Books Monthly March 2024


New fiction for 2024






J M Varese: The Company

Published 15th February 2024

Lucy Braithwhite lives a privileged existence as heir to the fortune of Braithwhite & Company - the most successful purveyor of English luxury wallpapers the world over. The company's formulas have been respected for nearly a century, but have always remained cloaked in mystery. No one has been able to explain the originality of design, or the brilliance of their colours, leaving many to wonder if the mysterious spell-like effect of their wallpapers is due simply to artistry, or something more sinister.

When Mr Luckhurst, the company's manager, and the man who has acted as surrogate father to Lucy and her invalid brother John since they were children, suddenly dies, Lucy is shocked to discover that there is no succession plan in place. Who will ensure that the company and her family continue to thrive?

The answer soon arrives in the form of the young and alluring Julian Rivers, who, unbeknownst to Lucy and John, has been essential to the company's operations for some time. At first, he seems like the answer to their prayers, but as Lucy begins piecing together Julian's true intentions, and John begins seeing spectral visions in the house's wallpaper, it becomes clear to Lucy that she must do everything within her power to oppose the diabolic forces that have risen up to destroy her family.

Set against the backdrop of the real-life arsenic wallpaper controversy of the late 19th century, The Company is a dark and haunting slice of gothic Victoriana, following one woman's fight to preserve all that she holds dear.



Stephen King: You Like It Darker

Published 21st May 2024


'You like it darker? Fine, so do I', writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind', and in You Like it Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

'Two Talented Bastids' explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. In 'The Dreamers', a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. 'The Answer Man' asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.



Gian Sardar: When The World Goes Quiet

Published 1st March 2024


In the final days of World War I, an aspiring artist’s courageous journey is just beginning in a powerful novel about love, danger, and survival by the author of Take What You Can Carry.

It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, Belgium. With luck, Evelien will make it to the end of the war and be given what she was promised: a prized painting in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions. Until then, Evelien knows to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. But life never goes to plan, especially in war.

A member of the resistance approaches Evelien: steal a list of names hidden in her employer’s home. In return, she’ll get a letter from her long-missing husband, Emiel. She’d lost hope of Emiel’s survival, but the promised letter puts her certainty of his death in question. Evelien begins her mission and soon forms a friendship with a soldier who is struggling with the devastating demands of battle. Their shared passion for art deepens the bond, and Evelien faces a heart-wrenching truth: she longs for Emiel’s safe return…but not necessarily to her.

As the final days of the war loom closer, Evelien has never been in more danger. And should she survive the war’s bitter end, what choices will she make for a life beyond liberation?



The Reverend Richard Coles: A Death In The Parish

Published 29th February 2024

THE SEQUEL TO THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG

CANON DANIEL CLEMENT IS BACK...

'Champton joins St Mary Mead and Midsomer in the great atlas of fictional English villages where the crimes are as dastardly as the residents delightful'
DAMIAN BARR

It's been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart. As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new tide of unwanted change.
But church politics soon become the least of Daniel's problems. His mother - headstrong, fearless Audrey - is obviously up to something, something she is determined to keep from him. And she is not the only one.
And then all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing...



Stephen King: Carrie

Published 26th March 2024

A beautiful hardback classic edition of King's first published novel, CARRIE, produced for the fiftieth Anniversary, with a new introduction by Margaret Atwood.

Carrie White is no ordinary girl.

Carrie White has the gift of telekinesis.

To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie - the first step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.

But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her . . .


T M Logan: The Dream Home

Published 29th February 2024

IT WAS EVERYTHING THEY WANTED. AND MORE THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR . . . PRE-ORDER THE UNMISSABLE NEW THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE MOTHER, THE CATCH AND THE HOLIDAY

Adam and Jess move into a new house with their three young children: a rambling Victorian villa in a nice neighbourhood right at the very top of their price range. Before long Adam discovers a door hidden behind a fitted wardrobe, concealing a secret room . . .

Inside Adam discovers a collection of forgotten items: a wallet, an expensive watch and an old mobile phone. Jess thinks they should simply throw them away. But Adam resists. He is fascinated by these items and how they came to be inside the hidden room.

But like the house, Adam has his secrets too. And soon he will find himself setting in motion a series of events that will place his family in terrible danger . . .


Wilbur Smith & Tom Harper: Warrior King

Published 9th May 2024

When Ann Waite discovers a battered longboat washed ashore in Algoa Bay, she is stunned to find two survivors: a badly scarred sailor and a little boy. As the man walks away into the morning mist alone, refusing to take the child - Harry - with him, Ann is left with no choice but to raise the boy as her own.

After two years of disaster and hardship in the African interior, desperation drives Ann and Harry back into the path of the mysterious shipwrecked man. Ralph Courtney has recently escaped from Robben Island and is determined to seek his fortune in Nativity Bay, the hidden harbour that his father told him about when he was a boy.

But it isn't long before Ralph, Ann and their fellow settlers learn that Nativity Bay now lies on the borders of a mighty kingdom, where the warrior king Shaka rules. With no means of making their way back to Algoa Bay, Ralph is forced into a bargain with the Zulu king which will lead him to confront the past that he has been running from for his entire life.



Peter Kames: They Thought I Was Dead

Published 9th May 2024

Meet Peter James, the number one, multi-million copy bestselling author of the Grace series returns with a standalone novel with a difference. Some will know how it begins . . . Her name is Sandy. You might know her as the loving wife of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. But there's more to her than meets the eye. A woman with a dubious past, a complicated present and
an uncertain future. Then she was gone. Some will think they know how it ends . . . Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn't find her.
They thought she was dead. But nobody knows this . . . Where did she go? Why did she run? What would cause a woman to leave her whole life behind and simply vanish? For the first time, the number one, multi-million copy bestselling author Peter James reveals the truth behind Sandy Grace’s dramatic disappearance. They thought I Was Dead will thrill fans and new readers alike with its gripping story of a woman on the run. This is Sandy's story.

Books Monthly is published on the first of every month and has been on the web since 1998. You can contact me at paulenorman1@gmail.com