The Beauty of the Wolf by Wray Delaney
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, reversing the gender roles of the original fairytale. It will no doubt appeal to many with such topical themes such as gender, sexuality and body positivity.
In the age of the Faerie Queene, Elizabeth 1 a period of ruffles and lace, velvet and satins two newborn babes are cursed, one with beauty, one a beast.
But can beauty be a curse? Only if people can’t see past it to the real person: Beau, in this case, a lad. Meanwhile the beast, the girl, is locked away, out of sight.
An interesting take to suit today’s readership.
Pub. by HQ. hb £12.99/eBook/audio
Killing State by Judith O’Reilly
A pacey thriller published by Head of Zeus whose authors often come up with belters.
Michael North, assassin and spy for hire is good at killing bad ‘uns. But what if his boss, lurking in the shadows in post-Brexit British government, orders him to kill a good ‘un, and a women what’s more… He falters. Will he, won’t he?
But let’s get to the heart of the matter: why is she the target?
Honor Jones MP has started nosing about, asking leading questions, and we all know where that gets the good ‘uns…
So I ask again, what will North do? Lovely Frederick Forsyth thinks this author will stick around. So do I.
Pacey, gritty but empathetic. I like it. Bravo Judith O’Reilly.
pub Head of Zeus. hb £14.99
The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom
Another pacey offering.
A frantic rescue attempt deep behind enemy lines … Sheer adventure. Think Strike Back on the TV but without the bottoms heaving about the place, or Bravo Two Zero. But a different time, and a different place.
Valens a junior officer in the Roman Army joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission – to rescue the young Prince Sasan in the inaccessible Castle of Silence.
The junior office soon finds himself in charge and as he begins to suspect treason in the ranks it appears the mission is not so much one of rescue but suicide. Much like Sharpe in the first of Bernard Cornwell’s novels featuring Richard Sharpe he has to earn his men’s respect before he can do anything else. Pacey, interesting, visual.
Pub by Zaffre hb £12.99
Annie Clarke’s novel Girls on the Home Front (Arrow) is published 29th May.