HISTORICAL FICTION, SAGA, COMINGOF-AGE STORY

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson
By Ellen Baker

Drama, secrets, love, loss and life in the early 20th century circus. This family saga has it all and more besides. Dropped off at an orphanage in 1924, at the tender age of four, Cecily is later sold into a travelling circus where, as a teenager, she finds love. Fast forward to 2015, she is living a quiet life when the unexpected results of a surprise DNA test throw her family’s whole history into question. Very apposite in the days of 23andMe, it promises a stonking good read.

MYSTERY, CRIME FICTION, PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

End of Story
By AJ Finn

If you’re a fan of Knives Out, and who isn’t, then this is for you. With just months to live, reclusive novelist Sebastian Trapp invites detective fiction expert Nicky Hunter to “come tell my story”. That tale includes the mysterious disappearance of his first wife and son 20 years earlier. When a corpse turns up in the family’s koi pond, Nicky and Sebastian’s daughter discover the past is just waiting to reemerge.