JO HARKIN The Pretender. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Jo Harkin’s novel is a fresh and rollicking take on the mystery of fifteenth-century pretender to the English throne, Lambert Simnel. Perhaps the best part of John’s life (and the funniest) is when he is still ‘a small village boy’, ‘short of words’ but full of...
KELLY GARDINER and SHARMINI KUMAR Miss Caroline Bingley Private Detective. Reviewed by Michael Jongen
Gardiner and Kumar give Caroline Bingley a larger and more exciting role than she ever had in Pride and Prejudice. Caroline Bingley’s unpopularity in Pride and Prejudice stems largely from her behaviour and motivations, which clash with the values celebrated in...
EMMA DONOGHUE The Paris Express. Reviewed by Justine Ettler
The new novel from the author of Room and Akin delivers an Agatha Christie feel, a historical train derailment, and identity politics. In the search for an original twist, some crime writers are turning to literary and experimental tropes like hybrid genres and...
FRANCESCA DE TORES Saltblood. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Francesca de Tores’ novel is swashbuckling historical fiction, featuring unconventional women, war, and piracy on the high seas. Francesca de Tores makes it clear from the start: Mary Read and Anne Bonny are real historical figures – but I am no historian. In...
MINETTE WALTERS The Players. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Minette Walters’ new historical novel features a consummate spy in the aftermath of an ill-fated seventeenth-century English rebellion. A man of Royal descent stepped ashore this day in our fair port of Lyme Regis. Handsomely attired, he declared himself to be Duke of...
EMILY MAGUIRE Rapture. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The author of Love Objects and An Isolated Incident turns to historical fiction to tell the story of a young ninth-century woman whose quest for knowledge will not be denied. Rapture is a romance. Not just because it follows the love and passion of an unconventional...
RODNEY HALL Vortex. Reviewed by Paul Anderson
Rodney Hall has won the Miles Franklin Award twice (Just Relations, The Grisly Wife); his new novel is a panoramic alternative history of the twentieth century. Queen Elizabeth II visited Brisbane on 9 March 1954 as part of her longest-ever Commonwealth tour. A...
HARRIET CONSTABLE The Instrumentalist. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Harriet Constable’s debut novel takes inspiration from a real-life Venetian prodigy who was both a student of and rival to Vivaldi. Anna Maria della Pietà is destined for greatness. At eight, she knows it as surely as string knows bow, as lightning knows storm, as...
NATALIE BAYLEY Bone Rites. Reviewed by Sandra Nichols
The protagonist of Natalie Bayley’s novel embarks on an unusual and increasingly dangerous quest to honour the brother she lost in childhood. They are hanging me tomorrow … Each second is an eternity. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat. I lie wretched on the bed while...
LAUREN CHATER The Beauties. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Set in 17th-century London, Lauren Chater’s new novel brings together a royal artist, a young woman’s quest and the real-life Anne Hyde. What do you do if the king invites you to share his bed but you find the idea repulsive? A wave of nausea ripples through her...
LEIGH BARDUGO The Familiar. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The bestselling creator of the Grishaverse turns to the history of 16th-century Spain for this story of a young woman with magical powers. If the bread hadn’t burned, this would be a very different story. So it would. Luzia would not have used her magical skills, Doña...
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