BOOKSIMO

  Description Set in London in 1968, A CURTAIN TWITCHER'S BOOK OF MURDER follows the lives of the inhabitants of a suburban London street. But this is no ordinary road. "Ask anyone on Atbara Avenue how well they know their neighbours, and they'll answer 'well'. After all, they see each other across the vast distance afforded by close proximity, and that is probably for the best...". For the best, because Atbara Avenue is a street where, all too often, murder feels like the solution. With a delicious cast of characters, dazzling plotting and an utterly unique voice, Gay Marris' first book is remarkably accomplished. If you've been longing for a fresh and compelling new voice in the world of crime fiction, your wait is over. Review It took me a few pages to get into this book as at first it seemed a little banal. Set in the 1960s it felt unfamiliar and hard to regain that era.  That soon changed as the story or rather stories began to unfold. Not really ...

DESCRIPTION Meet Daphne St Clair: glamorous ninety-year-old grandmother, care home resident, and your new favourite serial killer. Meet Ruth Robinson: aspiring true crime podcaster, hunting for a killer story. Who are you going to trust? . . . When Daphne confesses to killing a number of men throughout her lifetime, she chooses Ruth to produce the podcast reporting her story. Each episode charts Daphne's humble beginnings from the Dust Bowl in Canada to her glittering life in 70s New York - and a string of murders in her wake. Daphne tells her story. Ruth listens. And edits it. The public are hooked. Is she a feminist icon taking revenge on bad men? Or just a ruthless criminal? Then, as the podcast finale approaches, it becomes clear that neither woman has been entirely honest with the other. Who has been controlling the narrative? After all, the truth doesn't always make for the best story... A darkly witty thriller, sparking conversations around true crime and female serial k...

Description A GUARDIAN 'BEST BOOK TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2025' It’s the 1990s: Britpop is dominating the charts, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell stare out from the cover of every glossy magazine and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Leading the charge is a twenty-something Mary Portas who has been brought in to revitalise the department store Harvey Nichols, at the time more likely to be associated with dowagers than daring designers. With department stores in decline and an alpha male leadership team watching closely, the pressure is immense: make it profitable and make it relevant. Mary steps into a world she doesn’t fully understand – and at first, it shows. But what seems like vulnerability quickly reveals itself as vision. She doesn't rely on fitting in; she leans into instinct, takes bold creative risks and reimagines what luxury could be. By the millennium, the store would be renowned for its outrageous, headline-grabbing, traffic-stopping window displays; patrona...