Fiction pick

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Anyone who devoured Brodesser-Akner’s hit 2019 novel Fleishman is in Trouble – or the TV adaptation it inspired – will be glad to know her second book is just as intelligent, engrossing and wryly funny. While her debut interrogated the structures of a marriage, here she turns her attention on family dysfunction and trauma – and somehow makes it a riot to read. The novel’s catalyst is the kidnapping of a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher, the repercussions of which are felt across four decades and a sprawling cast list of his relations. Long Island Compromise is almost guaranteed to be the book of the summer.

(Wildfire)

Nonfiction pick

Our Country in Crisis by Kwajo Tweneboa

As someone who has experienced living in disrepair himself, Kwajo Tweneboa is acutely familiar with the UK’s current housing crisis. Now an activist who has gone on to advise on government policy, he has penned the kind of book which should be necessary reading. Partly a memoir, partly a manifesto for change, Our Country in Crisis weaves in interviews with everyone from Grenfell survivors to his own parents to demonstrate the scale of the housing emergency we are in – while also putting forth a convincing path forward which can help us rebuild.

(Trapeze)

Best of the rest

The Material by Camille Bordas

French author Camille Bordas is loved by the likes of Zadie Smith, Rachel Cusk and George Saunders, and reading this, her first novel written in English, you can see why. Following a group of comedy students and their teachers over the course of a day, it’s smart, compelling and witty.

(Serpent’s Tail)

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell

When Hannah writes a furious letter to a serial killer behind bars, she is rather surprised by his response. Thus begins an unexpected pen pal correspondence in this darkly comic debut which will suit fans of Bella Mackie’s How To Kill Your Family.

(Orion)

First Wife’s Shadow by Adele Parks

Matthew, a widower, is Emma’s perfect man, but when their relationship moves incredibly fast, friends signal alarm bells. This latest psychological thriller from the bestselling author is exactly the kind of book to race through on holiday.

(HQ)

The Second Coming by Garth Risk Hallberg

Ethan is a convicted felon, recovering addict and estranged father to a teenage daughter, Jolie. When Jolie runs into some trouble, he believes only he can help. This rich, 600-page account of a father-daughter is tremendous storytelling.

(Granta)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Margo is a 20-year-old single mother who can’t quite make ends meet. Her solution? Creating an OnlyFans account where she can make money by sharing explicit photos of herself. This astute, hilarious novel is already being adapted into a TV series starring Nicole Kidman and Dakota and Elle Fanning.

(Sceptre)

Swift River by Essie Chambers

Anyone longing to get swept up in another summer read like Where the Crawdads Sing, look no further. Opening in 1987 but spanning multiple generations, this is the story of 16-year-old Diamond, and the mysterious disappearance of her father.

(Dialogue)

I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson

From the author of the acclaimed debut little scratch comes another experimental novel in which the sudden death of a young woman’s brother forces her to confront the complicated relationship she had with him.

(Faber)

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

When Funke’s mother dies, she is sent from Lagos to live with family in England. Here, she is not sure how she’d cope without her cousin Liv, but both their mothers’ legacies cast their shadow. A gorgeous, sweeping book about family and belonging.

(Doubleday)

Rosarita by Anita Desai

No sooner has Bonita arrived in Mexico from India to learn Spanish, than she is accosted by a woman claiming to know her mother. This 90-page novella about just how difficult it is to escape your past is the perfect read for a sultry summer afternoon.

(Picador)

Teddy by Emily Dunlay

In 1969 Teddy has arrived in Rome with both a new husband and a newfound determination to be good. Then she is photographed in the arms of an American ambassador and the wild ride from here makes this novel a heck of a lot of fun.

(Fourth Estate)

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

Lyla and Nico are one of the five couples competing in a reality show on a gorgeous island in the Indian Ocean. When a tropical storm unexpectedly cuts them off from the outside world, events take a darker turn. Another twisty, addictive thriller from the bestselling author.

(S&S)

Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

Emezi’s previous novel, You Made a Fool Out of Death with Your Beauty, was the love story of the summer when it came out in 2022. Now, they have upped the ante with a dark and intense novel set in Lagos, which interrogates money, sex work and morality.

(Faber, 7 July)

Pity Party by Daisy Buchanan

When Katherine finds herself as a young widow, she heads to a wellness retreat – where she is surprised to find it’s less spa and massages and more erotic meditation and scream therapy. Buchanan is such a terrific comic writer it makes this novel a joy to read.

(Sphere)

Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink

Anyone who has reached midlife and thought, “is this it?” will relate to the protagonist of Retzenbrink’s compelling second novel. When Ann, a vicar’s wife, crosses paths with Jamie, who is handsome and interested, she must decide again what kind of life she wants for herself.

(Phoenix)

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

When Patch is abducted late one summer, his best friend Saint is determined to find him. Meanwhile, in a pitch-black room, Patch falls for a girl named Grace. Featuring both a missing person and a serial killer, this novel is likely to be filed in bookshops under thrillers – but the love story at its core is equally enthralling.

(Orion)

The Long Water by Stef Penney

In a small Scandinavian town, the search for a missing 20-year-old leads the police to the remains of a body which has been hidden in a disused mine for decades. The story which unravels is a gripping tale of community and secrets.

(Quercus)

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood

Mitty lives in a rundown bungalow in Santa Cruz, one of the final homes not yet housing the new tech elite. When neighbour Lena – whose life is ‘bathed in wealth’, begins to take an interest in her, nothing will ever be the same.

(Hutchinson Heinemann)

Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

Lombardo is beloved for her knack for warm and funny family drama, and her latest doesn’t disappoint. At its centre is 57-year-old Julia, whose perfectly constructed life seems to fall apart all at once.

(W&N)

The Revenge of Rita Marsh by Nilesha Chauvet

As someone who runs a care home, Rita is the last person anyone would expect to be spending her evenings posing as a young girl online in order to ensnare and expose predatory men. But in this deliciously dark thriller, nothing is as it seems.

(Faber)

Gold Rush by Olivia Petter

When Rose wakes up the morning after a party, lying in bed next to her is Milo Jax, a British pop sensation who also happens to be one of the most famous men on the planet. Piecing together what actually happened is a whole other problem.

(Fourth Estate)

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

You can always rely on the author of bestseller The Couple Next Door to deliver a thriller you want to stay up all night reading. In What Have You Done?, a sleepy Vermont community is rocked by the discovery of a body in the fields.

(Bantam)

My Family by David Baddiel

So candid is this family memoir – replete with sex, rudeness, affairs – that it is near impossible to read it without your jaw on the floor. It is also, unsurprisingly, terrifically funny, while being humane and tender, bringing the comedian’s late parents back to life.

(Fourth Estate)

Fi: A Memoir of My Son by Alexandra Fuller

While grieving for her father and dealing with a midlife breakup, Fuller was further knocked for six when her 21-year-old son suddenly died in his sleep. Her memoir is as raw and heart-shattering as you would expect, while still being a thing of beauty.

(Jonathan Cape)

Iconic by Zandra Rhodes

As one of the UK’s most legendary living fashion designers, who first made a name for herself in the 1960s, it is unsurprising that Dame Rhodes’s memoir is bursting with dazzling stories – told through 50 of her most famous objects.

(Bantam)

How Tyrants Fall by Marcel Dirsus

The political scientist’s rigorously researched book offers fascinating insight into the rise – and then inevitable fall – of dictators, and how their aftermath can shape a nation. Drawing on conversations with dissidents, soldiers and revolutionaries, it’s a much-needed look at how tyranny ends.

(John Murray)

A Better Tomorrow: Life Lessons in Hope and Strength by Mina Smallman

In 2020, Mina’s daughters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were killed in a park by a male stranger. In A Better Tomorrow, we hear for the first time her own story, and come away with a rallying lesson in hope and resilience.

(Ebury Press)

‘I wanted to write a modern fairy tale’

Joanne Harris is spectacular at building worlds sprinkled with magic. We knew this already from her hit 1999 book Chocolat, a tale of morality, pleasure and desire set in a cloistered French village, which was later adapted into a film of the same name starring Johnny Depp. With the many novels she has written since (she is author of more than 20), Harris has continued to demonstrate her knack for it, from the fantasy and folklore The Gospel of Loki (2014) through to the magic realism of last year’s Broken Light.

The same can be said for her latest, The Moonlight Market. The novel imagines an alternative reality hidden in the streets and above the rooftops of London; a mysterious world which Tom is drawn into when he falls for a beautiful young woman named Vanessa.

“I’ve always written fantasy-inspired novels in one form or another, but in the case of The Moonlight Market, I wanted to write a modern fairytale in a slightly different way,” Harris says now. “It occurred to me that types of moth have adapted their camouflage from a woodland to an urban setting – so why shouldn’t fairies do the same? The result is a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, set among the hidden places of modern London.”

It also marks a turn towards romance. “It’s the first real love story I’ve ever written,” she admits. “And it challenges both the conventional ideal of true love, and the tropes of the fairy story.”

The author, who was raised in Yorkshire, began writing after one not-so-successful year as an accountant and then 15 years as a modern languages teacher, and the thrill of being an author hasn’t worn off. “I enjoy all parts of the process, even routine things like copy-editing,” she reflects. “But for me the magic comes from those moments when the story – or the characters – genuinely surprise me.”

Remaining as prolific as ever, Harris is also writing a prequel to Chocolat which is due out in spring next year, and will take the reader back to the early beginnings of the beloved Vianne. “I’m never far from Vianne’s world,” Harris admits. “I’ve written four books around her now, and I’ve followed her over twenty-five years from young motherhood into middle age. Right now seems a good time to explore her origin story – at a time when she is reassessing her life and relationships. In trying to understand who she is, it made sense to me to look at where she originally came from.” And long may she continue sprinkling her magic.

The Moonlight Market by Joanne Harris