THE BEST NEW FICTION

The Weather Woman

Sally Gardner

Head of Zeus €28

Thames frost fairs, automata, feminism and a charismatic woman who can predict the weather make up this beguiling tale of science and the supernatural. Unconventional Neva Friezland can foresee storms and snow, but is unable to clear a path through the strictures of Regency England. Adopting male attire, she attends salons and lectures, and falls in love with a charismatic young man. It’s historical romance imbued with a modern sensibility and a magical sense of place.

They’re Going To Love You Meg Howrey Bloomsbury €20

The former dancer’s fourth novel is, on one level, a book about ballet. Every aspect of its protagonist Carlisle’s life has been shaped by dance, from her mother’s career as a ballerina to her father and his partner’s lives in the tight-knit ballet circles of AIDS-struck 1980s New York. But it is also about so much more. Howrey deftly jumps through decades and lives to write a taut, moving evocation of the love and hurt contained within families and the difficulty of forgiveness.

The Book Of The Most Precious Substance

Sara Gran

Faber €20

Biblio-mysteries don’t come more compelling than this tale of a dealer in rare books on the hunt for the most powerful occult volume ever written. Lily Albrecht is a novelist whose husband’s early-onset dementia has left her broken by loss and crippling bills. When she learns of a buyer prepared to pay seven figures for the titular tome, she embarks on a perilous quest. A brilliant mash-up of horror, supernatural erotica and real-world anxieties.