Are you looking for your next great read? Why not try out the books from across the pond? Despite from what governments say, books are essential and are needed now, more than ever. So if you are need of a variety and want to read diverse stories, then I suggest you try out some British and Irish titles!
We may have left 2025 behind, but the pain and struggles of last year are still being faced, especially independent bookstores. Continue to support indie bookstores by shopping on Bookshop.org and Hive.co.uk.
Waterstones currently ships to the United States but there will be an international shipping fee. You can also try with the British bookstore, Blackwell’s. Now on with the recommendations!
Featured Book of the Month
Filthy by Lucy Cuthew
Joss has never had sex.
But suddenly, it feels like everyone else has.
From dolphins to bonobos to her annoyingly confident older sister Edith, the entire natural world seems to be getting some, and Joss is starting to wonder what she’s missing.
The problem? No one actually explains how any of it works. And David Attenborough has a lot to answer for.
Then she meets Griff. Mysterious. Hot. Not from around here. And, most shocking of all, he doesn’t see her as “vanilla.”
Determined not to be clueless, Joss turns to the only educational resource that seems readily available: the internet. But late-night “research” comes with unexpected consequences. Embarrassing ones. Ones that might just scare off the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
Warm, hilarious and painfully relatable, this is a story about curiosity, confidence, and figuring out what you actually want, not what the rest of the world makes look easy. (Credit: Fox & Ink Books)
The Winter Guest by Sarah Moss
Tell me the worst thing you’ve ever done.
On Christmas Eve, in a hotel on Ireland’s west coast, a man and a woman meet for the first time. As a snowstorm gathers outside windows twinkling with fairy lights, they share a meal, pour wine, propose a toast.
Janice and Gerry are strangers to one another, but they each have a story to tell, a confession to make.
As the blizzard howls, the night will take an unexpected turn, and their conversation will have consequences far beyond the candlelit table. (Credit: Pan Macmillan)
A Ghostly Little Book: Five Frightening Tales from Five Essential Writers
A Ghostly Little Book brings you five brand new spooky stories from five of the best writers on the planet
From Edgar Allan Poe to Charles Dickens, from Shirley Jackson to Toni Morrison, the greatest writers have always been drawn to that ancient, mysterious thing: the haunting.
A Ghostly Little Book is a slim, beautiful testament to the enduring appeal of the spook, a landmark collection of specially composed modern ghost stories from Roddy Doyle, Olga Ravn, Eliza Clark, Tom Crewe and Helen Oyeyemi, five of the most acclaimed and exciting authors at work today.
With surprising scares and anguished apparitions, with chance encounters, spectral phones and vengeful spirits, these tales chart the many twists and turns the ghost story might take: strange, unsettling, heartwarming, hilarious and, of course, blood-chilling. (Credit: Penguin Books)
The Recovery House by Derek Owusu
Jamal, a gifted and introspective young poet, wakes in a quiet, claustrophobic recovery house after a devastating mental breakdown, unsure how the bright edges of his life became so fractured. In this stark yet strangely tender sanctuary, with its watchful nurses, restless corridors and overlooked garden, he encounters several wounded, but radiant souls who are each wrestling with their own invisible storms. As Jamal navigates this suspended world, at once suffocating and strangely sacred, he begins to observe rather than retreat, finding in the rhythms of shared cigarettes, half-finished conversations and midnight confessions a hesitant, flickering sense of belonging.
Within these intimate, volatile walls, music drifts like prayer. A song sung into the dark becomes a fragile lifeline. Psalms are read aloud with trembling conviction. Laughter erupts, unexpected and defiant. Jamal’s searching, philosophical mind moves restlessly between memory and imagination, literature and scripture, doubt and devotion, interrogating the porous boundaries between illness and inspiration. What does it mean to hear a voice and call it God, or art, or madness? What is salvation in a place built to contain collapse? In the charged silence of the garden, under watchful skies, he begins to sense that joy can exist even here, braided through grief, carried on melody, sustained by human touch.
Tender, intelligent and spiritually inquisitive, The Recovery House is a novel about the music that survives inside us when language falters, about the redemptive possibilities of friendship, and about the delicate courage required to rebuild a self. As Jamal reckons with love, faith, shame and the perilous seduction of turning life into art, he is forced to confront the most difficult question of all: how to live honestly in the world without sacrificing the soul that makes him want to write it. (Credit: Cornerstone)
The Raven’s Gift by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and illustrated by Tom de Freston
When Harry’s big sister Frankie dies, his world shatters – until a baby raven arrives and changes everything. An enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark, this is a deluxe hardback with dazzling purple and black illustrations, the perfect heart-warming gift for readers of 9 and upwards.
Harry didn’t even like Frankie that much. But he really did LOVE her.
Looking after the ravens that live in the tree outside Frankie’s window makes Harry feel connected to her – makes him feel less as if he’s being sucked into a black hole. And when the big storm comes, Harry’s holding on to survival and hope for the sake of an orphaned baby raven…
An immersive story of sibling love, nature and hope, brought to life with fantastic illustrations by Tom de Freston. (Credit: Hachette’s Children’s Group)
Things I Took From the Dark: The Museum of Me by Reece Shearsmith
For decades, Reece Shearsmith has been collecting terrible and unexpected exhibits from our world and beyond, from the screaming skull of Glamis Castle to the Highgate vampire, via sea devils, the Krampus and a talking mongoose called Gef. Some of them he found, some of them found him, but they all reside here in his museum, carefully stored and waiting for their stories to be told.
Through the lens of these items, Reece tells his own story, from a terrifying nighttime visitation on a council estate in Hull, via haunted inns and uncanny creatures that hovered around the edges of the League of Gentlemen, to the benevolent teaspoon poltergeist of the Inside No. 9 tour. Beautifully illustrated throughout by the author, Things I Took from the Dark is a memoir like no other. You’ll come away knowing the author far better; but the exhibits are quite interested in you too…Set in January 1965, A House in Winter tells the story of the visit of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden to his sister’s home in Abbeyleix, Ireland, when they faced local opposition and IRA petrol bomb attacks that confined them, without electricity, for 48 fraught hours. (Credit: Quercus Publishing)
A Box Full of Murders: The Puzzle Book by Janice Hallett
The first puzzle book from bestselling author Janice Hallett, featuring a new A Box Full of Murders mystery. Perfect for fans of Murdle Jnr and Cluedle.
Join super sleuth siblings Luke and Ava as they find themselves tangled up in a new mystery – but this time YOU’RE on the case!
From mazes and crosswords to code cracking and sudokus, this puzzle book will put your detective skills to the ultimate test. You will need to unearth clues, decipher top secret messages, and stop a crime before it’s too late…
YOU know the facts. YOU have all the clues. Can YOU solve the puzzles and crack the case?
Featuring 100+ puzzles, this is the perfect activity book for budding detectives aged 8-12. (Credit: Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
Return of the Bookseller Diarist by Shaun Bythell
After a four-year absence, the Sunday Times bestselling and original bookshop diarist is back.
The Bookshop in Wigtown is a bookworm’s paradise: the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland, with over a mile of shelving, 100,000 books and a log fire. You’d think that after twenty-five years behind the counter, owner Shaun Bythell would be used to the customers by now. Don’t get him wrong – there are some good ones among the antiquarian porn-hunters, mystics, drifters on day-release and the toddlers (and dogs) just looking for a nice cosy corner in which to empty their bladders. He’s sure there are. There must be, right? But now, in his latest diary, Shaun is gamekeeper turned poacher as he prepares to launch his own book into the world. It’s going to be global publishing domination from here on in. Just don’t mention the pandemic. (Credit: Putman Publishing)
Murder Most Proper by Josie Lloyd
Alice Beeton runs a tight ship. Like her distant relative – the somewhat more famous Mrs Beeton – she believes there should be a place for everything, but she’s not so sure she’s in her place.
Since a whirlwind romance with a billionaire swept her best friend, Jinx, off her feet and out of the city, Alice has been running the Good Household Management Agency by herself, supplying discreet domestic staff to the hyper-wealthy. Business has been booming lately, but more work brings even more problems.
So when Jinx invites her to her new beau’s country house, Alice jumps at the chance. But when a guest is attacked and priceless heirlooms stolen, Alice’s plans for a quiet weekend reading one of her beloved mystery novels take a much darker turn.
Along with her astute canine companion, Agatha, Miss Beeton is going to find out that some crimes are best solved by the book. (Credit: HarperCollins)
The Dark by Amanda Mason
When the lights go out
You can lose sight of what is real . . .
It is the 1970s. A young woman, Rosie, moves to a small remote seaside village, readying to welcome her first child. But with her partner working away on an oil rig, the house isn’t the sanctuary she’d hoped for – the situation made worse by the regular blackouts due to the ongoing miners’ strikes. And the villagers seem friendly enough, but some of them are taking an uncomfortably close interest in her pregnancy.
Before long, Rosie notices strange noises and unexplained shadows in the corners of the cottage. As her birth date moves closer and the blackouts intensify, her isolation begins to consume her until she feels that she is losing her grip on reality. (Credit: Bonnier Books)
Fear: Twisted Tales from Ireland’s Leading Women Crime Writers edited by Sam Blake and CL Murphy
Expected Publishing Date: October 15
Thirty-two Irish female crime authors come together to explore some of life’s greatest fears in an anthology of original stories teeming with terror.
Edited by crime authors Sam Blake and C.L. Murphy, and including a foreword by Emmett J. Scanlan, this collection explores a pulse-quickening spectrum of the fears that keep us awake at night – from dolls, clowns and ghosts, to fi re, heights and doors in hidden rooms. Here you’ll find tales of being buried alive, being forgotten, of loss and betrayal – and more.
Full of thrilling twists and chilling reveals, Fear will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. (Credit: Hachette Books Ireland)
The Wild Road Home: Fifteen National Parks, One Remarkable Adventure by Simon Parker
Expected Publishing Date: October 15
Outdoor enthusiast, cyclist and acclaimed travel writer Simon Parker was restless for a new adventure, but with a small baby his explorations needed to begin at home. He decided to cycle through all 15 of the UK’s national parks in the anniversary year of the first one’s founding, the Peak District. This became a life-changing journey through a landscape, and nation, in flux.
While each of the national parks offered beauty and surprises, all of them revealed the challenges of making space for nature on an overpopulated island. His days within the parks, from Dartmoor to Cairngorms, via the Yorkshire Dales and The Broads, could be idyllic or enraging. He explored wild and remote moors and mountain tops but also got stuck in plenty of holiday traffic. He developed an injury, walked where the bike wouldn’t go, accepted pints and campsite pitches, and talked to everyone he met.
From campers, conservationists, walkers, landowners, farmers, small business owners, commoners, pony lovers, newcomers, tourists, birders and artists – everyone is seeking something different from the hills, dales and waters of the UK. Yet all share the urge for space, fresh air, beauty and the humbled humanity it brings. This is a page-turning, revealing perspective of the British and the wild-ish landscapes they love. (Credit: Duckworth Publishing)
Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit: as told to Nick Park
Expected Publishing Date: October 22
Yes. I’m a dog. And you’re reading a book written by a dog.
Which of us is the odder? I guess we’ll just have to get used to it.
Now, this is supposed to be Wallace’s story. And maybe, at some point, he’ll finish building the machine he was going to write this book with. Currently he’s stood on top of the dining table and wondering why he fitted a typewriter with wheels and a flame-thrower (we made an agreement for new inventions – there’s even a list on the fridge, and ‘No Flame-Throwers’ is at Number 3).
Until then, this is my story. The tale of what goes on behind my eyes. And I really do know where all the bones are buried. So. I guess it’s time I spoke. (Credit: Ebury Publishing)
The Teller of Tall Tales by Liz Hyder and illustrated by Tom de Freston
Expected Publishing Date: October 22
You haven’t seen Oma in years. Mum and Dad have kept your grandmother away, scared of something that happened when you were too young to remember. So what’s made them change their minds?
Once a month, you’re allowed to visit Oma at her remote cabin that feels like a dream. And once a month, she tells you a tale that transports you to a different world. To a land of possibilities – of dragons and giants, gods and monsters, of wild quests and strange adventures. Yet she refuses to share the most mysterious tale of all – the reason she has been absent from your life for so long.
As your world fractures under pressures from home and at school, could Oma’s secret be the key to unlock everything? (Credit: Pushkin Press)
The Corpse on the Bristol Train by Edward Marston
Expected Publishing Date: October 22
On the last train of the day London Paddington to Bristol, a young woman drifts into what appears to be a peaceful sleep – only to be discovered dead on arrival. With no sign of violence and no clue to her identity, the case threatens scandal for the Great Western Railway. Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming are sent to uncover the truth behind the silent corpse. All witnesses agree on one detail: she travelled with a devoted husband who vanished into the night. As the trail leads through railway stations, theatres and dark deception, Colbeck must expose a killer who hides behind superficial charm. (Credit: Allison & Busby)
The Case of the Christmas Kitten: Classic Tales of Feline Crime
Expected Publication Date: October 22
A trail of pawprints vanishes under falling snow. A pair of eyes glints in the darkness outside. Something brushes past your leg … but your beloved pet is nowhere to be seen.
Curl up by the fireside and settle in for another set of festive cat-themed detective stories, from the greatest writers of the genre. A perfect stocking-filler that will mystify and delight long after the last turkey drumstick has mysteriously disappeared, The Case of the Christmas Kitten is essential reading for the Christmas holidays.
So ask yourself: are you feline murderous? (Credit: Profile Books)
Flarestorm by Moira Buffini
Expected Publication Date: October 22
LOVE. POWER. REVOLUTION . . .
The uprising has begun.
But while their fellow rebels are marching on the Capital, Elsa and Kaira are buried deep underground, trying to attempt an impossible escape. Petra is flying over uncharted land, and Rye is being forced to track her down.
With life, love, and the future of Brightland hanging in the balance, the stakes are higher than ever. And when Elsa and Rye find themselves reunited once more, can their love withstand everything that has come between them? (Credit: Faber & Faber)
The Jingle Bell Murders by Alexandra Benedict
Expected Publication Date: October 22
Brooke Parkin is back for another school year at Wood Dean secondary and this term, auditions are well underway for the festive Christmas play. But when a series of murders seemed to be linked to the very play itself, can Brooke and the neuro-divergent club get to the bottom of another mystery? With clues and puzzles along the way offfering a really interactive reading experience. (Credit: Simon & Schuster Ltd)
The Shadows of Kensington Gore by Ross Montgomery
Expected Publication Date: October 22
London, 1911. Coronation fever. Suffragette unrest. A city crackling with tension.
When a policeman is found brutally murdered on the streets of Kensington, blame falls on the three women seen fleeing the scene.
Their sole witness? Stephen Pike: ex-borstal boy, under-butler extraordinaire and assistant to the most unconventional detective in London, Miss Decima Stockingham. Sharp-tongued, fearless and bored of behaving herself, she’s the only one able to see that this case is not what it seems.
Aided by an invisible network of maids – their eyes and ears in every house in London – this unlikely duo must catch the killer before time runs out. But in a city dazzled by ceremony and divided by change, you never know what might be lurking in the shadows… (Credit: (Penguin Books)
Murder on the Royal Crescent by Harriet F. Townson
Expected Publication Date: October 29
On a frosty day in December 1936, librarian and part-time detective Dora Wildwood is summoned to Bath. She has no idea what will unfold but she is glad to go; recent events have left her longing to disappear.
Arriving on the world-famous Royal Crescent, Dora quickly learns of Daisy Palmer, whose unsolved murder looms large over the Georgian city. Daisy’s fiancé, Lord Frank Meroe, lives on as an eccentric recluse, his house full of clutter and abandoned treasures, as labyrinthine as it is magnificent.
Then, on the twentieth anniversary of Daisy’s death, murder is committed once more. As Christmas trees are lit and carol singers gather, Dora is drawn into a tangle of feuding families, suspicious antiquarian dealings and a conspicuous silence from everyone involved. For in the city of Jane Austen, loyalties run deep… and dangerously so. (Credit: Penguin Books)
Irish Words for Every Occasion: Conversations in Irish for Everyday of Your Life by Hector Ó hEochagáin
Expected Publication Date: October 29
IRELAND’S FAVOURITE GAEILGEOIR EMPOWERS YOU TO SPEAK IRISH EVERY DAY IN THE THIRD BOOK IN HIS TRILOGY
Have you ever wanted to order a round at your local — as Gaeilge? Or use your Irish when you want to ask someone out at work, call in sick, when you aren’t happy with your meal, when you have to stand up in front of a group of people at work and introduce yourself for the very first time? Well now you can with the help of everyone’s favourite gaeilgeoir, Hector O’hEochagáin and his Irish Words for Every Occasion.
This fantastic new book completes the award-winning and bestselling trilogy. The first two books armed you with the words. Now, it’s time to put those beautiful words together. Now it’s time to talk.
This book is about making the leap, trusting yourself to speak, to connect, and to bring Irish into the small, everyday conversations we all know so well. From the workplace to the pub, from awkward moments to great craic, Hector shows you how to turn words into real-life chat. All in our own beautiful language. It’s time to reclaim your inheritance — and start talking. (Credit: Gill)
Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery edited by Martin Edwards and Lucy Rowland
Expected Publication Date: October 30
Agatha Christie is the undisputed Queen of Crime; her popularity has remained undiminished since her death 50 years ago. Granted unprecedented access to the Christie Archive, and drawing on the perspectives, experiences and knowledge of a cast of characters from stage, screen and theatre production, writers of crime fiction and Christie experts, this book presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to delve into the author’s life and work.
From the houses in which she lived to her friends and family, her work in a dispensary in the First World War to her travels in the Middle East, and from real-life events to famous literary icons, the book and the exhibition it accompanies will provide an eclectic tour of Christie’s influences to reveal what inspired her and how she, in turn, inspired a literary movement.
Comprehensively illustrated throughout, the book will include images of first editions of the novels, original notebooks, scripts, and letters to publishers and agents; family photographs, and personal objects such as her typewriter, passports and travel itineraries. Notable contributors include Lucy Foley, Kate Mosse, G T Karber, John Curran, Zoe Wannamaker, Brian Fenty and Caroline Crampton. (Credit: British Library Publishing)
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