BEST BOOKS
Zoe West picks the best reads for you
Little Wing
by Freya North (£12.99, Welbeck, HB)
We are introduced to the breathtaking isle of Harris in Scotland, which serves as the perfect backdrop for this moving and powerful tale. When a pregnant 16-year-old is banished to the Outer Hebrides, the repercussions reverberate for generations. It is only years later, when Nell and THIS
Dougie meet at critical WEEK’S moments in their lives, HOT READ that everything starts to make sense. With a gorgeous cast, this story of identity, forgiveness and a sense of place is a gem.
Her Last Request
by Mari Hannah (£7.99, Orion, PB)
Although traumatic and disturbing, dealing with the body of a murdered woman is not unusual for DCI Kate Daniels and her team. Yet when a note at the crime scene is found asking for help to protect the victim’s missing son, Kate realises this case is personal. But who is watching? And what will happen if they find missing Aaron first?
Diamond
by Jessie Keane (£14.99, Hodder & Stoughton, HB) Diamond Dupree has fled her gangland family in London and moved to Paris to become an artist’s model, but things aren’t quite as she expected. On returning to London she establishes herself as a gangland queen. Then she meets Richard Beaumont, the son of an aristocratic family. But can she escape the crimes of her past?
A Very Nice Girl
by Imogen Crimp (£14.99, Bloomsbury, HB)
It’s said youth is wasted on the young – the same can be true of talent. Opera student Anna has incredible potential, but financial hardship, low self-esteem and lack of support begin to eat away at her. Then she meets Max. A novel exploring the quick decisions that can change your destiny, but sometimes you need age to see them clearly.
Violeta
by Isabel Allende (£16.99, Bloomsbury, HB) Penned as a conversational letter to her grandson, Violeta Del Valle recounts her extraordinary 100-year life. Born in 1920 during a Spanish flu epidemic, her world is turned upside down as a consequence of the financial crash. Closing in the middle of another pandemic, this is storytelling at its best, delivered with insight, warmth and humour.