We’re so excited to share some of our favourite holiday picks, featuring everything from charming comedic fiction to haunting murder mysteries, carefully chosen by the teams at Serpent’s Tail and Viper. Whether the book is a special gift for a loved one or a treat for yourself, we hope these exciting titles can be enjoyed alongside a mince pie or a mulled wine!
What do you plan on reading this winter? Let us know on X @SerpentsTail, or over on Instagram @SerpentsTail!
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Glittering Debuts
✨ No Small Thing by Orlaine McDonald
An exceptional Black British debut filled with desire and jeopardy and set on a south London estate.
‘Compelling and unforgettable, this is a marvellous debut’ Irish News
A working-class Romeo and Juliet that will break your heart, this bittersweet debut novel follows two teenagers whose all-consuming relationship is tested by the forces of prejudice and addiction.
‘Aches with hard-won hope and bruised tenderness’ Colin Walsh, author of Kala
✨ England is Mine by Nicolas Padamsee
An urgent debut set in multicultural London which takes the reader on a frightening journey into online radicalisation.
‘A politically engaged, urgently plotted coming-of-age thriller with a wicked satirical streak’ Observer
✨ Flowers from the Void by Gianni Washington
Hauntingly macabre and piercingly insightful about loss and loneliness, these gothic short stories lead us into a labyrinth of other possible worlds, each one darker than the last and yet all fearfully close to our own.
‘Brilliantly unsettling and unsettlingly brilliant’ Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club
Humorous Hardbacks
🎄 Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman
A moving multi-perspective novel about an exploited workforce that was recently listed as a Barack Obama reading pick!
‘Tightly plotted, slyly caustic and often very funny, it’s hugely enjoyable’ Daily Mail
🎄 Mrs Guilliver by Valerie Martin
A dazzling drama filled with sex, wry wit and literary references, Mrs Gulliver follows two women who have nothing to lose in their fight for agency on an island too ready to dismiss them.
‘Pure elegance, subtlety and wit. A triumph of a novel’ Francesca Segal, author of Mother Ship
🎄 The Material by Camille Bordas
Set over the course of a single day, and shifting exquisitely between several points of view, The Material examines life through the eyes of a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh, and the desire to make others laugh even harder.
‘A disquisition into the nature of comedy and creativity’ Sunday Times
Festive Stocking Fillers
🎁 The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
A delightful festive murder mystery from the bestselling author of The Appeal, in which the characters return for panto season – and a murder.
‘Cosy, but clever cosy, and a perfect stocking filler’ Sunday Times
🎁 Helle & Death by Oskar Jensen
Torben Helle – art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers – has been dragged to a remote Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. But when some shocking revelations from their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits… and their trust.
‘Recommended reading for a long winter night’ Guardian
🎁 Murder by Candlelight edited by Cecily Gayford
Poisoned mince pies. A Christmas Eve ghost story that comes suddenly, horribly true. A locked-room puzzle on a train steaming through the winter’s night. All these, and many more, tales of mystery and malice await in Murder by Candlelight.
‘With Cecily Gayford in charge, we are on safe ground’ Daily Mail
Fireside Thrillers
❄ The Bells of Westminster by Leonora Nattrass
The new standalone historical thriller by the bestselling author of Black Drop, Blue Water, and Scarlet Town.
‘Memorable and utterly engaging’ S.G. Maclean
❄ 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.
‘A twisty-turny mystery that drew me in from the opening lines’ Philippa East
❄ The Examiner by Janice Hallett
Six Students. One Murder. Your Time Starts Now… The latest genre-busting crime novel from the bestselling author of The Appeal, The Twyford Code and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.
‘A joy to read, containing some delicious surprises’ Sunday Times
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