.
This clever mystery is set in the wilds of Yorkshire in 1845 when the Brontë sisters are distressed to learn that Elizabeth Chester, mistress of Chester Grange, has disappeared. Their friend is a governess at the Grange so they pay her a visit.
When they learn that Mr Chester’s first wife Isabel took her own life years before, the sisters’ interest is piqued. Declaring themselves “lady detectors”, they determine to find out what happened to both women.
This is an intriguing, atmospheric mystery with a Gothic feel and a touch of the supernatural.And the author’s passion for the Brontë sisters shines through.
THE GLITTERING HOUR
★★★★★ by Iona Grey
Simon & Schuster, £8.99 THIS wonderfully written, evocative novel sweeps the reader back to the 1920s, the time of the rich and reckless “bright young things” who devote their lives to pleasure.
Selina Lennox is one of the brightest. She comes from a wealthy family who disapprove of her antics and the newspaper photographs showing her attending glittering parties with her friends and causing romantic scandals.
Lawrence Weston comes from the other side of the tracks. He’s a struggling artist from a poor family but finds himself on the fringes of the London social scene.When he and Selina unexpectedly meet, it is the start of a long and tragic love affair.
Ten years later, young Alice has been sent to stay with her grandparents at Blackwood Manor, Selina’s family home, while her parents are abroad on business.
Intimidated by her distant grandparents and their forbidding house, only intermittent letters from her mother bring her any joy. This is an epic story of love and loss set among the glamour and glitz of 1920s London.
While the bright young things lead privileged, hedonistic lives, the lingering effects of the FirstWorld War are never far from the surface.
This is a beautiful, intensely emotional love story, as tender as it is captivating.
POSTSCRIPT ★★★★ by Cecelia Ahern
HarperCollins, £16.99 THE sequel to bestseller PS I Love You picks up the story of Holly Kennedy seven years after the death of her husband Gerry, who left Holly a series of letters to read after his death, encouraging her to build a new life. She now works in her sister Ciara’s vintage shop, and she and boyfriend Gabriel are planning to live together.
Angela Carberry regularly donates clothes to Ciara’s shop. She is also the leader of the PS I Love You Club, inspired by Gerry’s letters.
The club members are all terminally ill and want to leave letters for their loved ones, just as Gerry did.WhenAngela approaches Holly for help, she finds herself drawn into the group. Gabriel, her mother and sister are concerned that it could reignite her grief. But the group leads Holly to make some dramatic changes.
Ahern addresses poignant themes with compassion. Grief and loss are challenging subjects yet the theme of hope is threaded throughout a beautifully written novel.
LIVING MY BEST LIFE
★★★★ by Claire Frost
Simon & Schuster, £7.99 BELL’S 40th birthday is approaching but she’s been living in a pair of pyjamas since boyfriend Colin dumped her.
Millie is in her 30s, a successful online influencer but airbrushed photos of her #BestLife are misleading.A single mum with a charming but unreliable ex, and trolls who are determined to pull her down, Millie’s enviable online profile is built on lies.
On the surface Bell and Millie have nothing in common but when they unite to save their local community centre, they realise they both want the same thing: to live their best life.
The women form a wonderful friendship that proves that life is not about social media “likes” but about being surrounded by people who love you.
An uplifting, heartwarming debut and an ode to the joys of friendship from a talented new author.
THE DAY WE MEET AGAIN
★★★★ by Miranda Dickinson
HQ, £7.99
WHEN their trains are delayed, Phoebe and Sam meet by the Betjeman statue at St Pancras station and there is an instant attraction.
However Sam is returning to the Isle Of Mull to learn more about the father who abandoned him when he was nine. Phoebe is bound for Paris to follow in the footsteps of authors she admires.
They don’t want to abandon their plans but there’s something special between them. So they arrange to meet in a year’s time at the same place.
The reader follows them on their journeys. Sam’s is the more emotional tale but Phoebe is a well-drawn character who overcomes demons while in Europe.
This tenderly written novel is full of hope and the joy of taking a second chance.