“Beautifully written, superbly plotted and with a brilliant twist at the end”   – Daily Mail

Middle-aged doctor Alain Massoulier has received a life-changing letter-33 years too late. Lost in the Paris postal system for decades, the letter from Polydor, dated 1983, offers a recording contract to The Holograms, the band in which a much younger Alain played lead guitar. Back then The Holograms had believed in their cutting-edge sound. However, the music industry remained indifferent, and eventually the band split up, each going their own way.

Alain is overcome by nostalgia, and is tempted to track down the members of the group. But in a world where everything and everyone has changed . . . where will his quest take him?

Rocketing around Paris and shifting perspective from Alain to his unfaithful wife, his former band members, and the people in their lives, this funny, charming story is a love letter to the City of Light and to 1980s pop.

As the consequences of reading the letter begin to unfold, Alain wonders whether there’s still time for The Holograms to produce a hit – and whether their music might change the world.

“Blends mystery with comedy to great effect” – The Daily Mail

When the manuscript of a debut crime novel arrives at a Parisian publishing house, everyone in the readers’ room is convinced it’s something special. And, when it’s eventually published, the committee for France’s highest literary honour, the Prix Goncourt, agrees.

But when the shortlist is announced, there’s a problem for glamorous editor Violaine Lepage: she has no idea of the author’s identity. As the police begin to investigate a series of murders strangely reminiscent of those recounted in the book, Violaine is not the only one looking for answers. And, suffering memory blanks following an aeroplane accident, she’s beginning to wonder what role she might play in the story – as well as how to find the mystery author before the prize is announced.

In the end it will take the combined investigative powers of a detective, a junior editor, and Violaine’s therapist to uncover the truth. They will learn not just about the author of the book, but about the story’s origins, and the novel’s strange power to exact justice for violence done to a young girl decades ago. But when everything comes to light, one question will remain: can Violaine and the other readers of the mystery manuscript put the past to rest, and find happiness in the present?

In this bestselling novel, a bookseller pursues a mystery woman-known only through the jottings in her red notebook-through the streets of Paris

Bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street, and feels compelled to return it to its owner. Quickly ruling out the police station, which is always best avoided, he turns the contents out onto his kitchen table to see if they hold a clue. The bag contains no money, phone or contact information. But it does yield a small red notebook, full of handwritten thoughts and jottings that reveal someone Laurent would very much like to meet. From the lists of likes and dislikes, things noticed and things felt, emerges the portrait of a woman who might just be his soulmate.

But without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions? He’ll have to turn to his daughter, who helps him decode the possessions and sends him on a madcap journey around the French capital.

Meanwhile, in an anonymous hospital room, fragmentary thoughts float through the mind of a woman in a coma. She thinks she’s called Laure, and she has some strong opinions and painful memories – but will she ever wake up and get a fresh chance at life?

Soaked in Parisian atmosphere, this lovely, clever, funny novel is the perfect French holiday read!

“Impossible to resist” –L’Express

Dining alone in an elegant Parisian brasserie, accountant Daniel Mercier can hardly believe his eyes when French President François Mitterrand sits down to eat at the table next to him. Once the presidential party has gone, Daniel discovers that Mitterrand’s black felt hat has been left behind. After a few moments’ soul-searching, Daniel decides to keep the hat as a souvenir of an     extraordinary evening. It’s a perfect fit, and as he leaves the restaurant Daniel begins to feel somehow . . . different.

Has Daniel unwittingly discovered the secret of supreme power? Over the course of the next 2 years the iconic item of headgear plays with the lives of the men and women who wear it, bringing them success that had previously eluded them. As it makes its way from head to head, the wearers find themselves acting with more confidence, decisiveness, authority and panache-just like the original wearer. Some, like Daniel, attribute their new luck to the hat itself, while some are unaware of its magical effects. All, however, find themselves changed by their time spent wearing the president’s hat.

Shot through with a delicious, wicked sense of humour, this delightfully quirky novel is a vivid re-creation of 1980s Paris, and an enchanting exploration of life’s possibilities.

With trademark style and charming whimsy, Antoine Laurain’s new novel of intrigue, murder and neighbourly curiosity is sure to delight fans old and new.  

Nathalia Guitry was a successful photographer. Until the day she caught a murder on camera.  

At therapy, Doctor Faber suggests a way out of her creative block: she must write stories about the people she sees in the building opposite, floor by floor.  

Starting with the actor turned YouTube life coach on the ground floor and going all the way to the fifth via a cartoonist and an ex-trader, Nathalia creates vivid accounts of her Parisian neighbours’ lives. But are her tales real or imaginary? As their sessions play out, the doctor becomes increasingly uncertain.  

And when she gets to the final floor, it’s up to Faber to do the talking . . .  

Suspense, intrigue and sly wit abound in the latest novel from bestselling author Antoine Laurain.

‘Perfect for the poolside or sitting outside a café with a pastis and olives’ The Times

In 1760, Guillaume le Gentil, real-life astronomer to King Louis XV, sets out for the oceans of India to document the transit of Venus. The weather is turbulent, the seas are rough and his quest may be more complicated than initially thought.  

250 years later, estate agent Xavier Lemercier chances upon Guillaume’s telescope in a property he’s sold. As he looks out across the rooftops of Paris, he discovers an intriguing woman with a zebra in her apartment.  

Then the woman walks through the doors of his office, and his life changes forever . . .  

Antoine’s novels have been praised in the press as ‘the very quintessence of French romance’ (The Times) and ‘lovely, clever, funny and soaked in fabulous Parisian atmosphere … the perfect French holiday read’ (Daily Mail). Publishers Weekly chose Vintage 1954 as a summer pick and Shelf Awareness for Readers recommended the ‘light and entertaining time-travel treat’ to its more than 300,000 email subscribers.

Less whimsical, but no less witty and charming than Vintage 1954, and still with a hint of magic in the resolution of the plot, Antoine’s new novel The Readers’ Room sees the author reach the peak of his powers. An ode to the world of French books, it shares the romantic Parisian feel and quirky charm of Antoine’s bestseller The Red Notebook, as well as such hits as The Little Paris Bookshop, but with a darker edge. Published in France in January 2020, where L’Express have selected it as a highlight of the spring publishing season, the book will be one of Gallic’s autumn superleads with a simultaneous UK hardback and export trade paperback publication.

In common with many of Antoine’s books, the plot revolves around a quest to solve a mystery associated with an object, in this case the manuscript of a novel. The mystery goes a step further this time, with a criminal case to be investigated – though we’re left with the message that some mysteries cannot be solved. The element of intrigue and disturbing secrets, combined with entertaining literary cameos and a love story, will make this novel appealing to fans of cosy crime, while the author’s dry humour and essentially optimistic story of triumph over adversity will please fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and offbeat, bittersweet romances like One Day.