It's Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh

                                              

Hardback: 391 pages     

                                                                                           

Genre:  Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Psychological Thriller,

Publisher: Harper Collins 2026

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

First Sentences: The lights change from green to amber. Nadeeka hesitates for a heartbeat before pressing her foot flat against the accelerator.

Review Quote: 'Madly twisty and super pacy and so so clever' LISA JEWELL

My Opinion: 

Having only just discovered Clare Mackintosh's writing I will certainly try and read more of her novels in the future. This one kept me reading until 1am to finish it, I was so riveted to the story.

To start with 'It's Not What You Think' feels like it is going to be a typical murder mystery. The female protagonist Nadeeka is convinced her partner Jamie is having an affair. Rushing home to she thinks catch him in the act, she is mortified to find him dead! Of course this results in a murder investigation, but one that takes so many twists and turns. The novel certainly lives up to its title.

The topics covered in this addictive novel are particularly relevant to current affairs. At time quite scary but I urge you to read if you enjoy a good thriller, as it may well open your eyes. Certainly gives the reader plenty of food for thought.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

He has a secret. She knows he's lying…

YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE

Nadeeka is certain Jamie is having an affair. She knows the tell-tale signs. She's been here before.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHO YOU CAN TRUST

When Jamie claims to be at work late, she knows he's lying. He's with another woman, and she's determined to catch him in the act.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS

But when Nadeeka arrives home to confront him, Jamie can't explain himself. The house has become a crime scene…Jamie is dead.

Author Profile:

                                              

                                                             Courtesy of Goodreads

The following is just a snippet from her Goodreads Profile

I love connecting with my readers, and there are plenty of ways you can get a sneak peek at what's going on behind the scenes. My Facebook group offers reading recommendations and exclusive extras to members (just search online for 'The Clare Mackintosh Book Club'), or if it's general chit chat you're after, please do follow me on Instagram, where I go to avoid writing, and to share snippets of my life in rural Wales, complete with three spaniels and Pete the goat. I'm also on TikTok, much to the dismay of my three teenagers...

* * *

With over three million copies of her books sold worldwide, number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of I Let You Go, which was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and the fastest-selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It also won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016. She has since written seven more bestselling novels. Together, her books have been translated into 40 languages and spent more than sixty-five weeks in The Sunday Times bestseller lists.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Clare Mackintosh Official Website    Twitter Profile.   Goodreads Profile.   Facebook Profile

Instagram Profile

A Fatal Love by Louisa Treger

Hardback + EBook: 229 pages     

                                                                                           

Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, 

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2026

Source: The Author + NetGalley

First Sentence: Ruth got out of the car and walked towards the Magdala, the gun in her hand heavy and cold.

Review Quote: Vividly and grippingly portrayed ― The Times

My Opinion: 

Lousia Treger has once again succeeded in writing another exhilarating novel about a 'Trail Blazing Woman'

'A Fatal Love' is the story of Ruth Ellis, who was the last woman to be executed in Britain. It was the 1950's and Ruth was working as a hostess in the infamous drinking clubs of London. Ruth already had a history of abusive relationships in her past and it was sad to see her drawn into another one with David Blakely. An abusive relationship which culminates in her shooting him.

The author has certainly found her niche, producing fictional stories, based on facts about real and fascinating women with stories to be told. Let us hope she has many more to reveal to us, as they so far have all been gripping reads.  Louisa Treger has an eye for detail and with her sensitive writing the reader understands how Ruth was a tragic victim of an abusive relationship.  Highly recommended reading.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

It is Easter Sunday in 1955 and a young man lies face-down on the ground covered in blood. A woman, blonde and petite, stands over him with a gun in her hand. This is the story of Ruth Ellis as never told before...

As Ruth awaits her trial in Holloway Prison, she recollects growing up in England during the Second World War and the events that led to the death of her lover, David Blakely.

Meanwhile, Kitty Carrington - the assistant to Ruth's trial lawyer - tries to forge her own path through the male-dominated legal world of the 1950s and ensure that Ruth receives a fair trial.

Navigating secrets, betrayal and a broken justice system, Ruth and Kitty try to take control of their own lives and narratives. But do we ever really know the full story?

Previous Reviews: The Dragon Lady   Madwoman.   The Paris Muse

Author Profile:

Born in London, Louisa Treger began her career as a classical violinist. She studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a freelance orchestral player and teacher.

Louisa subsequently turned to literature, gaining a First Class degree and a PhD in English at University College London, where she focused on early twentieth century women’s writing.

Married with three children, she lives in London.



Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites.

Author's Official Website   Goodreads Author Profile  Amazon Author Page

Twitter Profile.    Instagram Profile  Facebook Profile

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

                                                       

Paperback:   288 pages                                                                         

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, 

Publisher:  Penguin Paperback 2026

Source:  Tywyn Library

Literary Awards:  *WINNER OF THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026*
Audie Award for Ensemble Performance and Nominee for Fiction (2026), Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Audiobook (2025), Women's Prize for Fiction (2026), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction and for Debut Novel (2025), The Rooster -- The Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee for Longlist (2026), The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Nominee for Longlist(2025), She Reads Best of Award Nominee for Book of the Year (2025), Libby Award Nominee for Best Audiobook and Best Debut (2026)

Setting: Maryland, USA.  

First Sentences: At last, on Monday around ten or half past, Sybil Van Antwerp carries the mug of Irish breakfast tea with milk to her desk.

Review Quote:  'Immensely enjoyable' Guardian

My Opinion:

I have been wanting to read ‘The Correspondent’ for sometime now. Mainly because since publication last year it has been nominated for so many literary awards and I wanted to find out why.

In this her debut novel, the author Virginia Evans has given us a memorable protagonist in Sybil Van Antwerp. Sybil uses letter writing as communication and the novel is written as a series of letters, sent and received, through which the reader gets to know how life has treated her.

A unique idea which was an emotional read. Letters are not an easy format for a novelist to use as a medium to tell a story through. Virginia Evans has done so successfully and compassionately.  Highly recommended.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years - and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be ‘a very small thing’, but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.

Author Profile:

                                                                                                              

                                                Photo and Bio Courtesy of Amazon

Virginia Evans is from the east coast of the United States and was born in 1986.  She attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature. After starting a family, she went back to school for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she had the good fortune to study under Carlo Gébler, Eoin McNamee, Claire Keegan, Harry Clifton and Kevin Power. She now lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Mark, two children, Jack and Mae, and her Red Labrador, Brigid.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Profile   Amazon Author Page.   Wikipedia Profile.    Author - Official Website

Love Unlocked by Cecelia Ahern

 

                                                         

Ebook:  344 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Irish Fiction, Romance,

Publisher: August 2026 by Harper Collins

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentences: In the distance, a train rattles rhythmically along the tracks, sounding like a beating heart.

Setting: Dublin, Ireland

Review Quote: 'So much fun and very romantic. I loved it' Marian Keyes

My Opinion: 

An author I read from time to time when I am in the mood for contemporary fiction to lift my spirits.

'Love Unlocked' is set in Dublin and the story is centred around love locks and a bridge. It seems that when locks are removed from the bridge that relationships fall apart. An interesting conjecture that the protagonists Melody and Al are both involved in. What a mystery and is it resolved.

A quirky love story written with humour, that fans of Cecelia Ahern will enjoy.

With thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review.

Previous Reviews:   Thanks For the Memories   One Hundred Names.  Into The Storm

Paper Heart

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Sometimes the key is letting go…
Melody has vowed never to fall in love again.

Al is a hopeless romantic.

So, when they quite literally bump into each other, there's no reason sparks should fly. But the world seems a little upside down lately.

A few weeks ago, Al ordered the removal of all the lovers’ padlocks from one of Dublin's beautiful bridges. Ever since then, couples across the world have started splitting up.

And as Melody begins investigating this mysterious wave of breakups for her podcast, it seems there might be a bigger story to tell.

Together, they decide to uncover what's unravelling so many love stories. And, in the middle of solving everyone else’s heartbreak, can they unlock their own?

Author Profile:         

                                                      

                                                  Courtesy of Amazon

Cecelia Ahern was born in Dublin, where she also grew up on September 30th 1981. After completing a degree in Journalism and Media Communications, Cecelia wrote her first novel at 21 years old. Her debut novel, PS I Love You was published in January 2004, and was followed by Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) in November 2004. Both novels were adapted to films; PS I Love You starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Love, Rosie starred Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Cecelia has published a novel every year since then and to date has published 18 novels; PS I Love You, Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How To Fall in Love, The Year I Met You, The Marble Collector, Flawed, Perfect, Lyrebird, ROAR, Postscript and Freckles.

To date, Cecelia’s books have sold 25 million copies internationally, are published in over 40 countries, in 30 languages.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.   Goodreads Author Profile.   Facebook - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern