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12
Paperback Preview December
It’s a quiet time for paperbacks but there’s still a standout Book of the Month which will be devoured by fans of the horror and thriller genres
Alison Flood @alisonflood
D
ecember is traditionally very quiet in paperbacks and this year is no
different. Fiction paperback offerings are sparse as Christmas approaches—although there are some gems, like my fantastic Book of the Month, and the crime and thriller sector is still strong. The most action, as ever, is happening in the self-help category, as publishers look to target those wanting a fresh start in the New Year. I’ve picked out two titles, from Elizabeth Day (pictured) and Fearne Coton, as Ones to Watch, but there are many more on offer. I would like to highlight
in particular Head of Zeus’ celebration of its 10th anniver- sary, for which the publisher is reissuing special editions of 10 of its anthologies under new imprint Anthos, which will be dedicated to producing
Submissions Paperback Preview is a monthly summary of second-edition fiction and non-fiction paperbacks. Contact
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Next week
Book of the Month Dean’s first standalone is a captivating slice of horror
The most action, as ever, is happening in the self-help category, as publishers look to target those wanting a fresh start
Thriller Will Dean
The Last Thing to Burn Hodder Paperbacks, 9th, £8.99, 9781529307092
I have long enjoyed Will Dean’s excel- lent thrillers from Oneworld about the deaf Swedish reporter Tuva Moodyson. His first standalone thriller, The Last Thing to Burn, is on another level entirely, however: I was literally grit-
high-qualit anthologies. From The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries to The Time Traveller’s Almanac, the reissues look beautiful, with collectable cover designs, full-cover foil blocking and four-colour printed endpa- pers. They make a stunning set.
BookScan ratings accompanying titles are based on TCM sales (excludes e-book, export, direct, library and other sales) of the author’s most recent original work in a similar format with at least six months’ sales through Nielsen BookScan, using the notation left.
50,000+ 25,000+ 10,000+ 5,000+ 3,000+
The next edition of The Bookseller (1st October) will feature New Titles: Fiction covering titles released in January 2022.
TheBookseller.com 31
ting my teeth in panic and reading ridiculously quickly to find out how things were going to play out for his poor protagonist. Narrated by a young Vietnamese woman who is known as
Jane—although that’s the name given to her by the man who has held her captive in a small, remote cottage on a fenland farm for years—it is horrifically compulsive. It opens as the woman, whose real name is Thanh Dao, tries to escape across the endless fields, only to be recaptured, and told she will have to lose one more of the few possessions she has held onto. “My ID card. My photo of my parents. My sister’s precious letters. My book. My, my, my mine. Not his. Mine.” Slowly, Dean reveals how the layers which make Thanh Dao who she is have been worn away by her captor. I called it “one of the best thrillers I have read in years” in the
Observer. Marian Keyes described it as “Misery meets Room”, which is spot-on. “An early contender for one of the best books of the year,” said S Magazine. Honestly: press it on any thriller or horror lovers you know—they won’t be disappointed.
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