Book of the month

A. D. Miller – The Faithful Couple is our book of the month for May. California, 1993: Neil Collins and Adam Tayler, two young British men on the cusp of adulthood, meet at a hostel in San Diego. They strike up a friendship that, while platonic, feels as intoxicating as a romance; they travel up the coast together, harmlessly competitive, innocently collusive, wrapped up in each other. On a camping trip to Yosemite they lead each other to behave in ways that, years later, they will desperately regret.

David Mark – Dark Winter (DS Aector McAvoy #1) is our british crime book of the month for May. Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is a man with a troubled past. His unwavering belief in justice has made him an outsider in the police force he serves. When three seemingly unconnected people are brutally murdered in the weeks before Christmas, the police must work quickly to stop more deaths.It is only McAvoy who can see the connection between the victims. A killer is playing God – and McAvoy must find a way to stop the deadly game.

James Marrison – The Drowning Ground (Guillermo Downes #1) is our british crime book of the month for April. A man is found dead near his home with a pitchfork through his neck. When DCI Guillermo Downes is called to the scene he realizes the victim is well known to him. A decade earlier, Downes made a promise to the families of two missing girls that he would find their daughters. Although cleared of any involvement, the dead man had been a suspect in their disappearance. And as the ripples from his death spread through the local community it happens to offer fresh hope that the detective might finally make good on his promise.

Nell Zink – Wallcreeper is our book of the month for April. The Wallcreeper is nothing more than a portrait of marriage, complete with all its requisite highs and lows: drugs, dubstep, small chores, anal sex, eco-terrorism, birding, breeding and feeding.

Amy Stewart – Girl Waits with Gun is our british crime book of the month for March.

Lia Mills – Fallen is our book of the month for March.

Anna North – The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is our book of the month for February. Who is the real Sophie Stark? The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is the story of an enigmatic film director, told by the six people who loved her most. Brilliant, infuriating, all-seeing and unknowable, Sophie Stark makes films said to be 'more like life than life itself'. But her genius comes at a terrible cost: to her husband, to the brother she left behind, and to the actress she can't forget. 

Michelle Birkby – The House at Baker Street is our british crime book of the month for February. When Sherlock Holmes turns down the case of persecuted Laura Shirley, Mrs Hudson, the landlady of Baker Street, and Mary Watson resolve to take on the investigation themselves. From the kitchen of 221b, the two women begin their inquiries and enlist the assistance of the Baker Street Irregulars and the infamous Irene Adler.A trail of clues leads them to the darkest corners of Whitechapel, where the feared Ripper supposedly still stalks. They discover Laura Shirley is not the only woman at risk as it rapidly becomes apparent that the lives of many others are in danger too.

Vaseem Khan – The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra is our british crime book of the month for January. Mumbai, murder and a baby elephant combine in a charming, joyful mystery for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Rachel Joyce. On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra discovers that he has inherited an elephant: an unlikely gift that could not be more inconvenient. For Chopra has one last case to solve… But as his murder investigation leads him across Mumbai – from its richest mansions to its murky underworld - he quickly discovers that a baby elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs.

Marlon James – A Brief History of Seven Killings is our book of the month for January. Winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. JAMAICA, 1976Seven gunmen storm Bob Marley’s house, machine guns blazing. The reggae superstar survives, but the gunmen are never caught.