7 great books to read this Autumn

By Kathryn Cowling

Jane Fairly was evacuated from Bristol during World War Two when she was a baby.  Her mother did this to get away from the constant bombing to a place of safety. Jane was adopted by Lucy and Michael Rosenthal and spent her early life in Ireland.  Sadly, Jane’s life was not the happy one her mother hoped she would have. 

After the death of her adoptive father Jane moved to Bristol and at the age of seventeen she found herself trapped in an abusive marriage.  As time goes on she begins to realise that she is fighting for her very survival and a shocking secret blows her world apart and makes her flee from everyone she has ever known.

By Ned Reardon

"Blackberry Bill" is an enchanting tale about a ten-year-old orphaned boy who bravely sets out alone upon the Kentish marshes in pursuit of a mysterious recluse. The boy believes that this eccentric character, a gypsy commonly known as Blackberry Bill, may hold the answers he seeks with regard to his own identity.
"Blackberry Bill" is a gripping, beautifully-written story whose wonderfully-evoked naturalistic descriptions bear comparison with Dickens's own accounts of the mysteries of the Kentish marshes. This book is unforgettable.

By Fay Henson

Bribed with 500 euros, seventeen-year-old Caylin agrees to go away with her mum and dad on a package holiday to Tuscany instead of staying at home. Quite soon into the holiday and regretting her decision, she leaves her parents behind at the hotel and hitchhikes alone to the city of Siena in search of something more exciting. 

Follow Caylin as she experiences the lows of being branded a thief, a tragedy and the constant worry about eventually having to return to her parents.  As for the highs; independence and awkward teenage moments entwined with love for the first time. Fay’s debut romance.

By Bea Davenport

Three’s a crowd for teens Anna and Zoe, who don’t want geeky classmate Kerry following them around. The girls turn to magic to try to control their lives and at first, things seem to be working: Zoe’s life looks up and Anna’s divorced parents may get back together.

But things spiral out of control and when Kerry goes missing, the girls have to face up to the consequences of their actions. It’s about friendship, bullying and the need to fit in. Readers can decide for themselves whether the magic is real. 

By Jo Bavington-Jones

‘Lucy Shaw Wants More’, the fabulous follow-up to Jo Bavington-Jones' debut novel, ‘Lucy Shaw's Not Sure’, is due to be published on May 1st.

Lucy Shaw, sure by name but not by nature, wants to make her marriage work. In her head, that is. Her heart has other ideas as she embarks on a bittersweet journey to try and find true happiness.       

To the outside world, Lucy’s life looks close to perfect: a doting husband, a model son, a lovely home, but it’s all an act and the strain is starting to show as Lucy searches for something that will make her life bearable.  This is a warm, witty and searingly honest novel of life love and friendship.

By Mark Edmondson

Man or beast? 

Jo Green is a heroine of the Devon and Cornwall Police.

Thanks to Jo, OCD-plagued chess-player Vladek Boniek is serving thirty years for murdering four women close to Bodmin Moor.

Jo, a police constable at the time, caught him. She’s now a detective. Her new career is accompanied by painful realisations about her personal life, which lead to the most serious emotional conflicts she’s ever had to face.

Meanwhile, on Bodmin Moor, six months after Boniek’s conviction, new killings take place.

Suspicions point to a phantom wild cat.

But is a big cat really the culprit, or is a new Beast of Bodmin on the loose?

By Tony Bassett

Well-meaning English holidaymakers Anne and Bob court trouble by sheltering a bedraggled Calais stowaway found beneath their motor home. When the stranger, Yusuf, gains a job at a Canterbury apple farm, accounts supervisor Lucas Sharp bullies him mercilessly.

Then Sharp is found horrifically murdered in secluded Lilac Cottage and suspicion naturally falls on the newcomer. Friendship is tested and loyalty battles against suspicion as Anne campaigns to clear her new friend and find the real killer. This gripping first novel by ex-Fleet Street journalist Tony Bassett is packed with mystery and suspense along with touches of humour.

Visit The Conrad Press to find out more about these bright new authors and their compelling novels.

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