Books to watch in May

Promoters make it easy for film fans by preparing trailers months in advance. For book fans it’s a little more difficult, sometimes the first time we hear of a book is when it arrives on the shelves to be sold. I’ve picked four books from different genres to give you a glimpse of what this month has in store.  

The Newlyweds, Nell Freudenberger

To be published by Knopf Publishers 

Anima and George’s tale is a love story with a modern twist. After Anima meets George online she leaves her home in Bangladesh for a new life in Rochester, New York. But marriage is only the beginning. If the pair are to build a future together they must negotiate family demands and cultural differences from both sides.

Too Cold for Snow, John Gower

To be published by Parthian

An accomplished author and journalist, Gower is the winner of the John Morgan travel writing prize. This short story collection will transport readers to the frosty regions of northern Russia, promising tales of assassins, avalanches and prison ships. If you can’t wait to get your hands on the book you can purchase a sampler edition ahead of its release in two months time.

Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death, James Runcie

To be published by Bloomsbury 

This will be the first in a series of exciting new detective stories, to be titled The Grantchester Mysteries. Sidney Chambers, the vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two-year-old bachelor, whose unassuming appearance provides the perfect cover for a spot of detective work. In the course of the book he inquires into a suspicious suicide, a jewellery theft and an art forgery.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, Simon Mawr 

Published by Little, Brown

I read The Glass Room when it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize so I’m already a fan of Simon Mawr. Here he tells the story of Marian Sutro, who becomes a Special Operations Executive in wartime France. Her aim is to seek out an old flame, Clement Pelletier, a nuclear scientist who is busy building a lethal weapon. According to Daily Mail critic Amber Pearson the book is “utterly gripping from start to finish.”

What are you reading at the moment and what do you plan to read next? Let me know what you think of these books and what’s on your bookshelf at the moment.