2015 was a wonderful year for literature with books such as The Girl on The Train and Go Set a Watchman being released to rapturous reception. 2016 looks as though it is going to be an equally brilliant year with a number of hotly tipped releases by both new and old authors coming our way.
Here are just a few of the titles due for release in the year ahead.
The Widow – Fiona Barton
Tipped as this year’s The Girl on The Train The Widow is Fiona Barton’s debut novel and sounds as if it is headed for the top ten books of the year before it ha even been released. Due for release on Jan 14 in the UK the story follows Jean Taylor, an ordinary woman married to a monster.
In a Land of Paper Gods – Rebecca Mackenzie
Another debut novel, In a Land of Paper Gods is the story of a child caught between two completely different cultures and who finds a divinity within herself. With distinct echoes of Empire of the Sun and The Poisonwood Bible this promises to be an absorbing read.
Due for release on January 28th.
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep – Joanna Cannon
England,1976.
Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.
And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined…
Due for release on Jan 28th this whodunnit promises to make you laugh even when you know you shouldn’t and has received high praise indeed from those lucky enough to have received ARCs.
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep US
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep UK
Schtum – Jem Lester
Due out on April 7th and compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Jem Lester’s Schtum promises to be a bit of a tear jerker.
Ben Jewell has hit breaking point.
His ten-year-old son, Jonah, has never spoken. So when Ben and Jonah are forced to move in with Ben’s elderly father, three generations of men – one who can’t talk; two who won’t – are thrown together.
As Ben battles single fatherhood, a string of well-meaning social workers and his own demons, he learns some difficult home truths.
Jonah, blissful in his innocence, becomes the prism through which all the complicated strands of personal identity, family history and misunderstanding are finally untangled.
Jonathan Unleashed – Meg Rosoff
What about trying Meg Rosoff’s first foray into adult literature? The children’s novelist releases Jonathan Unleashed mid February and it promises to be hilarious with the story based around the protagonist’s two dogs determined to sort him and his life out once and for all.
Devotion – Louisa Young
A sumptuous portrayal of love and war from the bestselling author of My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You and The Heroes’ Welcome, Louisa Young’s Devotion is a novel of family, love, race and politics set during the electric change of the 1930s set in Mussolini’s fascist Rome. Due to be released on June 2nd.
The Stopped Heart – Julie Myerson
A novel that is sure to chill you Julie Myerson presents a devastating depiction of profound loss, sexual longing, love and true evil, The Stopped Heart is the finest novel to date from this most fearless and original of writers. Due for release February 4th.
Ashley Bell – Dean Koontz
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes the must-read thriller of the year, perfect for readers of dark psychological suspense and modern classics of mystery and adventure.
Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman – whose doctor says she has one year to live.
She replies, ‘We’ll see.’
How does Bibi beat the odds? Who is Ashley Bell, and why is Bibi meant to save her?
UK Release January 14th.
End of Watch – Stephen King
The third and final installment of the Bill Hodges trilogy sees Bill facing his old nemesis Brady Hartsfield, who the criminal the press have named The Mercedes Killer. Perhaps then Bill wasn’t imagining those twitches in Brady’s eyes at the care home. Due for release on June 7th.
The Living – Anjali Joseph
This is the story of two lives. Claire is a young single mother working in one of England’s last surviving shoe factories, and Arun, an older man in a western Indian town, who makes hand-sewn chappals at home. These lives are woven through with the ongoing discipline of work and the responsibility and tedium of family life. Lives laced with the joys of old friendship, the pleasure of sex, and the redemptive kindness of one’s own children. This is the story of the living. Release date; March 10th.
Will these end up on your bookshelves? Will they end up becoming one of your all time top ten novels? Who knows but one thing’s for sure, you won’t know until you read them.
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