Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
This book follows a London group of 'friends' connected by music as they form a band in 1967 in London. It's a blast from the past with psychedelic moments crashing down to reality; the characters are very believable and amiable. It seems like an ordinary story of the everyday struggles of booking gigs, writing songs and playing at venues (in amazing detail) however as the story unfolds it clearly takes a different turn and we learn more and more about one of the characters and the coincidences that later have a huge impact on one of the other characters. I love books with an unexpected ending and this is definitely one of them!
Recommended by Ann Cochrane
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Phenomenal book, a natural history, coming of age, love story with a murder mystery at the heart of it all. Beautifully written.
Recommended by Alison Booth
What was lost by Catherine O'Flynn
The story of a young girly who lives with her dad and spends a lot of her time as an undercover detective with her toy monkey. Twenty years later she appears on a CCTV camera in a shopping centre. Mysterious and ghostly we begin to question what it means to lose something or someone.....
Recommended by Ann Cochrane
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Who hasn't thought about what they might be doing in another life, another universe?
Recommended by Alison Booth & Ailish Byrne