“War Factory” by Neal Asher – Convergence of Galactic Interests

Neal Asher is one of the more exceptional voices in science-fiction of our modern times, displaying his ability to write unique and stunning space operas in a very distinct style time and time again.

The Transformation series is arguably one of his most celebrated works, and the second book, titled War Factory, has us following Thorvald Spear as he pursues a rogue AI across hostile galaxies, while his enemies are doing the same, setting the stage for a supermassive firestorm.

“Pardonable Lies” by Jacqueline Winspear – Missing in the Skies

Jacqueline Winspear will likely never run out of adventures to send her beloved Maisie Dobbs on, and in Pardonable Lies she sends her to solve a mystery pulling her back into the First World War.

A deathbed plea leads Maisie on the search of a pilot, Ralph Lawton, whose disappearance and supposed death in the war never convinced his mother. As she digs through the ruins of the past, she unearths dangers and answers in equal measure.

“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingslover – Colony of Turmoil

Barbara Kingslover's voice has been resonating high and loud for over a decade now as she put her vast life experience to good use as an author, touching the sorts of depths in her works many of her peers shy away from.

The Poisonwood Bible is a novel many consider to be her magnum opus (so far), and it follows an evangelical Baptist and his family as they set out on a mission to the Belgian Congo amidst its immense political turmoil in 1959.

“1st to Die” by James Patterson – Friendship Forged in Crime

James Patterson might conceivably be one of, if not the most prolific author of thriller literature in the modern era. The Women's Murder Club is one of the many series he has running, and the title which kicked it off, 1st to Die, takes us to a San Francisco shocked and reeling from the recent crimes of a serial killer.

In the midst of widespread fear and panic, four crime-solving friends bond together to find the culprit, each one holding part of the key to the solution.

“Conviction” by Julia Dahl – Summer of the Judged Innocent

Julia Dahl has managed something many authors only dream, establishing her very own successful series with the Rebekah Roberts novels. For the third time around, Rebekah comes back in a novel titled Conviction, revolving around murders which took place during the Crown Heights riots of 1991 and the summer of 1992.

At the time an open-and-shut case, twenty-two years later Rebekah receives a letter prompting her to dig into a deep past where the wrong man might have been convicted.

“Birds of a Feather” by Jacqueline Winspear – Agony Preserved in Stasis

Jacqueline Winspear created with the Maisie Dobbs series a goose which still lays golden eggs to this very day. In the second novel of the series, titled Birds of a Feather, Maisie is hired during the Spring of 1930 to locate a runaway heiress.

What at first promises to be a walk in the park turns into a grim massacre as three of old friends of the heiress are found murdered.
With there obviously being some connection between the two events, Maisie sets out on a path bound to take her into the everlasting tragedy of the First World War.

“Pretty Things” by Janelle Brown – Ballad of Liars and Models

Janelle Brown has shown herself time and time again quite capable of weaving original and entertaining stories, and Pretty Things is the latest showcase of her talents. The plot follows two drastically different women, Nina and Vanessa.

The former realizes she must engineer a scam for the ages to pay for her mother's medical bills, while the latter once shunned Nina and is living the luxurious life of an Instagram model. As the two see their paths colliding, complications of all shapes and sizes begin making their way to the surface.

“Writers & Lovers” by Lily King – Hurdles of the Creative Life

Lily King has made more than a few waves with the publication of her first novel Euphoria, and in March of this year she published her second work of writing, titled Writers & Lovers.

It follows the story of Casey Peabody, a thirty-one year-old artist who arrives in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 with plenty of debts to her name and not much of a plan to go forward. The only thing she knows is she remains determined to live a creative life, a dream all her friends abandoned long ago.

“The End of October” by Lawrence Wright – Our Earth Held Hostage

Lawrence Wright generally enjoys reflecting reality in his writings, or outright denouncing it as he did with Scientology.

In his latest novel, titled The End of October, Lawrence takes us on a global adventure alongside Henry Parsons, an epidemiologist tasked with trying to stop the spread of a deadly disease threatening the entire world, while trying to survive with his family against ever-decreasing odds.

“Maisie Dobbs” by Jacqueline Winspear – The Trailblazer's Path

Jacqueline Winspear probably didn't know she would start writing the series which defines her today with her first Maisie Dobbs novel, but it's a path which has certainly given life to many interesting stories.

In this debut published back in 2014, we are introduced to the eponymous private investigator as she returns to her hometown in 1929, taking on two cases. The first one revolves around a suspiciously complex infidelity, and second one around a closed WWI veterans' retreat.

“The Book of Koli” by M. R. Carey – Venturing the Reclaimed Planet

Mike Carey has, like many other people, considered the innumerable ways in which our world could be brought to an end, and in his novel The Book of Koli he thrusts us into the middle of an apocalypse at the hands of Mother Nature.

The story follows the titular Koli, a young boy living in the village of Mythen Rood, and as far as its inhabitants know, they are likely one of the last few bastions of humanity.

The rules and walls of the village have kept them safe until now, but the burden finds its way onto Koli's shoulders, and he must venture into the deadly wilds to save his people.

“Death Beside the Seaside” by T E Kinsey – A Matter of International Security

T E Kinsey has taken us on many adventures re-exploring the quaint and murder-prone British countryside in his Lady Hardcastle Mystery series, and in the latest novel, Death Beside the Seaside, he tries to give his characters a break they were long overdue for.

Needless to say, wherever Lady Hardcastle and her trusty maid Flo go, death seems to follow, and this time around they have to investigate the disappearance of their fellow hotel guests, topped off by a grisly murder, marking only the start of the ghastly affair.