John Grisham
The Appeal

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst 'cancer cluster' in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote? The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about the electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

Sandra Howard  
Ursula's Story

Ursula's ex-husband William is to marry a government minister, and the Prime Minister and half the Cabinet are to be among the guests. Ursula, herself embarked on a shaky new relationship with Julian, a local antiquarian bookseller, sees how hard their II-year-old daughter Jessie has taken the break-up. Julian himself is hard to read, his absences from their lives ever more prolonged and unexplained. And are Jessie's defences strong enough to protect her, when a threat to her life catches Ursula completely off-guard?

Sue Gee
Reading in Bed

Friends since university, with busy working lives now behind them, Dido and Georgia have long been looking forward to books and outings, conversation and carefree days. Alas, life is rarely as one wishes it to be. Dido, for the first time, has cause to question her marriage; widowed Georgia is certain her husband will return to her. Meanwhile, an eccentric country cousin goes wildly off the rails, children are unhappy in love, and perfect health is in question. With so much at stake even this old friendship comes under strain. As hatches are battened down and silence falls, it takes all their loyalty and humour to recover the easy confiding intimacy of the past.