Soltalk February 2020 | Page 47

BookTalk floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets right to the bottom of the shaft. It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But it happens again on Tuesday in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos. Clearly, this is anything but random... endless frozen night; the other, nothing but burning sun. Only in a slim twilit region can life survive. In an isolationist Britain, Ellen receives a letter from a dying man. It contains a powerful and dangerous secret. One that those in power will kill to conceal. This is being spoken of as a high-concept, utterly original, debut future-shock thriller which envisages a world on the edge of catastrophe. The Guest List (l), by Lucy Foley, is the brand new thriller from the Sunday Times (UK newspaper) bestselling author of The Hunting Party. Guests are called to a remote island off the Irish coast to celebrate the wedding of the year, the marriage of Jules and Will. Everything has been meticulously planned, the scene is set, old friends are back together. It should be the perfect day. Until the discovery of a body signals the perfect murder. A groom with a secret. A bridesmaid with a grudge. A plus one with motive. A best man with a past. It could be any, it could be all. But one guest will not make it out alive. The Last Day (l), by Andrew Hunter Murray, features a world half in darkness, and a secret Ellen Hopper must bring to light. It is 2059. The world has stopped turning. One half suffers an The Snakes (p), by Sadie Jones, centres on recently married Bea and Dan. To escape London, UK, for a few precious months, they drive through France and visit Bea’s dropout brother Alex at the hotel he runs in Burgundy. Disturbingly, they find him all alone and the ramshackle hotel deserted, apart from the nest of snakes in the attic. When Alex and Bea’s parents make a surprise visit, Dan cannot understand why Bea is so appalled; Liv and Griff Adamson are charming, and very rich. Maybe Bea is ashamed of him, or maybe she regrets the secrets she has been keeping. Tragedy strikes suddenly, brutally, and in its aftermath the family is stripped back to its rotten core, and now neither Bea nor Alex can escape. Key: (p) paperback (l) hardback/large paperback depending on availability. 4 5 4 5