Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Go to Helena Handbasket

Go to Helena Handbasket

Donna Moore

Wisecracking PI Helena Handbasket juggles a jewel theft, a freezer box full of hands, and a trail of handless corpses marked with scarlet fish. As she hunts a possible serial killer, she also battles life’s real mysteries: which shoes to wear, why her neighbour smells like cheese, which lover is ‘the one’, and whether there’s anything in the fridge.

The Booksellers of Camden Lock

The Booksellers of Camden Lock

John L. Williams

In 1982 Camden Town, Ellen Moore escapes her past, works at eccentric Leviathan Books, lives in a squat, and sings synth-pop. Love, danger, and a stolen, possibly magical book entangle her with addicts, ambition, and dark secrets that threaten her future.

The Replacement

The Replacement

Nicola Gill

An author whose life is failing on every front find it getting even worse when she’s forced to spend a week with the woman her husband left her for…

Ungodly Rich

Ungodly Rich

Katharine McGee

A modern-day twist on ancient mythology in this bold reimagining of the Greek gods as a family of billionaires.

Knit One, Heist One

Knit One, Heist One

Donna Moore

At Janus Lodge, Sylvia Abercrombie and her feisty, foul-mouthed friends face eviction by a shady developer. To save their home, they launch a secret knitwear empire with a scandalous twist – but as sales soar, secrets surface, and Sylvia’s ex looms nearby, the gang must pull off the ultimate heist. Hilarious, heartfelt, and full of mischief, this tale proves age is no barrier to adventure.

My Brilliant AI Boyfriend

My Brilliant AI Boyfriend

Stella Hayward

In this deliciously funny romance, a scientist’s quiet world is completely turned upside-down when the AI programme she has designed creates a human body for himself – just to ask her out on a date.

The Trial of Katterfelto

The Trial of Katterfelto

Michael Redhill

A true and faithful account of the trial and punishment of the esteemed Dr Gustavus Katterfelto, the greatest natural philosopher who ever lived.

We Search the Island for Grace

We Search the Island for Grace

Bonnie Burke-Patel

The new literary crime novel by Gold Dagger-shortlisted Burke-Patel is an atmospheric homage to Agatha Christie.

World’s Edge

World’s Edge

James Sallis

James Sallis’ World’s Edge presents five masterful novellas exploring fractured societies, human resilience, and the fragile intersections of morality and survival. Sallis’s prose, as sharp as it is evocative, captures the nuances of his dystopian and near-future settings, resonating with themes of dislocation and identity. Widely regarded as a pivotal voice in contemporary US fiction, Sallis’ stories draw readers into a world both intimate and unyielding, where existential questions lurk beneath stark, elegant narratives.

The Interpreter’s Secret

The Interpreter’s Secret

Andrew Rosenheim

A tense and elegant literary thriller about power, peril, and the truths politicians dare not speak. A State Department interpreter witnesses a secret pact between Washington and Moscow and flees to England, only to find himself hunted on all sides. With nothing but a cryptic red-ink note as proof, he must expose a conspiracy that threatens global stability.

Maria La Divina

Maria La Divina

Jerome Charyn

A dazzling portrait of Maria Callas—La Divina—whose voice, passion, and defiance transformed opera and fame, but left her tragically alone in the end.

Boring Asian Female

Boring Asian Female

Canwen Xu

An addictive novel about a young woman’s all-consuming obsession with a rival of her own making and the desperate lengths she goes to in order to succeed.