PLATINUM EXPERT Adele Parks MBE
AGREATREAD
Bestselling author and MBE Adele Parks shares her picks of the month, including a page-turning thriller, a poignant and moving insight into Japanese culture, and the tale of a mother’s undying love.
Adele Parks MBE is the author of twenty-three bestselling novels, including her latest release Just Between Us. She writes compelling, twisty psychological thrillers that are popular all over the world. Adele has sold 4.75 million books in the UK and is translated into over 30 languages. She is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and is a proud ambassador of The National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency. Keep in touch with her via Twitter @adeleparks and at instagram.com/adele_parks.
THE LIBRARY OF HEARTBEATS
by Laura Imai Messina (£16.99, Manilla Press)
On the peaceful Japanese island of Teshima there is an unusual library, a place where the heartbeats of visitors from all around the world are collected. In this small, isolated building, the heartbeats of people who are still alive or have already passed away continue to echo. Readers, this is a real place and I plan to go there because it sounds extraordinary! The international bestselling author Laura Imai Messina has written a beautiful, poignant novel about this extraordinary concept.
Several miles away from the library where heartbeats are collected, in the ancient city of Kamakura, two lonely souls meet: Shuichi, a forty-year-old illustrator, who has returned to his hometown to fix up the house of his recently deceased mother; and eight-year-old Kenta, a child who wanders like a shadow around Shuichi’s house. Slowly, one day at a time, the trust and empathy between Shuichi and Kenta grows, until eventually they discover they share an incredible bond that will tie them together for life. Ultimately, their journey leads them to Teshima and to the library of heartbeats. An incredibly moving and soothing novel that gives insight into Japanese culture and highlights what we all have in common, a thirst for connection.
MURDER BY CANDLELIGHT
by Faith Martin (£16.99, HarperCollins)
Set in the beautiful Cotswolds, in 1924, the classic Golden Age of murder mysteries, this charming and intriguing mystery had me hooked from the beginning. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, the lady of the house is found dead. However, as all the windows and doors to her room are locked from inside the question is not only who killed he
