Along with new releases, I always love reading what’s already on my bookshelf.

Here are some recent favourites…

Daphne du Maurier The Breaking Point

An absolutely astonishing collection of short stories. Some are subtly chilling and others offer a nice nod to fantasy. Allow yourself to devour each story and savour every word.

Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim

A literary pair to Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’. When Lucy Entwhistle meets Everard Weymyss, she thinks she’s the luckiest woman in the world. However, her happiness is soon subdued when she learns of Everard’s first wife, Vera.

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

An incredibly moving memoir from Laurie Lee’s childhood in the Cotswolds, to London, and Spain, and beyond.

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

I adored this novella. Edith Hope has gone on holiday to Lake Geneva for some time alone. Or, rather, some more time alone. This is one of the most moving books I have ever read. It is similar in feel to the brilliant Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: a hotel-holiday setting, where everyone has a secret…

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

Etsuko is taking the time to reflect on her life. She is Japanese and moved to England many years ago. She tells us her eldest daughter, Keiko, died by suicide. Her younger daughter, Niki, visits her at home. She remembers her time in Japan, and her old friend, the mysterious Sachiko, and her daughter, Mariko.

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Such a brilliant and eerie book. Richly atmospheric – New York and Italy spring to life – while drama turns to tragedy. Patricia Highsmith’s writing is so powerful that it pulls you straight into the heart of the novel and renders readers stunned.