As usual I’ve read a lot of books this year, but there are three that clearly stand out from the crowd. These are the ones to buy your friends for Christmas, that are worth getting in physical form and that I would love to talk about with you. If you’re looking for a book to buy, look no further!
1. The Muse, Jessie Burton
Burton’s second novel is assured and masterful, this time weaving not one but two convincing and compelling historical time periods, which together weave around to create and solve an interesting mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and feel it more than fulfilled the potential in The Miniaturist.
2. To The Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey
Another second novel, here Ivey casts two fantastic adventures into the wild, into mysterious magic and into self-discovery through letters, diary excerpts and other documents and photos. Her ability, so strong in The Snow Child, to mix human warmth with cold and desolate landscapes and with mysterious magic, produces another winner.
3. The Unseeing, Anna Mazzola
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel! A thriller set in 1837 London, the story revolves around an uncooperative woman convicted of murder and the solicitor who is trying to prove she didn’t do it. It’s as gripping as any of the current thrillers with ‘girl’ in the title with twisting lies and tales that got me spooked. I loved it!