By now we are all settling into the new year and indeed decade. It’s been a cold couple of weeks, so it really is time to grab some calm amidst the storm and indulge yourself in some “snuggling up time”. Enjoying a new book is our favourite way to do just that here at Lady Wimbledon HQ. Why not join in and check out our fabulous book recommendations for this month?
All The Rage by Cara Hunter
Cara Hunter is a name to follow when it comes to fast paced, heart thumping crime writing. All The Rage is her new release and is set in the delightful university city of spires, Oxford. The question is, is Oxford everything you think it is?
DI Adam Fawley is certain that he has seen this all before. A teenage girl is discovered in a highly distressed state in the outer part of the city. She tells a terrifying story of abduction straight off the street, a plastic bag placed over her head as she is driven to a remote spot and assaulted.
Adam Fawley is giving everything he has got to solve the crime but to his dismay the girl is refusing to press charges. Determined to get to the bottom of the investigation he just cannot shake off the idea that he has seen something similar before.
When another girl goes missing, he cannot ignore that nagging doubt about the past. With time running out he realises that the first girl came back but will the next one be so lucky?
Cara has written an incredibly powerful tale because of her innate ability to fully develop believable characters and create twists and turns where many others fail, that will have you captivated from page one!
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes is an international bestselling author who never fails to deliver a fabulous tale of messy, touching and funny human beings!
Her new novel centres around the rather glamorous Casey family. The three Casey brothers, Johnny, Ed and Liam have beautiful wives who just ooze talent along with their divine children. As a family they spend much of their spare time together, whether it’s a holiday, party or good old family celebrations. Jessie, Johnny’s wife, the wealthiest of them all, insists that that they are one big happy family!
Whilst gliding serenely above the water, the Casey’s are paddling like crazy underneath. Some of them don’t really get on, whilst others are getting on with each other far too well!
Unfortunately, (but not for you dear reader), Cara, Ed’s wife gets concussion and without warning develops a motormouth where she just cannot keep her thoughts to herself! At Johnny’s birthday party the beans begin to spill from her mouth and the secrets start coming out.
As their lives begin to unravel, they all start to wonder if it’s about they all grew up!
Grown Ups is just fabulous! It is gloriously witty and endearing. In true Marian Keyes style, she draws you into the lives of the characters so that you will feel an emptiness when your time with them is over!
The Far Field by Madhur Vijay
Never be afraid to read a debut novelists work. It’s the most fabulous way to discover new author, like BAME writer Madhur Vijay, who has hit the writing scene like a lightning bolt with a JCB prize for Literature and being shortlisted for the DSC prize for South Asian Literature.
This elegant and delicate yet powerfully told story centres around Shalini, a woman who has both privilege and restlessness in her being. Upon her mother’s death she departs her home for a remote Himalayan village in search of answers. She is convinced that the loss of her mother is linked to Bashir, a charming Kashmiri salesman, who used to frequent her childhood home and disappeared a decade ago.
On arrival at the village she is brought straight into Kashmiri politics and the messy and the tangled history of her local family. When violence arrives at the village, she is torn in her struggle to discover the truth whilst risking the safety of the very people she has come to love.
The Far Field is stunning debut by Vijay. She portrays love, fear, hope and faith in humanity amongst the instability and danger of Kashmir.
I hope you love these books as much as we do here at lady Wimbledon HQ! Do let us know your thoughts in the comments sections below and let’s get a conversation started!
Janie Smith
Culture Editor
Lady Wimbledon
cultureeditor@ladywimbledon
About The Author
Janie Smith
Janie Smith is a cup full of sass and the Culture Queen isn’t letting anything limit her. Whether she’s jet setting around the world or catching up on the latest shows she always has her ear to the ground.