Jeffrey Archer
Sons Of Fortune

In the late 1940s in Connecticut, a set of twins is parted at birth. Nat Cartwright goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and insurance salesman; but his brother begins life as Fletcher Andrew Davenport, the only son of a multi-millionaire. During the years that follow, the two brothers grow up unaware of each other's existence. Nat returns a war hero from Vietnam, while Fletcher is elected a senator. Even when both men fall in love with the same girl they still don't meet. That is, until one has to defend the other for a murder he did not commit.

Patricia Cornwell
Blow Fly

Kay Scarpetta's work as Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner has come to an end. Fearing that she is about to be fired by the governor, and hounded in the media for what some claimed was her involvement in the murder of a deputy police chief, Scarpetta packs up her belongings and sets out for the warmth and solace of the Florida sun. However, settling into a new life as a private forensic consultant, Scarpetta is soon deep into a case that has left colleagues in Louisiana profoundly disturbed.

Rose Tremain
The Colour

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, along with Joseph's mother Lilian, emigrate from Norfolk in search of new beginnings and prosperity. But the harsh land near Christchurch where they settle threatens to destroy them almost before they begin. When Joseph finds gold in the creek, he guiltily hides the discovery from his wife and mother. However, this taste of possible riches to come begins a rapturous obsession with 'the colour'.

• Fabulous historical novel set against the background of the gold rush in New Zealand in the mid-19th century. `The colour' is miners' slang for gold.