Symphony of Lies by Maria Monday

A light thriller and mystery where Emma, our heroine, is invited to a will reading but the legacy on offer is less prize and more challenge

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Meet Thursday Next, literary detective and a female to be reckoned with, intelligent, resourceful and poised

When the Darkness Swallowed the Sun by Robin Newbold

Dark, tense, violent, the backpacker’s mecca of Thailand broods blackly as Dan, a reporter, investigates two brutal killings on an island

Alice in Mullah Land by Amir H. Taheri

A thought-provoking book for our times, dressed up in a parody of a classic story, acting allegorically to show the fight against oppression

A Rock and a Hard Place by J.D. Kirk

D.C.I. Jack Logan faces more than the challenge of a police investigation in this great thriller

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Wonderful storytelling about an orphaned girl, a trip to Paris and a secret world of rooftops and their inhabitants

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

A modern fairy tale where a potential destroyer becomes a hero through understanding and communication

Unmitigated Greed by Mark A. Gagnon

An international thriller, pacy and well-plotted with twists to keep you guessing and characters to root for

Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II by Linda Porter

A book full of women, bringing them into focus, not just as mistresses of a king but as people