With hardbacks hitting the £20 mark, it's an expensive time to be a book lover! Luckily readers don't usually have to wait too long for a paperback edition to come along. Whether you’re after a page-turning thriller, a moving love story or a book to make you think, there’s a paperback to suit every kind of reader this October. We’ve picked the best new paperbacks to add to your reading pile, from much-loved authors to exciting discoveries.
Nonesuch by Francis Spufford
Another Second World War novel but something completely different this time. Spufford, whose debut Golden Hill won the Costa First Novel Award, has spun a mesmerising fantasy novel that bends time and reality, yet remains deeply anchored in human emotion.
The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
It’s Christmas 1943 and Elva and Anthony Pratt have arrived at Tudor Court Hotel to run a murder mystery weekend. But when a body is discovered during the game, they realise they’re caught up in something sinister. I loved that the real-life creators of Cluedo appeared as characters in this clever, entertaining mystery!
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Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce
Two school girls accused of causing the death of their friend by witchcraft in this gripping thriller by The Traitors contestant. The story is told from the point of surgeon Matthew who is a member of the jury in their trial: as he finds out more and more about the case, he becomes obsessed. Harriet does a brilliant job of building the tension to an almost unbearable pitch, until the reader is just as invested as Matthew in whether the two girls actually are witches. The book explores how the truth is often ignored in favour of feelings and how a legal case is swiftly turned into a full-fledged ‘witch trial’ on the platform of social media, well before even a shred of evidence is presented.
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The Two Roberts by Damian Barr
Based on the true story of Scottish artists Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde, this is a tender and beautifully written exploration of art, class and love. In 1930s Glasgow, Robert and Bobby meet at art school and so begins a love affair that will sustain them throughout their lives.
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Medlock by SG Hartnell
Want to scare yourself silly this Halloween? This gothic reimagining of The Secret Garden will send shivers down your spine. Mrs Medlock is the long-serving housekeeper of Marwood Manor and guardian of its dark secrets, of which there are plenty – including a boy shut away in an attic and a mysterious locked garden.
Frankie by Graham Norton
Another beautifully empathetic story from the TV presenter, about 84-year-old Frankie Howe and her lifetime of adventures, which takes us from rural Ireland in the 1940s to the art world of 1960s New York. Frankie is one of the most wonderful characters I’ve come across in a long time!
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Other People's Fun by Harriet Lane
Fiftysomething Ruth is recently divorced, working in an unsatisfying job to pay the bills and feeling she’s failed at life. When she attends a memorial service at her alma mater, a fancy boarding school, she reconnects with old classmate Sookie.
Sookie seems to be everything Ruth isn’t – glamorous, sociable, happily married – so Ruth is surprised and flattered when she stays in touch. It soon becomes clear, however, that Sookie’s after an audience not a friend, and later an alibi for her extramarital affair. The reunion also reminds Ruth of her teenage obsession with her music teacher, Ian Waxham, who she’s never quite forgotten – and who turns out to have a surprising link to Sookie.
Ruth is a brilliantly complicated character – deeply sympathetic but dishonest and deceitful, both with herself and others. While she might seem a bit of a doormat, when Sookie’s continual slights become too much for her, she takes pleasure in her revenge.
Although this isn’t a thriller, there’s a sense of unease that builds right from the beginning of the book, and things get increasingly tense as the reader wonders what Ruth will do next. When the dysfunctional dynamic between the two women comes to a climax, it’s catastrophic – for one of them at least. The ending is so perfectly taut that I read the last few pages through my fingers.
The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan
Mirren Sutherland never expected an old book discovered in her great-aunt’s attic to change her life. But when she’s asked to find a rare and valuable book hidden somewhere in a crumbling Highland estate, she sets off to help save the home from financial ruin. Trapped in the castle by a snowstorm alongside Jamie, the young laird, and rival book hunter Theo, Mirren must follow a series of clues to uncover the truth about the house – and the priceless book hidden within it. A cosy and uplifting festive mystery filled with romance, secrets and Christmas magic.
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