May’s great reads latest books

Our books editor Isabelle Broom gives us her favourite picks for the month, plus Prue Leith shares her writing secrets

PICK OF THE MONTH

The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans (Headline Review) Nightingale House was designed by artist Edward Horner and his wife Liddy as a happy place, but one summer in 1919, Liddy discovers Edward setting fire to his masterpiece. Fast-forward to the present day, and Liddy’s greatgranddaughter Juliet arrives at the house, unlocking the door to a long-buried past. Evans’s storytelling feels both authentic and satisfying. An immersive mystery.

THRILLING CHILLER

Sleep by CL Taylor (Avon) When Anna accepts a job at a hotel on a remote Scottish island, she hopes it will ease her insomnia and help her move past the terrible events that occurred the night of the accident. But when seven guests arrive, each one withholding a devastating secret, it soon becomes clear that Anna’s guilt is not her burden alone. Someone blames her for what happened and they have revenge on their mind… Read this dark, compelling tale in one sitting.

SUPERB SEQUEL

The Rosie Result by Graham Simsion (Penguin)

From the bestselling author of The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect comes the final instalment in the wonderfully quirky series. After 10 years in New York, geneticist Don Tillman and his wife of 4,380 days Rosie are back in Melbourne – but their 11-year-old son Hudson is struggling to fit in. Never one to give up, Don devises “the Hudson Project” to help his boy get back on track, with very entertaining results.

EMOTIONAL EPIC

The Girl in the Letter by Emily Gunnis (Headline) In 1956, Ivy falls pregnant and is sent in shame to the dark and foreboding St Margaret’s home for unmarried mothers. Her baby arrives and is given away for

adoption without her consent, while

Ivy herself is doomed to remain. Sixty years later, journalist Samantha is hungry to make her mark, so when she finds a letter from a young mother begging for help, she’s determined to unravel the girl’s story. As moving as it is disturbing – a real triumph.

RIVETING DRAMA

The Swap by Fiona Mitchell (Hodder & Stoughton)

Tess longs for a baby, but when Freddie arrives via IVF, she can’t bond with him. Three years later, an accident reveals that Freddie’s not even her child. A mix-up with the embryos has led to a woman, Annie, raising Tess’s daughter Willow instead of her real son Freddie. Tess is adamant they must swap, but Annie refuses, and so a battle begins that will prove even more difficult than any of them could imagine. A thought-provoking and tense tale.

ROMCOM GOLD

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (Quercus) Dumped and homeless, Tiffy can’t believe her luck when a reasonably priced flat is offered to her. There’s just one catch – she will have to share a bed with the other occupant. Leon works nights at a nursing home and spends weekends with his girlfriend, so in theory, their paths never need cross – but where would the fun be in that? Uproariously funny with characters you fall for from the first page.

GHOST STORY

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver (Head of Zeus) Edmund Stearn is wellrespected in Wakenhyrst, but behind the closed doors of his manor house, he rules his family with a titanium fist. His daughter Maud is devastated when her mother dies, but rather than bring her and Edmund closer, it drives a wedge between them. Then one day, Edmund finds a sinister painting known as a “doom” and all manner of strange things begin to happen… A spine-chilling masterpiece. ✢