Everything I Read in April 2024
Crime scene cleaners, conspiracy theories, city squalor, eating disorders and stranger danger
Welcome to another month of misery and murder with your old pal Al. At the time of writing, today marks exactly a year and a day since my horrible little book was unleashed upon unsuspecting UK readers in a tidal wave of lime green, neon pink and snail emojis. I finally handed in a draft of my second novel, so this has been a month of reading and relaxing – two things I excel at. Here’s everything I read in April, and I hope you find something that takes your fancy.
Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker (07/01, Hodder)
I smashed through Bat Eater – a horror novel about a crime scene cleaner in NYC during the early days of the pandemic. Shocking, visceral and haunted by more than ghosts, it’s a book about trauma, rage, grief, racism, and COVID paranoia. Bat Eater will swoop in like a bat out of hell, swallow you whole and leave no crumbs. My jaw? On the floor. It’s too early to preorder this one, but I’ll remind you.
Day One by Abigail Dean (out now, HarperCollins)
A small Lake District community is torn apart by the unthinkable: an armed man enters a primary school assembly and opens fire. Exploring the surge of internet conspiracy theorists in the wake of disaster, Day One is a compassionate, thought-provoking examination of tragedy, with the propulsive plot of a psychological thriller.
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (11/07, Footnote)
A sordid Moshfeghian gem about a wealthy Palestinian woman obsessed with both personal hygiene and status as she tries to build a new life for herself in NYC. My Year of Rest and Relaxation meets The Vegetarian, it explores class, culture, and the human condition; what it is to unravel – wildly, recklessly – in private while keeping up appearances in public; and how unresolved trauma always finds a way to eclipse the present. I hope this is the book of the summer.
Dead Weight by Emmeline Clein (out now, Picador)
I raced through this meticulously researched essay collection about disordered eating. From pop culture and niche internet communities to the corporate greed of Big Diet, Dead Weight examines the spectrum of ED through so many different lenses: medical, historical, personal, political. Written with such compassion, it’s essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about the insidious reach of fatphobia, diet culture and the normalisation of disordered eating.
Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán tr. Sophie Hughes (06/06, 4 th Estate)
A white-knuckle ride that kept me gripped from the very first page, this is a nail-biting confessional: behind a locked door, a woman shares the circumstances that led to the death of a child in her care. Clean digs into the unwelcome intimacy of domestic work, exploring class, power and stranger-danger in the home, reminiscent of Lullaby by Leïla Slimani or Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. As transgressions between employer and employee mount, boundaries fray and tensions simmer until the inevitable – fatal – conclusion. I hardly paused for breath.
News…
Death of a Bookseller has been shortlisted for Debut Book of the Year at Capital Crime’s Fingerprint Awards! The final winner is determined by reader vote, so please consider voting for your old pal here.
Death of a Bookseller has also been shortlisted for CrimeFest’s Specsavers Best Debut Crime Novel 2023 which I think is pretty neat.
Upcoming events…
In conversation with Eliza Clark
Waterstones Piccadilly, 6.30pm, Thursday May 16th
Buzzing to chat to the author of Boy Parts and Penance about all things true crime, writing horrible characters and the underbelly of the internet.
An evening with Kaliane Bradley
The West Kirby Bookshop, 7pm, Monday May 20th
So excited to return to my favourite indie bookshop to interview the brilliant Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time. It’s such a banger, and this event is going to be so much fun!
Characterisation Workshop with Writers’ HQ
Online, 7pm Monday June 3rd
How can we make our characters three-dimensional, memorable and believable? Find out in this chatty little online workshop.
Find out about joining Writers’ HQ
‘Women Behaving Badly’ with Amy Twigg and Aimée Walsh
Waterstones Trafalgar Square, 7pm, Wednesday June 5th
This is going to be a great little debut panel with Amy, author of girlie cult nightmare Spoilt Creatures and Aimée, author of the gut-wrenching Exile. I loved both books, and I can’t wait to hang out with the authors.
ffs, I want to read all of them.