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April 2012

peter carey the chemistry of tears

A rich tale combining a modern story of a mistress grieving in secret for the death of her lover, and a father’s love for his consumptive son two hundred years ago. The two are linked by the fantastical automata that Henry creates to amuse the boy and that Catherine later looks after in a museum.

hillary jordan -when she woke

The setting is America in the not too distant future, when the state and religion have merged together and sins are punished very publicly by criminals being “chromed” – having their skin colour changed to match the nature of their crime. Hannah Payne is genetically altered to become bright red after having an abortion in echoes of “The scarlet letter”.

stephen king - the wind through the keyhole

A standalone novel, but one which fits within the Dark Tower series. The gunslinger Roland tells a tale from his early days when he was sent to investigate evidence of a murderous shapeshifter who has left a young boy traumatised. The only way he finds to calm him is to read from the Book of Eld because “a person’s never too old for stories”.

jude morgan- the secret life of william shakespeare

Having previously written acclaimed fictionalised accounts of the real lives of the Brontes and Romantic poets, Jude Morgan now turns his attention to Shakespeare. The story of an ordinary man from Warwickshire who became the greatest writer of them all is familiar in outline, but now brought vividly to life.

andrew motion - silver

Continuing the trend of extending classic stories, the former Poet Laureate has created a thrilling sequel to “Treasure Island”. Long John Silver’s daughter brings a message for Jim Hawkins’ son and the adventure begins again …

hannah richell - secrets of the tides

All families have secrets, some are minor but some can never be revealed or the family will be torn apart. When Dora returns to the family home “Clifftops” on the Dorset coast, she hopes to start a new life for herself and her unborn child, but is it ever possible to really forgive and find love again?

irvine welsh - skagboys

A prequel to the bestselling “Trainspotting”, the setting is Edinburgh in the 1980s, featuring the same set of characters, but before the heroin addiction took hold. Unemployment, broken communities and fractured families combine to stifle the opportunities for a group of likely lads who find their lives spiralling out of control, but can still have a laugh about it.

More Good Reads this Month

David Baldacci - The Innocent

S J Bolton - Dead Scared

Stephen Booth - Dead and Buried

Jackie Collins - The Power Trip

Robert Crais - Taken

John Grisham - Calico Joe

Robin Hobb - City of Dragons

Roberta Kray - Nothing but Trouble

Maureen Lee - After the War is Over

Stephen May - Life! Death! Prizes!

S.J. Parris - Sacrilege

James Patterson - Private: No.1 Suspect

Nora Roberts - The Witness

Anne Tyler - The Beginner's Goodbye

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