Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

A tale of friendship, reconciliation with the past, and adventure, with two unlikely women searching for a beetle on the other side of the world

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

There are exploits; I’m not sure how glorious they are but this book doesn’t need glory to make it a triumph

The Woman who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home

A tense tale set in coastal Scotland where enquiries about the mystery of a baby’s abandonment and her mother’s suicide stir up trouble

The Villa of Mysteries by David Hewson

Police thriller set in Rome with engaging characters, sharp dialogue and lots of action-a modern thriller but filled with echoes of the past

The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart

Friends perform a ritual, entering their treasured items into a box buried in the woods. It must remain undisturbed or… So who opened it?

The Age of Treachery by Gavin Scott

A well-paced book which crosses genres into post-war thriller, murder mystery and amateur detective fiction with the odd historical cameo

Eye For An Eye by M.J. Arlidge

Controversy forms the basis of this thriller which questions our moral responsibility to young people who offend: rehabilitate or right off?