Buzz Books have been putting together a collection of the most buzzed about books for the past six years. Buzz Books Spring/Summer 2017 is the tenth collection that’s been put together and contains excerpts from 40 upcoming books. This is split into 3 sections: Fiction, Debut Fiction and Non-Fiction. The collection was released on Netgalley as a read now last week and is also available for download directly here from Publishers Marketplace.
Some of books in the collection I’d already heard about and was looking forward to, some of them are brand new to me and have now shot into my to read when released pile. I’ve picked out a few of them below.
Buzz Books also do a separate YA edition – Look out for my thoughts on that tomorrow.
Fiction
The Last Hack – Christopher Brookmyre. Atlantic Monthly Press. 7th July 2017.
S
am Morpeth has had to grow up way too fast, left to fend for a younger sister with learning difficulties when their mother goes to prison and watching her dreams of university evaporate. But Sam learns what it is to be truly powerless when a stranger begins to blackmail her online, drawing her into a trap she may not escape alive. Meanwhile, reporter Jack Parlabane has finally got his career back on track, working for a flashy online news start-up, but his success has left him indebted to a volatile source on the wrong side of the law. Now that debt is being called in, and it could cost him everything.
Thrown together by a common enemy, Sam and Jack are about to discover they have more in common than they realize—and might be each other’s only hope.
This wasn’t a book I’d heard about before downloading this and I’ve never read anything by Christopher Brookmyre. The summary looked interesting and the extract was a good read – I’ll look out for this after release date.
The Marsh King’s Daughter – Karen Dionne. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 20th June 2017
The suspense thriller of the year – The Marsh King’s Daughter will captivate you from the start and chill you to the bone.
‘I was born two years into my mother’s captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn’t have adored my father.’
When notorious child abductor – known as the Marsh King – escapes from a maximum security prison, Helena immediately suspects that she and her two young daughters are in danger.
No one, not even her husband, knows the truth about Helena’s past: they don’t know that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve – or that her father raised her to be a killer.
And they don’t know that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone… except, perhaps his own daughter.
Packed with gripping suspense and powerful storytelling, The Marsh King’s Daughter is a one-more-page, read-in-one-sitting thriller that you’ll remember for ever.
I’d seen the blurb for this on the internet and wasn’t quite sure about it, but the extract completely convinced me it’s a book right up my street so now I can’t wait for this one to be released.
Magpie Murders – Anthony Horrowitz. Harper. 6th June 2017
When editor Susan Ryeland is given the tattered manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has little idea it will change her life. She’s worked with the revered crime writer for years and his detective, Atticus Pund, is renowned for solving crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s. As Susan knows only too well, vintage crime sells handsomely. It’s just a shame that it means dealing with an author like Alan Conway…
But Conway’s latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder.
From Sunday Times bestseller Anthony Horowitz comes Magpie Murders, his deliciously dark take on the vintage crime novel, brought bang- up-to-date with a fiendish modern twist.
Cheating on this one as it was released in the UK last year and I’ve already read it. Fantastic read, I really liked the book within the book and would definitely recommend it. I would also recommend House of Silk and Moriarty, two Sherlock books approved by the estate by the same author.
He Said/She Said – Erin Kelly. Hodder & Stoughton. 20th April 2017
Who do you believe?
In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack.
She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, it is not only the victim’s life that is changed forever.
Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear.
And while Laura knows she was right to speak out, the events that follow have taught her that you can never see the whole picture: something – and someone – is always in the dark…
This has a really interesting premise. I like the first person narrative, the excerpt has chapters from Laura and Kit’s point of view and I’m looking forward to seeing if further points of view are introduced.
Debut Fiction
Final Girls – Riley Sager. Ebury Press. 29th June 2017.
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.
This left me wanting more, interesting concept, great start.
Mr Rochester – Sarah Shoemaker. Grand Central Publishing. 9th May 2017
A gorgeous, deft literary retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s beloved Jane Eyre–through the eyes of the dashing, mysterious Mr. Rochester himself.
Jane Eyre is of course a classic and I’m looking forward to reading it from the mysterious Mr Rochester’s view-point.
The Garden of Small Beginnings – Abbi Waxman. Berkley Books. 2nd May 2017
Not since Good Grief has a book about a young widow been so poignant, funny, original, and utterly believable. A compelling debut novel about loss.
Give grief a chance . . .
Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to work, and watch TV like a pro. The only problem is she’s becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed.
At least her textbook illustrating job has some perks like actually being called upon to draw whale genitalia. Oh, and there s that vegetable-gardening class her boss signed her up for. Apparently being the chosen illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. Wallowing around in compost on a Saturday morning can t be much worse than wallowing around in pajamas and self-pity.
After recruiting her kids and insanely supportive sister to join her, Lilian shows up at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden feeling out of her element. But what she’ll soon discover with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not
I really enjoyed the beginning of this, to me it seemed very relatable – not that I have two small children and a dead husband but the characters just seemed normal – like someone I might actually know – Can’t wait to read more. Oh and the cover is pretty.
Non-Fiction
Driving Miss Norma – Tim Bauerschmidt & Ramie Liddle. HarperOne. 2nd May 2017
When Miss Norma was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she was advised to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. But instead of confining herself to a hospital bed for what could be her last stay, Norma—newly widowed after nearly seven decades of marriage—rose to her full height of five feet and told her doctor, “I’m ninety years old. I’m hitting the road.”
Packing what she needed, Norma took off on an unforgettable cross-country journey with three professional nomads—her retired son Tim, his wife Ramie, and their Standard Poodle Ringo—in a thirty-six-foot RV. Driving Miss Norma is the charming, infectiously joyous chronicle of their experiences on the road—a transformative journey of living life on your own terms that shows us that it is never too late to begin an adventure, inspire hope, or become a trailblazer.
As this once timid woman says “yes” to living in the face of death, she tries regional foods for the first time, zip-lines through a former stranger’s yard, and reaches for the clouds in a hot air balloon. With each passing mile (and one educational visit to a cannabis dispensary), Miss Norma’s health improves and conversations that had once been taboo begin to unfold. Norma, Tim, and Ramie bond in ways they had never done before, and their definitions of home, family, and friendship expand. Stop by stop, state by state, they meet countless people from all walks of life— strangers who become fast friends and welcome them with kindness and open hearts.
Infused with this irrepressible nonagenarian’s wisdom, courage, and generous spirit, and filled with sixteen pages of color photographs, Driving Miss Norma reminds us that life is beautiful and precious, and that family, fun, and self-discovery can happen at any age.
I’m not the biggest travel reader, in fact I don’t read as much non-fiction as maybe I should. I don’t follow any travel blogs and the most I’ve read is a couple of Bill Bryson books but the excerpt makes me think this will be an amusing and very moving tale.
Do any of these interest you too? Are there any other extracts in the book that caught your eye? Are there any other books you’re really looking forward to the first half of 2017? Let me know below.
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