BEST BOOKS
Zoe West picks the best reads for you
The Prisoner
by BA Paris (£16.99, Hodder & Stoughton, HB)
When two men kidnap Amelie in the middle of the night, she tries everything in her power to escape from the pitch-black prison. Switching between present day and the weeks leading up to the kidnapping, it becomes clear that although Amelie may have been vulnerable and manipulated in the past, everything she’s learnt from those days may be key to helping her escape. But can brains really overpower brawn? Chilling, intense and downright frightening in places, you’ll be left wondering what is real and what isn’t.
The Thirty-one Doors
by Kate Hulme (£16.99, Hodder & Stoughton, HB)
On a freezing, snowy night in December 1924, a frantic telephone call alerts DS Frank Glover to an emergency. Reaching Scarpside, an imposing country house perched on a cliff edge, Frank is informed by distraught housemaid Dottie that all 10 members of private party The Penny Club are missing. An empty dining room and a pool of blood triggers the discovery of a succession of shocking fatalities. As Frank and Dottie track down the killer in this intricate historical murder-mystery you may just feel set adrift within a nightmarish game of Cluedo. Gripping.
The Echoes of Love
by Jenny Ashcroft (£14.99, Harper Collins, HB) It is 1936 when Eleni visits her grandfather’s idyllic villa in Crete, as she does every year. But this time she meets a young German man by the name of Otto. Cue a summer of love and lost innocence. When 1941 arrives, the two meet again under very different circumstances. Eleni is there to fight for her home, Otto to occupy it. Will their love be strong enough to survive the ravages of war? A cinematic novel with two loyal, brave and beautiful characters who will capture your heart.