The TEdit Round-up

5 Books you need to read this year

This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab

Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, desperately searching for meaning in her life, while impulsive, lovely Sasha, willingly consorts with rich men who can satisfy her frantic longing for designer labels and upmarket places. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib Dargah and connect their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty bringing them together.

On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida also meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies in the face of all convention and cannot be allowed.

Mesmerising and haunting, this book will have you rooted to your seat until you’ve relished every single page. A portrait of life and its many choices, Faiqa Mansab has weaved a masterpiece and truly brought Lahore alive.

The Kindness of Psychopaths by Alan Gorevan

When Valentina López Vázquez vanishes from her home one morning, it’s obvious that she was taken by force. What happened to her next is not so obvious.

The disappearance forces two men on a gruelling search for the truth: Barry Wall, Valentina’s frantic husband, and Joe Byrne, the nihilistic detective in charge of the investigation. They are locked on a devastating course that will take them to places darker than they ever dreamt – places without limits.

A gripping crime thriller with all the hallmarks of becoming a major literary sensation, The Kindness of Psychopaths will have you turning the pages at breakneck speed. A tour de force from an author at the height of his powers.

She’s Mine by A.A. Chaudhuri

Her missing daughter was just the start of the nightmare. 20 years ago, Christine Donovan took a call she should have ignored while shopping. In those few seconds while her back was turned, her toddler, Heidi, was kidnapped. She’s never been seen again.

Just as she takes measures to finally heal, a note is posted through her door, with the words she has always longed to hear: Heidi isn’t dead.

In seeking the truth, Christine might destroy everything that she loves, so how far is she willing to go to find Heidi?

Taut and compelling, this is a psychological thriller that will be remembered long after you’ve turned the final page. Unmissable!

The Image of Her by Sonia Velton

Stella and Connie have never met and never will. So why is Stella stalking Connie’s every move on social media?

Stella lives with her mother, a smothering narcissist. Her world has shrunk since the terrible accident that left her a shut-in. Her days are broken up by deliveries from a courier that she always returns and by the irresistible urge to watch the life of a stranger - beautiful Connie - unfold on social media. But why is she so drawn to a woman she has never met? And what caused the accident she doesn’t want to speak about?

Connie is an expat living in Dubai with her partner, Mark, and their two children. When she finds herself drawn into the lives of the local domestic helpers, she discovers that there are dark secrets in this glittering city.

Dark and brimming with mystery, this literary thriller will make you see relationships in a whole new light. Sonia Velton is a master storyteller.

Off Target by Eve Smith

A longed-for baby, an unthinkable decision, a deadly mistake.

In an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect. Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out; including the unthinkable. She believes her secret is safe. For now.

But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed.

Haunting and eerily prescient, Off Target takes a deep dive into human behaviour and the extent to which people will go to protect their secrets. A book that everyone will be talking about!

Sundial by Catriona Ward

You can’t escape the desert. You can’t escape Sundial.

Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is afraid of her mother and she is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive. Bone-chilling and evocative, Sundial is a book that will perhaps linger in your thoughts for a very long time.

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

A beautiful, eerie hotel in the Swiss Alps, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, is the last place Detective Elin Warner wants to be. But her estranged brother has invited her there for his engagement party, and she feels she has no choice but to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. And things only get worse when they wake the next morning to find her brother’s fiancée is missing. With access to the hotel cut off, the guests begin to panic. But this is only the first disappearance. Everyone’s in danger - and anyone could be next . . .

Chilling and eerie, The Sanatorium is a book that will be devoured in a single sitting. Sarah Pearse is a genius!