The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan is published in hardback by Fourth Estate, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.49).
Chinese/American author Amy Tan is known for stories about characters caught between two cultures, most notably mothers and daughters.
In The Valley of Amazement, her sixth novel, she tackles themes that will be familiar to her fans; however with a vastly different proposition to her previous books. Set in the secret milieu of Shanghai concubine houses in the 1920s the novel follows the life of Violet, the daughter of a successful madam. She later discovers that she is mixed race and her bi-racial heritage proves a tumultuous impact on her future. As usual Tan displays a rare talent for exploring complex female bonds, not just through Violet's relationship with a mother but also with the delightfully named Magic Gourd, her confidante, maid and surrogate mother for much of the book.The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto is published in hardback by Viking, priced £14.99 (ebook £8.99).
Set in a small town in Pakistan's tribal regions, close to the Afghan border, The Shadow of the Crescent Moon follows three brothers over the course of one morning. After meeting for breakfast Aman Erum, who has recently returned from studying in the US, takes a taxi to a local mosque. Sikandar, a doctor struggling to cope with his grief-stricken wife's increasingly strange behaviour, heads to the hospital where he works. Hayat, the youngest and an idealist, meets up with Samarra, a fragile young woman whose life and thoughts are overwhelmed by the war that has enveloped them. Three hours later, their day will end in devastating circumstances.Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich is published in hardback by Headline, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.73).
Stephanie Plum is probably the world's worst bounty hunter. Well, the worst in Trenton, New Jersey, anyway. But that doesn't seem to put off her gentleman admirers, and while she has to decide between her long-time boyfriend with the mob family and her guardian angel, Plum also agonises over a job which sends her to the emergency room with alarming regularity. Janet Evanovich has already taken Plum to the top of the New York Times bestseller charts over the course of her last twenty novels, hence the title of this latest surefire winner.The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly is published in hardback by Orion, priced £18.99 (ebook £7.49).
Straight-talking defence lawyer Mickey Haller has plenty in common with Raymond Chandler's cynical private eye Philip Marlowe. That's no surprise, as author Michael Connelly says reading Chandler when he was a boy sparked his desire to write crime fiction. This is the fifth novel featuring Haller, who works out of the back of his chauffeur-driven car and has a soft spot for anyone down on their luck. The action kicks off when our hero's office messages him about a murder case. But when he learns the victim is a former client he rescued from prostitution, it becomes personal, particularly when he ends up representing the man accused of killing her.Books by Charlie Hill is published in trade paperback by Tindal Street Press, priced £6.99 (ebook £3.39).
Finally setting off on his annual holiday to Corfu, bookstore owner, wannabe author and borderline alcoholic Richard Anger is looking forward to escaping his everyday life and relaxing. But he is surprised to arrive there and be drawn into a mystery with neurologist Lauren Furrows, a mystery involving an increasing body count with links to books all by the same author, Gary Sayles. Sayles has a gift for writing, but those who have read his books haven't lived to tell the tale. The problem is, they literally bore you to death, so Richard and Lauren join forces to break people's reading habits and save lives.
