Yahoo News These are the best books to read this month
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With longer, lighter days and several bank holidays on the horizon - hooray! - there's hopefully more time for reading. Whether you want a page-turning thriller, a gripping historical novel or a feel-good read, we've got some great choices out this month.
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Michael and Marnie are two lonely people who meet on the coast-to-coast path, an epic 200-mile hike across the peaks and valleys of the Lake District. Both come with baggage - divorce, loneliness - but as they walk, they begin to open up to each other and develop a tentative friendship. As a longtime fan of Nicholls’ writing, I had huge expectations for this book and it absolutely delivered. His great strength as a writer is the way he combines poignancy with humour, with laughter and tears often close together. It's a hard trick to pull off being funny in fiction but Nicholls does it brilliantly; there are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments here. Much like Emma and Dexter from Nicholls' bestseller One Day, Marnie and Micheal are characters you quickly come to care about deeply and that's what makes this book such a satisfying read. I’m calling it now – this will undoubtedly be one of my best books of 2024.
Mrs Quinn's Rise To Fame by Olivia Ford
Seventy-something Jenny Quinn and her husband have agreed it’s time to slow down, but when the opportunity to appear on TV show Britain Bakes comes up, she can’t turn it down. This warm-hearted book is full of delicious descriptions of food, and a powerful message about it never being too late to try new things.
Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson
When artist Nell is commissioned to create a piece for a mysterious community of women called the Inions (old Irish for ‘daughters’), who live on an isolated island, she uncovers some of their shocking practices. A hugely atmospheric novel, with sensuous descriptions of the landscape that are so beautiful, you’ll picture yourself there.
The Household by Stacey Halls
The winner of the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction and Good Housekeeping Futures award returns with her fourth historical novel. Based on the real-life Urania Cottage, the house set up by novelist Charles Dickens to rehabilitate women who’d been in prison, this is compelling and richly detailed.
Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller
Prepare to shed some tears while reading this gorgeously tender story about friendship and love in all its forms. Birdie is still grieving the death of her husband and twin sister when she receives a cancer diagnosis. Her illness throws her together with two neighbours, both also struggling in their own ways, who form a circle of support.
The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas
After a chaotic wedding, Evelyn and Richard find themselves the only guests at a small Greek beach resort where a couple tragically drowned the previous summer. As Evelyn tries to piece together what happened, events take a more sinister turn. Told mostly through notes and letters, this original thriller has plenty of surprises.
The Night In Question by Susan Fletcher
Oh, how I loved 87-year-old Florrie, the charming armchair detective at the centre of this gentle mystery. When a member of staff at her care home falls from a window, it’s declared an accident, but Florrie is unconvinced. One for fans of Elizabeth Is Missing.
Day One by Abigail Dean
The author of Girl A returns with a thoughtful yet gripping drama that focuses on the aftermath of a school shooting in a small Lake District community. As the town tries to understand what happened, questions are raised and some begin to believe the whole thing was a hoax.
As Young As This by Roxy Dunn
Dunn’s debut novel, which combines lyrical writing with a very relatable main character, marks her out as a rising star. On the brink of a big decision, Margot reflects on the men she has loved and how each relationship has shaped her.
The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
The relationship between a father and his daughter is at the heart of this sharp, insightful read. In London in 2020, Sophia is debuting her first play, while in the audience her dad discovers he is its subject – and what unfurls before him is not flattering.
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