Death In Avignon

Serena Kent, Orion, £8.99

If you’re after a cocktail of glamour, intrigue and mystery then this is the tipple for you.

When Penelope Kite goes to a gallery opening on the arm of the mayor of St Merlot, her dream life in Provence looks made.

But all is not what it seems and shockwaves ripple when controversial painter, Roland Doncaster, chokes on an almond-stuffed olive. Was it an accident or was he poisoned?

City Of Girls

Elizabeth Gilbert, Bloomsbury, £16.99

Gilbert is, arguably, best known for her hit memoir Eat Pray Love – turned into a blockbuster movie in 2010 starring Julia Roberts.

We’re in for a treat with this latest offering.

Billed as a glittering coming-of-age epic set in 1940s New York it features young seamstress Vivian, who arrives with only a suitcase and a sewing machine to find work in a disreputable theatre.

The Unlikely Adventures Of The Shergill Sisters

Balli Kaur Jaswal, Harper Fiction, £14.99

Jaswal penned Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.

Now the British author is following her acclaimed US debut with this family drama. Three Punjabi sisters head off on a pilgrimage to lay their mother to rest, uncovering long-held secrets along the way.

After The End

Clare Mackintosh, Sphere, £12.99

Mackintosh had a hat-trick of picks in the Richard & Judy Book Club. But After The End breaks the mould and sees her venturing into different territory.

A breathtaking and powerful story, it pitches the reader into the world of Max and Pip, who are both parents and a particularly strong couple. But they are faced with the decision of their lives, and they can’t agree on what to do. Riveting.

On audio

The Angry Sea

James Deegan, HarperCollins, £ 14.99

The second action thriller from ex-SAS soldier-turned-author Deegan should make for gripping listening given the writer’s pretty-much unparalleled experience among writers of the genre.

Deegan, who previously penned the well-received Once A Pilgrim, has 22 years’ operational experience under his belt in both the Parachute Regiment and the SAS, so he packs plenty of punch in the authenticity stakes. His latest offering follows ex-SAS officer John Carr who now works in private security.

He is on a beach with his family on Spain’s Costa Del Sol when terrorists launch an horrific attack.

They not only wreak havoc and destruction but kidnap the British Prime Minister’s daughter – with Carr in pursuit through Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

Wee Review

Malamander

Thomas Taylor, Walker, £6.99

Harry Potter fans, hold on to your capes. This author – best known as an illustrator – rather famously created the original jacket for the Philosopher’s Stone.

Now he is turning his hand to writing with equal aplomb. Malamander is the first in a trilogy set in Eerie-on-Sea where strange stories seem to wash up and where, below the waves, some say a monstrous, scaly creature lurks. This deliciously atmospheric book brims with myth and legend.