New Fiction for July 2020
Fron reality shows to Victorian England and attempted murder, find a wide range of upcoming new fiction in our list for July. All of these titles are available on our catalogue and many of them are also on Overdrive.
Artifact, by Arlene Heyman
Lottie Kristin is independent from the start. Born in the middle of the century to a middle-class family in the very middle of America, Lottie is set apart by her smarts and sensuality. A girl who'd rather carry out dissections on a snowy back porch than join her family for Christmas dinner is a strange and exotic artifact in the town of Sleeping Bay. But by her early twenties, Lottie finds herself trapped in a marriage gone stale, with a daughter she adores but whose existence jeopardizes her place in the lab and her dream of becoming a scientist. How can a young woman make her way in a world determined to contain her brilliance, her will, and her longing to live?
Summer, by Ali Smith
The unmissable finale to Ali Smith's dazzling literary tour de force: the 'Seasonal Quartet' concludes.
The Part-time Job, by P.D. James
"My only regret is that I shan't be alive to savour my retrospective triumph. But that is of small account. I savour it every day of my life. I shall have done the one thing I resolved to do when I was twelve years old - and the world will know it."
Follow the 'Queen of Crime' as she takes us into the mind of a man who has waited decades to enact his patient, ingenious revenge on a school bully.
Supporting cast, by Kit De Waal
As she walks out of her marriage, a woman remembers the day her husband rescued a boy from drowning. A blind man on his wedding day celebrates the pursuit of love. And a young man leaves prison with only one desire - to see his son again. Kit de Waal's characters light up the page in vivid stories of thwarted desire, love and loss. With power and precision, humanity and insight, 'Supporting Cast' captures the extraordinary moments in our ordinary lives, and the darkness and the joy of the everyday.
All my lies are true, by Dorothy Koomson
Verity is telling lies. And that's why she's about to be arrested for attempted murder. Serena has been lying for years. And that may have driven her daughter, Verity, to do something unthinkable. Poppy's lies have come back to haunt her. So will her quest for the truth hurt everyone she loves? Everyone lies. But whose lies are going to end in tragedy?
The Shelf, by Helly Acton
Everyone in Amy's life seems to be getting married (or so Instagram tells her), and she feels like she's falling behind. So, when her boyfriend surprises her with a dream holiday to a mystery destination, she thinks this is it - he's going to finally pop the Big Question. But the dream turns into a nightmare when she finds herself on the set of a Big Brother-style reality television show, The Shelf. Along with five other women, Amy is dumped live on TV and must compete in a series of humiliating and obnoxious tasks in the hope of being crowned 'The Keeper'. Will Amy's time on the show make her realise there are worse things in life than being left on the shelf?
Here and now, by Santa Montefiore
Marigold has spent her life taking care of those around her, juggling family life with the running of the local shop, and being an all-round leader in her quiet yet welcoming community. When she finds herself forgetting things, everyone quickly puts it down to her age. But something about Marigold isn't quite right, and it's becoming harder for people to ignore. As Marigold's condition worsens, for the first time in their lives her family must find ways to care for the woman who has always cared for them. Desperate to show their support, the local community come together to celebrate Marigold, and to show her that losing your memories doesn't matter, when there are people who will remember them for you.
The end of her, by Shari Lapena
Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there's one thing she knows for certain - she has everything she ever wanted. Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a shocking accusation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident - but she says it was murder. He insists he's innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake?
Small pleasures, by Clare Chambers
1957, south-east suburbs of London. Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and - on the brink of 40 - living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. And Jean doesn't mean to fall in love with Gretchen's husband, Howard, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness - and when she does fall, she falls hard.
Never forget, by Michel Bussi
Before. A man running along a remote clifftop path on an icy-cold February morning. A woman standing on the cliff's edge. A red scarf on the ground between them. After. The man is alone on the cliff - adrenaline pumping through his veins. The woman is on the beach below - dead. The red scarf is also on the beach - beautifully (and impossibly) wrapped around the woman's broken neck. What happened? Two lives colliding by chance? Or a revenge decades in the making?
Night falls, still missing, by Helen Callaghan
On a cold, windswept night, Fiona arrives on a tiny, isolated island in Orkney. She accepted her old friend's invitation with some trepidation - her relationship with Madison has never been plain sailing. But as she approaches Madison's cottage, she sees that the windows are dark. The place has been stripped bare. No one knows where Madison has gone. As Fiona tries to find out where Madison has vanished to, she begins to unravel a web of lies. Madison didn't live the life she claimed to, and now Fiona's own life is in danger.
Borrow Night falls, still missing →
Spirited, by Julie Cohen
In Victorian England, Viola is an amateur photographer struggling with the grief of her father's death and the sterile atmosphere of her marriage to her childhood friend, Jonah. When she discovers a talent for capturing ghostly images on camera, Viola comes to the attention of a spirit medium, and a powerful attraction between the two women is sparked. As each woman puts herself at risk, secrets are brought to light that will change their lives forever.