June’s great reads Latest books

Our fabulous books editor Isabelle Broom gives us her favourite picks for the month, plus bestselling author Lucinda Riley shares her writing secrets

PICK of the MONTH

The Woman Who Wanted More by Vicky Zimmerman (Bonnier) When Kate volunteers at the Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies, she hopes it will provide a distraction from the actions of her potato-brained boyfriend and her looming 40th birthday. What she doesn’t count on, however, is 97-year-old resident Cecily Finn, whose past turns out to be just as colourful as her acerbic tongue. A wonderfully wise, warm and witty read.

CAPTIVATING QUEST

The Porpoise by Mark Haddon (Chatto & Windus) From the bestselling author of The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time comes an enthralling novel that will sweep you up from the off. After a plane crashes, killing all save for one child, the girl’s distraught father whisks his baby away from public life. Years later, a would-be suitor happens by the isolated house and attempts a rescue mission of the young woman, only to end up in the past.

SULTRY SCANDAL

The Den by Abi Maxwell (Tinder Press)

This is the tale of two women who go missing from the same New Hampshire farm. In 1850, Jane is 12 and looks up to her wilder sister Henrietta, who, at just 15, has been fooling around with men she shouldn’t. Fast-forward 150 years and troubled Elspeth writes to her sister Claire from the farm, having moved there from Scotland. Could it be that a strange local folklore is to blame for their disappearances? A provocative and absorbing coming-of-age novel.

ABsoRBING sAGA

The Seven Or Eight Deaths Of Stella

Fortuna by Juliet Grames (Hodder & Stoughton) Don’t let the title scare you away from this superbly enjoyable tale – which definitely isn’t full of murderous

deeds. What it does offer is a darkly funny story about two sisters, Stella and Tina, the former of whom spends her childhood catastrophising from one lethal mishap to another. We follow the sisters to America as World War II begins, then pick up their tale in the modern day. A class act – don’t miss it.

PAGe tURNeR

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding (HQ) Inspired by the creepiest fairytales, this goosebumpinducing thriller begins on the night that Lauren gives birth to twins. Yes, she is exhausted, but she is not going mad – Lauren knows she saw a woman in her hospital room trying to take her babies. Then, a few weeks later, the unthinkable happens and the twins disappear, only to be returned as… different. The problem is, nobody can tell there is anything wrong except Lauren. Nightmarish and unforgettable. The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal (Picador)

The dark and grimy streets of 19th-century London are brought to life in this exquisite debut about a villain with a dangerous obsession. It follows aspiring artist Iris, who agrees to model for Louis, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, in exchange for lessons. But as the young woman’s mind is expanded through art and love, little does she know a stranger has been watching in the shadows… Authentic and suspenseful. How it Ends by Saskia Sarginson (Piatkus)

In 1957, the Delaney family arrive at a US airbase in Suffolk, but within a year their lives have been shattered. Left behind to pick up the pieces, Hedy turns to a manuscript started by her brother, determined to finish his story. But, as she is about to discover, some secrets should stay buried…

VICtoRIAN ChILLeR

RoMANtIC MYsteRY

I have to write my first draft in total solitude. As we have four children and our home is always busy, I take myself off to my house in West Cork, Ireland, for weeks at a time. I often work 12 hours a day – but I never write down any notes. I let the characters develop and simply let the story flow out of me.

I work in a cosy beamed room with an enormous inglenook fireplace. There is a desk, but I rarely sit at it as that feels like “work”. I light the fire, then sit on my giant beanbag and write, using a Dictaphone. “Talking” the stories means I have the freedom to move around, and as an ex-dancer and actress, I think better when I move. I’m always inspired by a location first. I travel there, research its history and the characters then take over.

I love the creation of the characters. I spend hours alone, laughing and crying with them, and when the plot comes together, it’s exhilarating. The easiest part is getting ideas in the first place – that’s something I’m never short of.

The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley (Macmillan) is out 2 May; lucindariley.co.uk