Queenie returns in this month’s popular fiction: THE FRENCH SPYMISTRESS by Rachel
THE FRENCH SPYMISTRESS by Rachel Hore (Simon & Schuster £16.99, 448pp)
I’d never heard the heartstopping real-life story of wartime Resistance intelligence network Alliance and its brave and glamorous female leader. So thank goodness Hore has written a novel about them.
When her boss is arrested at the beginning of the Second World War, Marie-Louise takes over Alliance. She must deal with sexism, betrayal, intransigence, the Gestapo and, most dangerous of all, love as she battles to free her beloved nation.
Meanwhile, in Sussex, Sarah must get used to the funny French visitors arriving in the small hours at their manor house. A moving, timely and original take on what some women did, and sacrificed, in wartime.
Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is availble now
LET’S NOT GO OVERBOARD HERE by Erica Hendry (Grand Central Publishing £25, 320pp)
This American debut has aspects of a contemporary Death On The Nile.
A group of rich, glam British tech bros gather on a luxury yacht. One of them, Vish, has invited his Californian mate Mel, who narrates the action.
Mel is a lawyer grieving for her recently dead best friend, Ari, with whom she shared a passion for pop culture. Which might seem irrelevant but once things start going wrong on board – a female tech bro disappears, suspected dead – an in-depth knowledge of Taylor Swift and trash TV might just save the day.
I enjoyed this witty story but found the portrayal of the British a bit sobering. The tech bros are all exaggeratedly Sloaney and almost universally ghastly.
Queenie is working on it is available now from the Mail Bookshop
QUEENIE IS WORKING ON IT by Candice Carty-Williams (Trapeze £20, 432pp)
The long-awaited follow-up to the smash-hit Queenie has our larger-than-life South London girl still looking for love – while also trying to drink less, handle tricky work colleagues, be with her gang of devoted friends and have plenty of graphic sex with unsuitable men.
Bolstered by her warm, wise and supportive family, she faces the wedding from hell, plus daily challenges ranging from casual racism to fertility issues.
Can Queenie survive and mend fences not just with her mother but with Frank, the lost love of her life? This fabulous novel has humour, heart, honesty and a strong sense of place.