Looking for something new to read? Browse our fiction picks for October! Includes books by Lucinda Riley, Bob Mortimer, Val McDermid and more.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
The Last Love Song
Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker
Sorcha O’Donovan dreams of an exciting life beyond the West Cork coastline where she has grown up. When she encounters the town’s strikingly handsome outcast, struggling musician Con Daly, her days will never be the same. When Con strikes gold with rock band The Fishermen in London, he and Sorcha look set for a rosy future. But their lives change beyond recognition as the dark side of fame rears its head. Death threats follow Con around, and devastating secrets from the past threaten to destroy everything he has worked for.
Twenty years later, and The Fishermen agree to reform for the massive ‘Music for Life’ charity concert at Wembley stadium. But Con Daly, heartthrob and spokesman for a generation, has been missing for over a decade. There’s only one person who can find out what happened, who has access to the lives, loves and careers of all concerned as The Fishermen rose to worldwide fame.
The Killing Stones
Ann Cleeves
When a violent storm descends upon Orkney, the body of Archie Stout is left in its wake. An unusual murder weapon, a Neolithic stone bearing ancient inscriptions, is found discarded nearby. Archie was a popular, larger-than-life character, and his death is a shocking blow to the community. Detective Jimmy Perez, no stranger to the complexity of human nature and the darkness it can harbour, is soon on the scene. He counted Archie as a childhood friend, so this case is more personal than most.
Now living in Orkney with his partner, Willow, and their son, Perez is soon drawn into the lives of the islanders, many of whom hold secrets. Dark secrets, which could have led to the man’s murder. Here, in these ancient lands where history runs deep, Perez must discern the truth from legend before a desperate killer strikes again.
Silent Bones
Val McDermid
When torrential rain causes a landslide on a motorway in Scotland, it reveals a crime scene: someone hid a body in the tarmac 11 years before. Journalist Sam Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancé when he disappeared, and now DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.
Meanwhile in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. But what did Tom Jamieson’s book club have to do with his demise – and what will they do to keep their secrets? Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one which connects their murder cases with Scotland’s rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits – and possibly beyond.
The Proving Ground
Michael Connelly
Following his ‘resurrection walk’ and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails.
Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
Revenge of Odessa
Frederick Forsyth
Years after the events of ‘The Odessa File’, Peter Miller’s grandson, Georg, has become a successful podcaster. He thought that the Odessa – a Nazi network whose goal is to destroy the Jewish race – was disbanded a long time ago. But in a hospital in Berlin, he hears a whisper from a sick man that stills his heart: the Odessa has returned, more powerful than ever before.
Georg picks up their trail and charts an organisation so insidious that it seems unstoppable. Hunted by the Odessa’s agents, he learns that a series of recent terrorist atrocities are just the first step on their path to retribution. And their next attack could change the course of history. The race for answers takes Georg across continents, from the forests of Germany to the heart of Washington and into the hallowed halls of the White House itself.
The Long Shoe
Bob Mortimer
Bathroom salesman Matt is at a crossroads. He has lost his job, he is about to be made homeless and his girlfriend has left him. He wants his luck to change and he wants things to go back to how they were.
Out of the blue he is offered a job that comes with a free luxury apartment. He hopes this might be enough to tempt her back. But, as events unfold, it starts to dawn on him that perhaps she didn’t leave of her own accord after all?
The Hawk is Dead
Peter James
Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, is aboard the Royal Train heading to a charity event in Sussex when disaster strikes – the train is derailed. A tragic accident or a planned attack? When, minutes later, a trusted aide is shot dead by a sniper, the police have their answer. Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced The Queen was the intended target. But he finds himself alone in his suspicions.
Fighting against the scepticism of his colleagues and the Palace itself, Grace pursues his own investigation. But when there is a second murder, the stakes rise even higher, and Grace is at risk of being embroiled in a very public catastrophe – and in mortal danger. Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the Palace will strike again.
No Regret
Martina Cole and Jacqui Rose
Camden 1962. When Rory Sheehan picks Maggie Riley as his own, her fate is sealed. What Rory wants, Rory gets – whether people like it or not. Luca Romano knows this all too well, and the violence that erupts between their rival gangs in Soho’s pubs and clubs is just the start of it. Thomas Johnson owes Rory big time, and he has no choice but to deny his feelings for Maggie.
So, when Maggie thinks Thomas has turned his back on her, she throws herself at Rory’s mercy, only to face a life of punishment and cruelty .But Maggie Riley is a survivor. And the secret she’s hiding could be her best weapon.
Sharpe’s Storm
Bernard Cornwell
War against Napoleon rages across Europe. As Britain prepares to invade France for the first time, the formidable Richard Sharpe and his men brace themselves for a cold, hard winter. Before them, across flooded rivers and fortified bridges, lies the fiercest French army they have ever encountered.
There is only one way forward for Wellington’s army, and it will be bloody. Major Sharpe may be in for his toughest winter yet.
The Last Death of the Year
Sophie Hannah
New Year’s Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and his good friend Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the Greek island of Lamperos for a little holiday – or is it? Catchpool suspects Poirot has a different reason for being there – one he won’t reveal.
As the clock ticks towards the New Year and a festive guessing game takes a sinister turn, can Poirot stop a murderer who is determined to strike before midnight?
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