From Montana to Mantua, and a rail journey around Great Britain, we round up the best of the new books to read this month.
RRP £18.99 (Sceptre)
Engaged to cardiac anaesthetist Charlie, Cece arrives at her fiancé’s family’s idyllic, old-fashioned lakeside house in Montana to make wedding preparations. Charlie has asked his old friend Garrett – damaged, gruff, scruff – to officiate. Cece takes violently against him, but, as they spend time together, he starts to move her strangely – so strangely that she will ditch Charlie for him.
Puchner follows the protagonists through life, as their friendship shatters, is restored, strains and warps. Zooming in and out, he blends intimate detail and an eye for human foibles with a bigger picture, by turns comical and achingly poignant.
RRP £20 (Harper Collins)
Not content with penning thrillers to scare us witless, Barclay now ventures on the supernatural with a very dark tale.
He casts an evil spell on us poor readers, forcing us to sit, feverishly turning pages, as he writes of widowed children’s author Annie, her son Charlie, and a cursed train set, with a back story of death and destruction, and a nail-biting denouement. You have been warned.
RRP: £24.99 (Whitefox)
In a deconsecrated monastery and church in Mantua, a scholar pores over crumbling papers – the letters of the formidable art collector and patron Isabella D’Este.
The chill draught on her neck? That will be Isabella herself, looking over her shoulder, musing on modern mores, as she recalls her extraordinary life amid the beauty and barbarity, love and war, plague and pox of Renaissance Italy.
RRP £25 (Hodder & Stoughton)
Oh, thank goodness, no black magic, just a plain old serial killer bent on vengeance, picking off victims at random, and a religious zealot with a pro-choice feminist in his sights!
So, another case for King’s endearing, self-effacing Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency, now acting as bodyguard for said feminist. The novel positively cracks along, greatly enlivened by King’s sly humour.
RRP £20 (Summersdale)
We could not ask for better company as we make a meandering 4,088-mile rail journey around Britain with this author, admiring scenery, chatting with strangers, and learning more about the 200-year history of rail travel.
This is not luxury travel, not all spectacular scenery (we take the rough with the smooth), but it is endlessly diverting. You’ll be chuffed.
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These engrossing novels and fascinating non-fiction picks are the perfect summer escape.
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The BBC newsreader on running 23 marathons, coping with grief and why she’s still chasing new challenges at 58.
The writer and broadcaster on childhood adventures, Winnie-the-Pooh and the lesson that has guided him.
The TV presenter shares her favourite places and the surprising companion she would love to travel with.
TV’s Dr Hilary Jones on why he wants sweeping reform to modern healthcare.
