15 Of The Best New Books To Read This Autumn

As the longer nights start to roll in there’s nothing better than curling up in front of the fire with a book.

So, we’ve picked 15 of the most exciting ones that will be coming out over the next few months.

Here is what you should be reading this autumn – you’re welcome.

The Fraud – Zadie Smith

Based on real historical events, we travel back to 1873 where Mrs Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper of a once famous novelist, now in decline, William Ainsworth, with whom she has lived for thirty years. She suspects William of being a fraud and his famous pal, Charles Dickens to be a bully.

Andrew Bogle grew up enslaved on the Hope Plantation, Jamaica. He knows every lump of sugar comes at a human cost. That the rich deceive the poor. And that people are more easily manipulated than they realise.

When Bogle finds himself in London, star witness in a celebrated case of imposture, he knows his future depends on telling the right story. The ‘Tichborne Trial’ captivates Mrs Touchet and all of England. Is Sir Roger Tichborne really who he says he is? Or is he a fraud?

Out 7th September

Doppelganger – Naomi Klein

The internet is a scary place. What if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired a double?

When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger.

To find out, Naomi decided to follow her double into a bizarre, uncanny mirror world: one of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters, where soft-focus wellness influencers make common cause with fire-breathing far-right propagandists.

Out 12th September

Nineteen Steps – Millie Bobby Brown

Yes, The Stranger Things star has written a book!

The book is inspired by Millie’s own family history as she heads back to 1942 to tell a beautiful love story during World War II. 18-year-old Nellie Morris lives a quiet life in the tight-knit East End community of Bethnal Green. Her family and friends all tease that she will marry air raid warden Billy, the boy next door who’s always been sweet on her.

The arrival of Ray, a handsome American airman stationed nearby, causes Nellie to question everything she thought she knew about her future. Nellie’s newfound happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident occurs during an air raid.

Out 12th September

Playing the Witch Card – KJ Dell’Antonia

This book has been described as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic. Which we think is the perfect autumn vibe!

When Flair Hardwicke returns to the tiny town of Rattleboro to take over her grandmother’s beloved bakery, she believes she’s prepared for anything. But sweet treats weren’t the only thing her grandmother was known for in Rattleboro, and as determined as Flair is to avoid it, a misbehaving deck of tarot card-shaped cookies soon draws her back into the web of family magic she’s fought so hard to escape.

But not everything in Rattleboro is as it seems. As Flair’s family is threatened, she is forced to put aside everything she thinks she knows about love, witchcraft, motherhood—and herself. Because Flair might think she’s done with magic, but magic certainly isn’t done with Flair.

Out 12th September

An Invitation to the Kennedys – Emily Hourican

Inspired by true-life events, the bestselling author of the Guinness Girls series is back!

Kathleen ‘Kick’ Kennedy, a recent arrival to England from Massachusetts, is already a huge hit in 1930s London society. Her status as the daughter of an ambassador puts her at the centre of the most elite social circles but being an American and a Catholic sets her apart, something she only comes to realise when she falls for Billy Cavendish, the future Duke of Devonshire.

Their families will never approve of the match but can true love conquer all?

Out 14th September

The Vaster Wilds – Lauren Groff

This book is sure to have you on the edge of your seat.

A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her.

What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilisation has taught her.

Out 21st September

The Wake Up Call – Beth O’Leary

Two sworn enemies. One failing hotel. Love is the last thing they need. Sounds like the perfect book for us!

It’s the busiest time of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when sworn enemies Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside. The hotel won’t stay afloat without some sort of miracle.

But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management this might fix everything. With four rings still sitting in lost property, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel – and their jobs.

Out 26th September

Tales of the Other World – Anne Doyle

Anne Doyle writing a book? Sign us up!

She delights in presenting this fabulously frightful anthology of Irish ghost stories, which have excited, unnerved and, for better or worse, stayed with her over the years.

From your favourite classics by Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker to contemporary work by Róisín O’Donnell and Deirdre Sullivan, here lies a collection so chilling and thrilling, it’ll instantly lift your spirits.

Out 28th September

Bright Young Women – Jessica Knoll

The book opens on a Saturday night in 1978, hours before a soon-to-be-infamous murderer descends upon a Florida sorority house with deadly results. The lives of those who survive, including sorority president and key witness, Pamela Schumacher, are forever changed.

Across the country, Tina Cannon is convinced her missing friend was targeted by the man papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer and that he’s struck again.

Determined to find justice, the two join forces as their search for answers leads to a final, shocking confrontation.

Out 3rd October 

Body of Truth – Marie Cassidy

Dr Marie Cassidy is showing her writing talents in her debut novel.

Dr Terry O’Brien has recently arrived in Ireland from Scotland to take up a position as state pathologist. Soon after, a body is found in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Rachel Reece, host of the popular true crime podcast Ireland’s Missing Women, has been brutally murdered.

As Terry gathers evidence to help with the police investigation, she becomes convinced that they are following the wrong line of inquiry and begins her own research. She soon finds herself in the thick of cold cases of murdered Irish women, with questions mounting. And another woman has just been found murdered.

Out 5th October

The Burnout – Sophie Kinsella

We all love a bit of Sophie Kinsella!

Sasha is well and truly over it all from work to friendship to romance. She has hit a brick wall. Trying to find some joy she heads to the Devon resort she loved as a child. But it’s off-season, the hotel is falling apart and now she has to share the beach with someone else: a grumpy, stressed-out guy called Finn.

But when curious messages start appearing on the beach, Sasha and Finn are forced to begin talking – about everything. What’s the mystery? Why are they both burned out? What exactly is ‘manifesting’, anyway? They might discover that they have more in common than they think.

Out 12th October

Brian and Arthur’s Modern Family – Brian Dowling Gourounlian & Arthur Gourounlian

We are so excited to read all about the couple’s modern family!

From births, to deaths, marriage and everything in between this heartfelt and hilarious memoir brings Arthur and Brian’s positive and inspiring attitude to the page as they journey towards parenthood.

Brian and Arthur’s Modern Family reflects on the universal cycles of adversity, love and grief experienced by all of us as we strive to achieve our dreams, sharing what they have learned along the way about what really matters.

Out 12th October

The Woman in Me – Britney Spears

Britney Spears is telling her story on her terms.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice, her truth was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others.

The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Out 24th October

The Scarlet Alchemist – Kylie Lee Baker

Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, of providing for her family by making alchemical gold and gems for the wealthy to eat in order to stay young forever. But for now, she’s trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, practising an illegal form of alchemy to keep food on the table—resurrecting the dead, for a price.

When Zilan finally has the chance to complete her imperial exams, she ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country in tasks she’ll be lucky to survive, let alone pass.

While she be able to make her dreams come true? Or will she even be able to make it out of the capital alive?

Out 25th October

Good Material – Dolly Alderton

We genuinely couldn’t be more excited by the idea of Dolly’s new book!

Andy’s story wasn’t meant to turn out this way. Living out of a suitcase in his best friends’ spare room, waiting for his career as a stand-up comedian to finally take off, he struggles to process the life-ruining end of his relationship with the only woman he’s ever truly loved.

As he tries to solve the seemingly unsolvable mystery of his broken relationship, he contends with career catastrophe, social media paranoia, a rapidly dwindling friendship group and the growing suspicion that, at 35, he really should have figured this all out by now. Andy has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend’s side of the story.

Out 2nd November

Unnatural Death – Patricia Cornwall

The morning after North Virginia’s deadliest Halloween on record, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta is pulled away from her caseload to investigate a chilling crime.

She arrives in the wilderness to find one body floating in the lake, and another twenty feet down an abandoned mineshaft – both mutilated almost beyond recognition.

It can be no coincidence that the couple were killed on the verge of their arrest for cybercrimes. After the most terrifying body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why.

Out 23rd November

 

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