It was so hard narrowing down my favourite books this year, but these were my top five.
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester
This one ticked all of the boxes for me – interwoven timeline historical fiction, fashion and France! Lester’s tale of three generations of Bricard women has been described as Vogue meets Daisy Jones & the Six and is a page-turning story of feminism and fashion.
The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
A fantastic dual timeline novel set in Hawaii. In 1943 a brilliant female codebreaker sets out to avenge her brother’s death In 1965, a young journalist covering the opening of a new hotel in Hawaii uncovers a decades old mystery. Loved it.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
I was a little late to the party on this wonderful Pulitzer Prize winner by Colson Whitehead. The story follows Cora, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia on her desperate bid for freedom to escape the horrors and brutality of her life.
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Book 4 in the Thursday Murder Club series didn’t disappoint. When a friend dies and the package he was hiding disappears, the gang dig into the antiques trade, while dealing with heartbreak close to home. This series will be amazing on screen.
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I re-read this wonderful novel again ahead of watching the excellent Netflix series. The story of a blind French girl and a young German soldier unknowingly linked by a children’s radio show, whose lives collide in St Malo in occupied France as they both try to survive World War II. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming.