This issue we turned to our favourite booksellers for their picks on what to read this month – Sara Shand from Emmas at Oxford and Millie Blackwell from Mrs Blackwell’s Village Bookshop. And they didn’t disappoint! We can’t wait to get reading.

The List of Suspicious Things
Jennie Godfrey
Hutchinson Heinemann

It is Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is Prime Minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family ‘down south’ because of the murders. Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all? So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t.   

But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families, and between each other, than they ever thought possible.

If you loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time then this clever and moving debut will be perfect for you. A story of friendship, community and family. SS

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James
Percival Everett
Mantle

As booksellers, the requirement to come up with an annual ‘best of’ list each summer sits quietly in the back of our minds all year long. For a while I had zero works of fiction on my shortlist, then along came James. A book I’m certain will make my Top 10 for 2024!

A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this time told from the perspective of Jim, Huck’s formerly enslaved friend who is now on the run. This is an exciting and suspenseful adventure tale, while also being a thought-provoking revision of history. Its fast pace and engrossing storyline is sure to appeal to a wide range of readers, but I’m particularly excited to have a work of literary fiction on hand that will be a good fit for many male readers.

A special note for my book-loving pencil friends: a graphite pencil plays both comic and tragic roles in advancing this story. To say any more would be a spoiler! MB

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Welcome to Glorious Tuga
Francesca Segal
Chatto & Windus

Dreaming of an escape to a tropical paradise? This book might be just what you need. It is a fun and engaging escapist read, with great descriptions.

Tuga is the world’s most remote inhabited island, with ripe mangos, wild vanilla, avocado trees, frangipani, and candy-coloured buildings. It is also where secrets don’t stay hidden for long.

London vet Charlotte Walker has taken up a fellowship on the tiny, remote island to study endangered gold coin tortoises in the jungle interior. While it is the best of reasons for a year in paradise – the reality is more complex. Charlotte has a secret that connects her to the island, and she’s determined to solve the mystery that has dominated her life to date.

This is a novel about love, belonging and what it really means to come home. SS

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Easy Wins
Anna Jones
4th Estate GB

Anna Jones has a way with vegetarian food and knows how to bring something fresh and modern and entirely new to me every time a cookbook is released.

Easy Wins is centred around 12 hero ingredients that just so happen to tick a lot of boxes on the taste/flavour scale – sweet, salty, sour, umami, bitter, hot, verdant and creamy.

Diving into each ingredient, Anna looks at what it pairs well with, favourite uses, how to store it, the different types.

There are also sections throughout that break down flavours; one section helps combat flavours you find in common meat-based recipes and how to get those flavours into your plant-based recipes, another looks at how to layer different flavours and textures.

This is a cookbook for everyone, vegetarian or not, and will have you looking at everyday ingredients in an entirely new light. I highly recommend. Notable recipes: EVERY recipe in this book! MB