Summer reads SPECIAL

LITERARY EDITOR Sarra Manning PICKS THE BOOKS THAT WILL SEE YOU FROM BEACH TO BARBECUE THIS SUMMER…

THE SUMMER MUST-READ The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

(Fig Tree, £14.99, out 9th June) I adored The Whalebone Theatre – it’s a serious contender for my book of the year. A difficult, wayward girl, a beautiful but selfish stepmother, a big crumbling country house, amateur theatricals, bright young things, the war… this is my literary crack! It all adds up to a beautifully immersive story that felt like a much-loved favourite book, even though I was reading it for the first time.

THE HOLIDAY WHODUNIT Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant

(Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99, out 2nd June)

Sabine Durrant writes the most chilling thrillers set in the most sun-drenched locations. This time, it’s a gorgeous villa in the south of France, where professional grifter Ali, on the run from her former accomplice, assumes a new identity and the role of cook to a group of middle-class holidaymakers. But Ali isn’t the only one hiding secrets and tensions rise along with the temperature until they reach boiling point.

THE ‘GET YOU IN THE FEELS’ DEBUT These Impossible Things by Salma El-wardany

(Trapeze, £14.99, out 9th June) Jenna, Kees and Malak have been best friends since school, sharing secrets and navigating the complicated path of being British Muslim women who have to balance faith, family and their own needs. But their friendship fractures one night and, as the three of them begin new careers and relationships, without one another they each become something less. It’s hard to believe that this incredibly moving, fiercely funny and gorgeously written novel is a debut.

THE TEARJERKER The Love Of My Life by Rosie Walsh

(Mantle, £14.99, out 23rd June) Emma and Leo are a rock-solid couple, but when Emma becomes ill and Leo starts looking into his wife’s past, he realises the woman he loves doesn’t exist. As the true and devastating story of Emma’s life before Leo is revealed, can they find a way back to each other? Expect tears, twists and a serious book hangover once you’ve finished.

THE BUZZIEST ROMCOM Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

(Headline, £16.99, out 5th July) Billed as ‘the romcom of the decade’, Honey & Spice contains two of my favourite tropes; the fake relationship and two protagonists (the take-no-fools Kiki Banjo and Malakai Korede, a notorious player), who simultaneously hate yet fancy the pants off each other. This book breathes fresh new life into the genre with its vibrant characters and sexy, authentic voice.

THE TWISTIEST THRILLER The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor

(Avon, £14.99, out 23rd June) If your husband framed you for murder and you ended up going to prison for five years, you’d be pretty mad, yes? Olivia Sutherland isn’t just furious, she’s out for revenge, but just how far is she prepared to go when Dominic is happy to go even further? This has all the twists, turns and WTFS you could possibly want from a thriller.

THE MEMOIR EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT Quilt On Fire: The Messy Magic Of Midlife by Christie Watson

(Chatto & Windus, £16.99, out 16th June)

You don’t have to be in midlife to appreciate this funny, real, empathetic memoir about the multitudes contained in every woman. Dating, friendship, sex, body image… it’s all here. And if you’re in the prime of your midlife, you’ll feel as if you’ve found a kindred spirit.

THE COOLEST TIME TRAVEL NOVEL This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

(Michael Joseph, £16.99, out 9th June) This New York-set story about time travel will break your heart. Alice is a day away from 40, stuck in a rut and waiting for her father to die – until she finds a way to repeatedly wake up on her 16th birthday, then return to a present that has been affected by the choices she makes. But is there a way to save her beloved father?

THE SUPER-COOL SHORT STORY COLLECTION Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo

(Bloomsbury Circus, £16.99, out 14th June)

From the bestselling, award-winning author of Three Women comes this collection, which showcases Taddeo’s dark imagination, confronting prose and vodka-dry humour. I think Taddeo is at her best when she’s writing about female friendship, with all its fraught nuances, so my standout story is Air Supply.

THE SEQUEL WE CAN’T WAIT FOR The House Of Fortune by Jessie Burton

(Picador, £16.99, out 7th July) Fans of The Miniaturist are in for a treat with this sequel, which returns to Amsterdam and the world of Nella Brandt some 18 years later. The family have fallen on hard times, but an invitation to a glittering ball will help her niece Thea find a wealthy husband and bring the miniaturist back into Nella’s life.

THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL HEROINE Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(Hutchinson Heinemann, £16.99, out 30th August) She’s done rock ’n’ roll, she’s done surfing, now Taylor Jenkins Reid turns her attention to the world of elite tennis in this hugely entertaining and compulsively readable novel about a tennis player who comes out of retirement in her late 30s to reclaim her former glory.

THE CULT NON-FICTION PICK I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee and Anton Hur

(Bloomsbury, £12.99, out 23rd June)

I Want To Die… has been a huge transcribes the sessions with her bestseller in Korea and will strike psychiatrist as she uncovers the root a chord with anyone who feels that causes of her anxiety and harmful their public life is at odds with how behaviours, despite the perfect picture they really feel inside. Baek Sehee she presents to the world.