Book of the month

Book of the month

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Jan 2022

A gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s. Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.   America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown… A TikTok sensation.

Noir Book of the Month – Jan 2022

Do you like women who don’t take any sh*t? Then this book is definitely for you. Think Villanelle – but she’s on your side. Nikki Griffin, our bookseller-by-day, badass PI-by-night heroine, is back…

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Dec 2021

In every pub in every town, unspoken stories lie beneath the surface. Each week, six women meet at The Bluebell Inn. They form an unlikely and occasionally triumphant ladies darts team. They banter and jibe, they laugh. But their hidden stories of love and loss are what, in the end, will bind them. With humanity and insight, Kit Fielding reveals the great love that lies at the heart of female friendship. Raw, funny and devastating, all of life can be found at the Bluebell.

Mystery Book of the Month – Dec 2021

One murder. Twelve suspects. Twelve motives for murder...   This Christmas, sit back and become a real armchair detective. This is a murder mystery told entirely through interviews. Private Investigator Elizabeth Chalice needs YOU to help her solve this case. It’s a beautiful Christmas day in Como, and the Caswell-Jones family are celebrating with their nearest and dearest in their Villa Janus. Merriment and limoncello abound.   That is, until Jonty Caswell-Jones is found dead in his study. 

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Nov 2021

A searing debut novel about mothers and daughters. This is a tale of obsession and betrayal. This is a poisoned love story. But not between lovers - between mother and daughter. Tara and Antara, the woman and her angry shadow. But which one is which? Sharp as a blade and compulsively readable, Burnt Sugar slowly untangles the knot of memory and fiction that binds two women together, revealing the truth that lies beneath.   Longlisted Women's Prize for Fiction 2021. Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.   Join the Modern Fiction reading group to discuss this book!

Noir Book of the Month – Nov 2021

A top ten New York Times bestseller. A compulsive debut novel that explores the aftershock of a brutal crime on the women of a small Texas oil town. When justice is as slippery as oil, and kindness becomes a hazardous act, sometimes courage is all we have to keep us alive… ’The very definition of a stunning debut’ – Ann Patchett. ’Brilliant, sharp, tightly wound, and devastating’ – Elizabeth Gilbert. Join the Crime reading group in Uppsala to discuss this book at the pub!

Mystery Book of the Month – Oct 2021

Umiko Wada has recently had quite enough excitement in her life. With her husband recently murdered and a mother who seems to want her married again before his body is cold, she just wants to keep her head down. As a secretary to a Tokyo private detective, her life is pleasingly uncomplicated, filled with coffee runs, diary management and paperwork. That is, until her boss takes on a new case, dangerous enough to get him killed. A case which means Wada will have to leave Japan for the first time and travel to London.

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Oct 2021

Benson and Mike are two young guys who have been together for a few years - good years - but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. When Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation... Funny and profound, Memorial is about family in all its strange forms, becoming who you're supposed to be and the outer limits of love.

Modern Fiction Book of the Month – Sept 2021

Big Burr, Kansas, is the kind of place where everyone seems to know everyone, and everyone shares the same values – or keeps their opinions to themselves. After being named ”the most homophobic town in the US”, a group of social activists arrive in the small town, and the lives and beliefs of residents and outsiders alike are upended, in this wry, embracing novel.  

Noir Book of the Month – Sept 2021

A riveting tale of deception, vengeance, and power set against the haunting beauty of the Adirondack wilderness. ”…vibrant female characters refuse to turn themselves into commodities or victims. Suspenseful, witty, and wise, it is a compelling thriller”. – Susanna Moore
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