Nomad by James Swallow

Chosen by Caroline

A pulse-racing terrorist thriller - perfect for fans of I Am Pilgrim, Bourne, 24 and Homeland

Marc Dane is a MI6 field agent at home behind a computer screen, one step away from the action. But when a brutal attack on his team leaves Marc as the only survivor - and with the shocking knowledge that there are traitors inside MI6 - he's forced into the front line.

However the evidence seems to point towards Marc as the perpetrator of the attack. Accused of betraying his country, he must race against time to clear his name. 

With nowhere to turn to for help and no one left to trust, Marc is forced to rely on the elusive Rubicon group and their operative Lucy Keyes. Ex US Army, Lucy also knows what it's like to be an outsider, and she's got the skills that Marc is sorely lacking. 

Angela: Connector
Pat: Summariser
Wendy: Leader
Caroline: Wordmaster
Tracey: Passage

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Chosen by Caroline

A comic epic of multicultural Britain by one of the most exciting young writers of 2000. In this irrestible extended family saga, Zadie Smith brings us a fiercely witty tale of immigrants in England over a period of forty years. In this, her first novel, she pens a fresh and funny portrait of modern England - with all the inventiveness of Amis and the humanity of Jeanette Winterson - while offering up insights into British sub-cultures that are all her own. WHITE TEETH takes a sideways glance at the history of a multicultural island, and creates a stylish melting pot - at once cynical, moving, and very, very funny.

Some Possible Solutions by Helen Philips

Chosen by Pat

What if you knew the exact date of your death? What if your perfect hermaphrodite match existed on another planet? What if your city was filled with doppelgängers of you?

In these remarkably inventive stories Helen Phillips' characters search for solutions to the problem of survival in an irrational, infinitely strange world. We meet a wealthy woman who purchases a high-tech sex toy in the shape of a man, a mother convinced that her children are from another planet, and orphaned twin sisters who work as futuristic strippers. As they strive for intimacy and struggle to resolve their fraught relationships with each other, and with themselves, we realise these dystopias are uncannily close to our own world.

By turns surreal, witty, and perplexing, these bewitching stories are ultimately a reflection of our own reality and of the biggest existential questions we all face.

Angela: Leader

Pat: Passage

Caroline: Connector

Wendy: Wordmaster

Tracey: Summariser

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feaney

An extra book chosen by Angela

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me.

1. I’m in a coma

2. My husband doesn’t love me any more

3. Sometimes I lie

Fire Damage by Kate Medina

Chosen by Angela

To find a killer, she must unlock a child’s terror…

The first in an exciting new crime series featuring psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn – a brilliantly complex character who struggles with a dark past of her

‘The girl knows,’ he whispered…

Four-year-old Sami is deeply traumatized, and it’s up to psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn to unlock his terrifying memories. She needs to find out who ‘the girl’ is – but nothing can prepare her for the truth about what haunts him.

Meanwhile, Jessie’s former patient, Captain Ben Callan, is investigating the suspicious death of an officer in Afghanistan – the problem is the only suspect refuses to talk.

When a dead body washes up on a Sussex beach, Jessie and Ben’s cases converge. Soon it’s clear that the mystery in Afghanistan began with a secret much closer to home. And a desperate killer will do anything to keep it buried…

Angela: Summariser

Caroline: Leader

Pat: Connector

Tracey: Wordmaster - Psychology

Wendy: Passage

No Turning Back by Marcus Sarkey

Chosen by Tracey

They thought it would be easy. They were dead wrong...

Alex is failing as a father. 
Ian keeps dangerous secrets. 
Jenn wants adventure. 
Mitch wants Jenn. 

Four friends just scraping by, finding comfort in each other and the hope that things will get better. But as their twenties fade in the rear-view mirror, none of them are turning out to be who - or where - they hoped.

At a time when CEOs steal millions while their employees watch savings dwindle, these four are tired of the honest approach. They're going to stop waiting and start taking.

They have a failsafe, victimless plan that will change their lives for ever. 

What could possibly go wrong...


Pat: Leader
Caroline: Passage
Angela: Wordmaster - Maleovolent
Wendy: Summariser
Tracey: Connector

The Architects Apprentice by Elif Shafak

Chosen by Wendy

The Architect's Apprentice is a dazzling and intricate tale from Elif Shafak, bestselling author of The Bastard of Istanbul.

'There were six of us: the master, the apprentices and the white elephant. We built everything together...'

Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.

So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan's court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota's back to the furthest corners of the Sultan's kingdom and back again. And one day he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan's fortunes forever.

Filled with all the colour of the Ottoman Empire, when Istanbul was the teeming centre of civilisation, The Architect's Apprentice is a magical, sweeping tale of one boy and his elephant caught up in a world of wonder and danger.

Caroline The Summariser
Pat  The Word Master - Sultana
Angela The Passage Person
Wendy The Connector
Tracey The Host

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

Chosen by Caroline

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2016

The year is 1869. A brutal triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish Highlands leads to the arrest of a young man by the name of Roderick Macrae. A memoir written by the accused makes it clear that he is guilty, but it falls to the country s finest legal and psychiatric minds to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence. Was he mad? Only the persuasive powers of his advocate stand between Macrae and the gallows.

Graeme Macrae Burnet tells an irresistible and original story about the provisional nature of truth, even when the facts seem clear. His Bloody Project is a mesmerising literary thriller set in an unforgiving landscape where the exercise of power is arbitrary.