KINDIG GEMS FOR 2024
PART 1
2024 has been a brilliant year for new book releases! I have found some great GEMS this year, so lets explore them together:
THE FURY
ALEX MICHAELIDES
'There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island. One of us was a murderer...'
On a small private Greek island, former movie star Lana Farrar - an old friend - invites a select group of us to stay.
It'll be hot, sunny, perfect. A chance to relax and reconnect - and maybe for a few hidden truths to come out. Because nothing on this island is quite what it seems. Not Lana. Not her guests.
Certainly not the murderer - furiously plotting their crime . . .
Kindig says: 'A pacy read full of twists and turns - you won’t be able to put it down! Thank you to Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
NIGHTWATCHING
TRACY SIERRA
There was someone in the house.
Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. Then she hears a noise - old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it's the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs...
In that split second, she has three choices.
Should she hide? Should she run? Or should she fight?
Kindig says: 'A superbly crafted book – a thrilling debut and I’m excited to read another book by Tracy Sierra – certainly an author to watch! Thank you to Penguin – Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton and Viking for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
THE LAST MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD
STUART TURTON
Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.
Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony.
The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.
Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.
If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.
But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…
Kindig says: 'A fantastic sci-fi crime thriller, intelligently written and kept me hooked throughout. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing – Raven for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK and Waterstones.
ALIEN CLAY
ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
They travelled into the unknown and left themselves behind . . .
Professor Arton Daghdev has always wanted to study alien life in person. But when his political activism sees him exiled to the planet Kiln, condemned to work under an unfamiliar sky until he dies, his idealistic wish becomes a terrible reality.
Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem. Its monstrous alien life means Arton will risk death on a daily basis – if the camp’s oppressive regime doesn’t kill him first. But, if he survives, Kiln’s lost civilization holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it – and might just set him free.
Kindig says: ''Alien Clay was a 5 star read for me and has made me want to explore more of Tchaikovsky’s writing. Thank you to Pan Macmillan – Tor Books for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
SERVICE MODEL
ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY
Task List Item No. 1 – Become self-aware . . .
Meet Charles™, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner.
Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society utterly reliant on artificial labour and services. Fleeing the household, he enters a wider world he never knew existed. Here an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating into ruins, and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to its wellbeing is struggling to find a purpose.
Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He’s about to discover that sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?
Kindig says: ''Another triumph for Adrian Tchaikovsky – accessible sci-fi with humour at its heart. Thank you to Pan Macmillan – Tor Books for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy on Amazon UK or Waterstones.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publishers and the authors for allowing me to read their ARCs. Tune in next week for part 2 of my Kindig gems for 2024 & keep checking Kindig Blog for all the news on latest releases and upcoming bestsellers!
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