By Charlotte Horsfield, Caitíe Woolridge, Rebecca Weigler, and Steph Carroll
Give your shelves a spring clean and replace the dusty old books with these shiny new titles!
A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci
11 April, Pan Macmillan
Step back into the year of 1968 in southern Virginia. Lawyer, Jack Lee, has for all his professional life acted in line with the epitome of the white, male dominance that pervades every aspect of Virginia’s legal system. However, Jack Lee is about to risk everything from his career to his very existence by agreeing to legally represent the condemned, Jerome Washington. Jack’s gut instinct tells him Jerome is an innocent man facing a terrible fate and he must help if he is to live with his conscience.
Jerome faces the darkest hour of his life where he is to stand trial for the murder of the elderly white couple that he was employed by, and from which he stood to make financial gain. The outlook remains bleak leading up to the impending trial. Saving Jerome seems completely impossible given the deeply embedded prejudices of the time that will be present in the all-white jury who are asked to provide a verdict.
Jack is completely alone in trying to achieve what every person tells him he cannot. A ray of hope finally appears for both Jack Lee and Jerome when they meet Desiree DuBose, a lawyer that fights for justice and civil rights.
The two lawyers go on a journey to save Jerome and his family, where Desiree and Jack learn more from working together than either of them has learnt so far in their careers. Their skills as lawyers prove to be outstanding, but as the electric chair looms heavy in the back of their minds the stakes remain higher than ever before to save an innocent Black man from a fate worse than death.
Can two lawyers achieve the impossible and save Jerome?
Christa Comes Out Of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman
16 April, Berkley Books
From the author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, comes a sharp and witty new novel: Christa Comes Out Of Her Shell.
Reclusive scientist and snail researcher Christa Liddle has been spending her days in the Indian Ocean, far removed from society. Having spent her childhood caught in the tragic worldwide spotlight on her famous researcher father’s presumed death by plane crash in Alaska and mistreated by her family, snails on a tiny island seem ideal.
Four years into Christa’s idyllic and peaceful escape to the Indian Ocean, the last thing Christa expects is a call telling her that her father is alive. Now home, Christa has to contend with an estranged father suddenly wanting a connection and an old childhood crush coming back into her life – all while under a media microscope.
But as Christa’s father’s story is called into question, the life that she has built and the future that she could have been left hanging in the balance.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
23 April, Random House
This glamorous and immersive adventure through the streets of Paris, documents the lives and events of the city of love throughout the decades. With the glitz and glamour, the food and the wine, Reichl transports the reader with the vivid descriptions of Paris and its iconic landmarks.
When Stella is left with a plane ticket to Paris following her mother’s passing, she unexpectedly becomes a part of Parisian society, experiencing the difficulties of those around her. Through meetings with unique individuals, as well as uncovering entanglements with her own past, Stella discovers there is more to Paris than she may have thought.
This stunning novel is an ode to Paris, and the perfect read for the spring season.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
25 April, Penguin Books
Best-selling author, Emily Henry, returns with another indulgent romance for readers to get lost in this spring. Compiled with fan favourite tropes fake dating, friends to lovers, and small-town romance, this book will have you swooning.
Daphne is left heartbroken by her fiancé leaving her for his childhood best friend, Petra, and is left with nowhere to live… until an unusual solution is presented to her, and she finds herself living with Miles, who ironically is Petra’s ex-boyfriend. Daphne and Miles couldn’t be more different if they tried but they unfortunately have the betrayal and heartbreak they suffered in common.
Daphne is stranded in Waning Bay, with no friends, or family, and her and Miles generally avoid each other. But after one too many tequilas to help drown their sorrows, they form a plan, a plan that involves posting misleading photos online of their summer adventures. But for how long will it all be just for show? Will this newfound friendship, built on a foundation of mutual heartbreak, and their fake “just for show” relationship, become something more, or just a funny story to tell their friends one day. Because, surely, falling in love with your ex-fiancés, new fiancé’s ex isn’t the way to start the next phase of your life?