Fiction A to Z
October 2023
Recent Releases
Reckless
by Elsie Silver

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider, notorious ladies' man, scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he's looking at me like I might be his next meal. I'm almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look at Theo is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak. The man is hard to trust-and even harder to resist. Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defences. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. A secret. But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.
Pearl
by Siân Hughes

Marianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing. Left behind with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, she clings to the fragmented memories of her mother's love; the smell of fresh herbs, the games they played, and the songs and stories of her childhood. As time passes, Marianne struggles to adjust, fixated on her mother's disappearance and the secrets she's sure her father is keeping from her. Discovering a medieval poem called Pearl and trusting in its promise of consolation, Marianne sets out to make a visual illustration of it, a task that she returns to over and over but somehow never manages to complete. Tormented by an unmarked gravestone in an abandoned chapel and the tidal pull of the river, her childhood home begins to crumble as the past leads her down a path of self-destruction. But can art heal Marianne? And will her own future as a mother help her find peace?
North Woods
by Daniel Mason

When two young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and nonhuman characters alike. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to growing apples. A pair of spinster twins navigate war and famine, envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths an ancient mass grave--only to discover that the earth refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a sinister con man, a stalking panther, a lusty beetle: As the inhabitants confront the wonder and mystery around them, they begin to realise that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive. This magisterial and highly inventive novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason brims with love and madness, humour and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we're connected to our environment, to history, and to one another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we're gone?
The Bee Sting
by Paul Murray

Alternating points of view, The Bee Sting chronicles the life of an Irish family: dad Dickie's business is dying in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis; mom Imelda struggles with money and more; high schooler Cass is drinking; and 12-year-old PJ is bullied and lonely. For fans of: tragicomic family sagas.
Finally Mine
by Lucy Score

Gloria is due a happily ever after. She's lost ten years to a toxic, dangerous relationship. Now that she's finally free - and medicating with makeovers and margaritas in her mother's kitchen - she has a long road ahead of her remembering who she really is. And just when she has sworn off men for at least a decade more, along comes larger-than-life, hometown hero Aldo Moretta. He's saying all the right things and flirting in all the right ways, but he is leaving for six months. One dazzling kiss, and he's gone. Or so Gloria thought...
Every duke has his day
by Suzanne Enoch

Michael Bromley, Duke of Woriton, has a passion, but it's not for chasing ladies or gambling till dawn. No, his is the far more dangerous pursuit of the science of chemistry. He may be a tad eccentric, but he can navigate a society ballroom, and manage a polite conversation-- if he must. He's certainly capable of taking care of his aunt's perfectly behaved poodle, Lancelot, while she's on holiday. Elizabeth "Bitsy" Dockering, third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second, spectacular Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all-- and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Bitsy's most insistent beau and particular victim of Galahad's bad manners, has hired a thief to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit. But none of them can plan for a chaotic encounter in the park, resulting in lost notes, a soaking in the Serpentine and an accidental dog swap... and Lancelot being kidnapped instead of Galahad! Determined to locate the dog, Michael isn't thrilled to be saddled with a flighty female insisting on helping-- except that Bitsy has a great deal more sense than he expected. And a sharp tongue to match. Still, what's a scientist to do but continue to pursue an outcome, however unexpected it may be?
How to Build a Boat
by Elaine Feeney

Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age thirteen there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine and to connect with his mother, Noelle, who died when he was born. In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientation and overwhelming he finds two people who might just be able to help him.
Doll's Eye
by Leah Kaminsky

Germany, 1933. Anna Winter returns home to find her father mysteriously disappeared and a note he's left warning her of grave danger. She flees overnight, taking her precious doll collection with her, and sets sail for Australia to lose herself in the outback. She lands a job at the Birdum Hotel and carves a new life, hiding her past from the world - until a chance encounter with an eccentric stranger, Alter Mayseh, changes everything. Australia, 1938. A Yiddish poet fleeing persecution, Alter has seen the writing on the wall for his people. Armed with a letter of introduction from Albert Einstein, he manages his own escape from Europe and arrives in Australia in search of a safe place to call home. When fate leads him to Anna, he's convinced he's found his future with her. But a disturbing clue to her dark past threatens to unravel the delicate life she has built on top of the secrets left behind. Shifting in time and place, Doll's Eye weaves an intriguing story of love, loss and survival against a backdrop of war and displacement. Evocative and compelling, it brings into question the gap between what we see, and what we don't.
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