‘Magical’GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘Suspenseful’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Wildly inventive’ LIZ MOORE

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK

In this dazzling debut novel, a young reclusive coder unearths the story of a lost Shanghai pencil company and a legacy of magic, espionage and family secrets that will alter the path of her life forever.

Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A self-confessed recluse, she’s more comfortable navigating digital worlds than real-life friendships. The closest people in her life are her beloved grandparents who raised her.

Her grandmother Yun rarely speaks about her past. Now, in her nineties, her memory is fading and with it, the answers to Monica’s questions about their family’s history – about her grandmother’s long-lost cousin, Meng, and the years they spent working together at a mysterious pencil company back in Shanghai.

With the help of Louise, a young archivist, Monica decides to track down Meng and reconnect the cousins before it is too late. Her search unearths a legacy of magic, espionage and secrets that will alter the path of Monica’s life forever.

‘An intimate story of familial love and connection throughout the generations … you'll be gripped’ INDEPENDENT

‘A suspenseful family epic fueled by love and espionage’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘A reminder of how family ties shape us’ WOMAN & HOME

‘Allison King is a talent to watch’ LIZ MOORE, author of The God of the Woods

‘A beautiful ode to the warmth of family connection’ RAY NAYLER, author of The Mountain in the Sea

‘A stunning debut … had me smiling through my tears’ FONDA LEE, author of The Green Bone Saga

After his father’s death is caused by the greedy and cunning Count Bielkegren, Algot Olsson is left with nothing to his name, except for a potato field and a homemade still to make liquor. But Algot is smart, ambitious and resourceful, and it’s not long before he masters the lucrative art of distilling spirits. When his schnapps become a sensation, he finds his success once again attracts the envy of the Count, who will do everything in his power to sabotage Algot’s budding business.

Thankfully, however, Algot isn’t alone. With the support of his friend Helmut, a Bavarian printer with a flexible relationship to the truth, and Helmut’s daughter Anna Stina, who is as strong-willed as she is charming, he might just have the creativity and the courage to outsmart the Count’s schemes once and for all … and perhaps there’s even time for romance along the way.

Full of sharp humour, wonderfully absurd twists and memorable characters, Algot, Anna Stina and the Water of Life is an irresistible adventure of friendship, love and ingenuity.

‘Beautiful, devastating … a stunning debut’ CHRISTIE WATSON

‘A thrilling, mesmerising tale of destiny and betrayal’ CECILE PIN

A stunning, page-turning love story of family and fate from the author of the acclaimed memoir, Inferno.

I made my plan. I would be the north stars: the decider of fate, of what was to come.

Eunha grows up in a quiet village in Hong Kong with little knowledge of the reputation of her father, a Dragon Head and leader of a criminal organisation infamous in the city. While her grandmother does her best to shield her from the violence that underpins their lives, Eunha only has her brother Solomon and their one permitted companion, a boy named Kai, for company.

But when Eunha marries into a supposedly respectable Hong Kong family, the veneer of her quiet life begins to crack. When her young son is kidnapped, she is cast back into the city’s criminal underground and into the orbit of Kai, now a Dragon Head himself. In this world love and loyalty are stalked by fear and betrayal. Will Eunha finally give in to the life she has strived so hard to rise above or was her future always fated?

The Devoted is a beautifully written, unforgettable debut novel of love, family and betrayal from an electric new voice in fiction.

‘I couldn’t put The Devoted down … a novel that seethes in the best way’ ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN, author of Starling Days

'Glitters with secret agendas, hidden lies and sun-soaked desires' Emma Stonex

'Whip-smart and made me laugh out loud. Magnificent' Joanna Cannon

'Thorny and sexy' Beth Morrey

'Pulsing with heat and intrigue' Marianne Levy

What if your perfect life was a charade?

It is August, and eight old friends have gathered at a country house for a writers' retreat. By day, there is reading beside the pool or writing in the shady corners of the estate. In the evenings – drinks, dinner outdoors, games, midnight swimming.

But as temperatures rise in the stifling last days of summer, tensions do too. Old jealousies, new temptations and bitter rivalries bubble to the surface. By the end of the week, friendships – and lives – will have changed forever.

Astute, witty and page-turning, The Book Game is a novel about ambition, competition, regret and desire; about paths not taken and last chances suddenly seized; about the games people play. It asks what it means, in all senses, to be in the middle of life.

'Heady, sensually described, deeply felt'GUARDIAN

'A maximalist epic that grabs you by the collar'THE STATESMAN

'Riotously audacious and entertaining – cinematic, jazzlike, a humdinger of a novel' KAMILA SHAMSIE

‘A humane and atmospheric love letter to a vibrant and irrepressible city’DAILY MAIL

‘I can’t remember the last time I read a book as grand as Ruchir Joshi’s Great Eastern Hotel … the city in this novel is a living thing' THE TELEGRAPH INDIA

August 1941. The world is at war. At the Great Eastern, Calcutta’s most luxurious hotel, amidst the feasting, dancing and laughter, we witness the metropolis in the last moments before disaster strikes.

On the day the revered poet Rabindranath Tagore dies, the city comes to a standstill. Thousands of people line the streets to pay their respects. Amongst them are: Nirupama, a history student and Communist Party volunteer; Imogen, the English daughter of a Raj official; Kedar, an aspiring painter; and Gopal, a young pickpocket who finds himself promoted into a dark, dangerous world.

The lives of these four people intertwine with those at the hotel: an American soldier who plays jazz at the nightclub; a genius French chef; an heiress fleeing from the nightmare in Europe; and a group of military officers running a secret intelligence operation.

Magisterial in scope, rich in detail and gloriously entertaining, Great Eastern Hotel brings to life India on the brink of independence. An epic tale of belonging, love, art and how individual lives can become swept up in the tides of history.

'Joshi’s ability to render place and time is truly first-rate. I’ve not read a book by an author this year who so clearly loves what he’s writing about' GUARDIAN

'A wild romp that ends with the scent of river water in your nose and the breath of a flute in your ears’INDIA TODAY

‘If, like me, you have been waiting for a quarter of a century for what Ruchir would write after his dazzling The Last Jet-Engine Laugh, I have some Persian for you: Der aayad, durast aayad. Finally, an Indian epic for our times' MOHAMMED HANIF

‘A film-maker’s novel, so vividly immersive … at once human and epic, a Joycean polyphony of overlapping lives’ JEET THAYIL

‘Sprawling … exuberant …compelling … allow yourself to be immersed in this Great Calcutta Novel that captures both the sweep of history and the pulse of individual lives’ SCROLL.IN

William Patterson – better known as DJ Turbo – is living a soulless existence after his glory days as resident spinner at a local Coatbridge ice rink, The Time Capsule, have been snatched from him. As a far-right UK regime sweeps to power, ‘The New Greatest Britishest Party’ cracks down on youth, culture, drugs and – the final straw – electronica. Incensed by a blanket ban of their beloved tunes, Turbo and his comrades launch a rave revolt – resurrecting the illegal warehouse parties of the past in this new darker, monolithic Greatest Britain, as a powerful act of resistance.

But, as the political situation escalates and secret police surveil every corner of society, Turbo and his troops fly ever closer to the sun in the dangerous world of the anti-rave abolitionist paramilitary. Mixing classic hardcore anthems, nu-gen euphoria enthusiasts and psychotropic chemical courtships, they will fight the war for the rave. Deciding who to trust… and who may betray the cause is everything. The future of the whole nation is on the line… can Turbo be the hero not just of rave, but of Scotland?

Hilarious, tragic and incredibly clever all at once, this unique, narcotic trip of a novel is a modern, meta, mayhem-filled cultural coup d'état and cult-classic in the making, written in an inimitable and energetic voice, from one of the most electrifying young writers in Britain today.

‘Remarkable clarity and humour’ VOGUE

‘Funny and tender’ PANDORA SYKES

‘Sticks with you forever’ MADELINE CASH

A tragicomic and utterly original debut novel following a woman trying to make sense of her life and herself as she falls in love with her therapist.

Sylvie is only happy when she is at therapy. This is because Sylvie is in love with her therapist.

She wants to kiss her and roll around on the floor with her. She thinks about her every second they’re not together (roughly 167 hours and 10 minutes per week). Outside therapy, Sylvie has a quiet life: a job as a veterinary nurse, a tattoo artist friend and seaside walks with her brain-damaged dog, Curtains.

When her therapist delivers some devastating news, Sylvie finds she must imagine new and lasting ways of coping (that don't include being adopted by the therapist). As her world begins to open up, Sylvie wonders, is she finally ready for a bravery of feeling?

‘Funny and thoughtful, this novel is a meditative balm to all who worry’ SUNDAY TIMES STYLE

‘A humorous portrait of trauma and obsession’ ANOTHER

‘Jaw-dropping, exhilarating, completely original’ JESSICA STANLEY, author of Consider Yourself Kissed

‘Disarmingly sweet’ NICOLA DINAN, author of Disappoint Me

‘A book full of wisdom … Clever and funny’ DAILY MAIL

‘Had me hopelessly charmed from its opening sentence’ AMY KEY, author of Arrangements in Blue

‘A fever dream of a novel … For fans of Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman‘ SHARLENE TEO, author of Ponti

Readers love Happiness Forever⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐:

‘Utterly beguiling … a truly memorable read’

‘Quite honestly couldn’t put it down’

‘An utter joy to read! I loved it from start to finish. For fans of Big Swiss!’

‘A beautifully crafted debut, filled with heart, wit and a deep understanding of what it means to be human’

‘Humorous, bizarre and touching … A very strong debut!’

‘So charged and insightful and provocative … I recommend it highly’

‘Astonishing’ MICHAEL MAGEE

‘Wicked and beguiling’ AMY TWIGG

The acclaimed author of The Doloriad returns with a wildly imaginative new novel following a reclusive graduate as her attempts to navigate campus conspiracies set her on a collision course that will upend her life.

In a famed but crumbling university city overrun by vegetation, where power is held in a fragile balance between the academics and a contingent of rogue gardeners, Agathe spends her days listlessly propping up the career of her fraudulent professor boss. One day, a campus scandal erupts: Adam, a contrarian and the pet student of her boss, comes into heated conflict with a rising young professor, with both men claiming discrimination.

As the crisis consumes the university, Agathe’s boss instructs her to gather information by befriending Adam. Agathe soon finds herself both caught up in the events tearing the city apart and increasingly drawn towards the alluring student at the heart of it all. But can anyone be taken at their word in a struggle over the truth?

Coursing with icy suspense and rendered with violent precision, The Vivisectors is a new kind of love story for a broken era. Missouri Williams holds up a mirror to humanity’s most intimate contradictions in a novel of blazing spiritual reckoning.

‘Missouri Williams writes with a gothic angularity that puts her in a category of one. She swims in deep waters and surfaces now as a major writer for our age’ PAUL LYNCH, author of Prophet Song

‘The anti-feel good hit of the year’ FERNANDO A. FLORES, author of Brother Brontë

‘The extraordinary imagination of Missouri Williams’ AMINA CAIN, author of Indelicacy

‘Clever, wilful, daring … I had such a blast reading it’ SUSANNAH DICKEY, author of Common Decency

‘Hypnotic … this remarkable novel will haunt me for some time’ SARA BAUME, author of Seven Steeples

‘Beautiful, disturbing … I adored this book’ HARRIET ARMSTRONG, author of To Rest Our Minds & Bodies

‘As brilliant as it is dark … unlike anything I’ve read before’VULTURE