esseNTia Lis T | read it
The doll factory
BY eLiZABetH MACNeAL
(PiCAdOr)As the Great Exhibition is erected in
victorian London, two spectators
fleetingly meet – Iris, who dreams of
being an artist, and taxidermist Silas,
a collector of strange and beautiful
things. Iris soon forgets about the
encounter, caught up in a world of
modelling for Pre-Raphaelite artist
Louis Frost, who teaches her to paint professionally. But for
Silas, the meeting is the beginning of an obsession, one that
becomes increasingly more delusional. A tense, Gothic novel.Your Truth or mine?
BY t riSHA SAKHLeCHA
(PAN MACMiLLAN)Mia and Roy Kapoor’s seemingly
happy marriage is tested when Roy is
called into custody in connection with
the disappearance of a young woman,
Emily Barnett. Soon the couple begin
to question everything they thought
they knew about one another. What
really happened to Emily? Did Roy
commit a crime? And what secret from her past is Mia hiding?
As the life they shared together begins to unravel, the real truth
becomes more difficult to uncover. A gripping psychological
thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.a Cornish summer
BY CAtHeriNe ALLiOt
(PeNGUiN UK)Flora, an artist, has been persuaded by
her former father-in-law to paint his
portrait in Cornwall. Little does she know
that the country house is full of visitors,
including her ex-husband Hugo and his
second wife and children. Still not over
their break-up, Flora is unsure how she
will cope being in Hugo’s presence all
summer, let alone contend with her scheming ex mother-in-law and
the other dysfunctional house guests. Along with the commotion,
secrets are revealed that will affect not only the family but Flora’s
feelings about them too. A heart-warming tale.You Will Be safe here
BY dAMiAN BArr
(BLOOMSBUrY)In 1901, during the Second Boer War,
Sarah van der Watt and her son are
forcibly removed from their farm by
the English and taken to Bloemfontein
Concentration Camp. Over 100 years
later, quiet teenager Willem just wants
to be left alone with his books and his
dog, but is sent by his mother and her
boyfriend to New Dawn Safari Camp, where ‘men are made out of
boys’. Through the connecting narratives, Barr compassionately
compiled byhighlights the strength of the human spirit in the face of brutality.
Janine Jorgensen
photography
Supplied
In Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, Vianne Rocher
finally feels part of the community who once
rejected her when she opened her magical
chocolate shop many years ago. But when
the florist Narcisse dies, leaving some land
to Vianne’s mute daughter Rosette, as well
as a haunting confession to priest Francis
Reynaud, life in the sleepy French village is
turned into disarray. And with the arrival
of a mysterious tattooist, Morgane Dubois,
further conflict and deceit ensues. Another
evocative read by Harris, featuring the
characters of her novel Chocolat.ESSENTIALS
B ook of the mon th
tHe StrAWBerrY tHieF BY JOANNe HArriS
(OriON)‘A beautifully-
written, evocative
read, featuring
the characters
of Chocolat, that
will delight fans
of Harris’