Whether you’re heading off somewhere hot or relaxing at home this summer, we have got some incredible new titles that you won’t be able to put down. From tender debuts about mothers and daughters, to translated slow-burn horrors, we’re sure that you’ll find your book of the season below!
What do you plan on reading this summer? Let us know on X @SerpentsTail, or over on Instagram @serpentstail
Powerful Debuts
No Small Thing by Orlaine McDonald
An exceptional Black British debut filled with desire and jeopardy and set on a south London estate.
‘A gem of a book about mothers and daughters, about being Black and working class in today’s London. Beautiful writing, taut with emotion, poetry and insight’ Priscilla Morris, Women’s Prize shortlisted author of Black Butterflies.
The Material by Camille Bordas
Every comedian knows that there’s a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, has the potential to become a punchline. At the Chicago Stand-up School, success is about the material. A literary star ascending, Camille Bordas, makes her UK debut with a novel about the funniest people’s saddest stories.
Translated Fiction
The Black Orb by Ewhan Kim
One evening in downtown Seoul, Jeong-su is smoking a cigarette outside when he sees something impossible: a huge black orb appears out of nowhere and sucks his neighbour inside. A piercingly dark and surreal speculative novel on mass panic, disaster response and modern masculinity.
Tongueless by Lau Yee-Wa
A provocative contemporary Hong Kong noir, blending together politics and personal rivalry into an explosively exciting debut. Tongueless is a taut, compelling novel of betrayal, power imbalance and rapid social change.
Female-led Thrillers
The Dead Friend Project by Joanna Wallace
Things haven’t been going well for Beth ever since her best friend Charlotte died. After discovering something strange about the day that she passed away, Beth begins to question whether Charlotte’s death was really an accident… With a newfound purpose and a glass of wine in hand, it’s time for Beth to uncover what really happened.
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again… From The New York Times bestselling author Jean Kwok comes an evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women.
Atmospheric Crime
The Wreckage of Us by Dan Malakin
Astrid Webb is missing. The police have found her car crashed near the woods, the driver’s door open, the seat spotted with blood. But there’s no sign of Astrid herself, a sick woman who rarely left her house, who surely couldn’t have left the scene of the accident without help…
The blistering new thriller from the bestselling author of The Regret and The Box.
What We Did In The Storm by Tina Baker
Everyone brings their secrets to the island… Set on Tresco on the Scilly Isles, this ensemble thriller explores emotive themes of class, wealth, complex relationships and abuse of power, with Tina Baker’s trademark wit and pathos.
‘If you like your crime offset by an idyllic location, like Midsomer Murders and Death In Paradise, then this is the book for you’ Heat
Coming Soon
The Examiner by Janice Hallett
What could possibly go wrong on an art course? The answer is: murder. When the external examiner arrives to assess the students’ coursework, he becomes convinced that a student was killed on the course and that the others covered it up. But is he right? Only a close examination of the evidence will reveal the truth. The new genre-busting crime novel from the bestselling author of The Appeal, The Twyford Code and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.
Coming out 29th August 2024