Exploring this month’s literary landscape unveils a variety of intriguing narratives: from an interloper poised to unveil the clandestine affairs of a prestigious institution, to a lone parent receiving a mysterious text from her ostensibly deceased companion, and an inadvertent IT glitch granting unfettered access to an entire department’s electronic correspondence and private messages.
WHEN WE WERE SILENT
BY FIONA MCPHILIPS
Louise Manson is a new student at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school for those with high social status.
Unlike most other students, Louise does not come from a privileged background and is only able to attend the elite school through a scholarship. Louise’s attempts to expose the school’s secrets are brought to a halt when a body is discovered. Thirty years later, Louise gets a phone call from a lawyer who needs Lou to testify in a lawsuit against the school.
JOE NUTHIN’S GUIDE TO LIFE
BY HELEN FISHER
Joe-Nathan is a man of routine and likes having everything properly in place.
He also prefers to keep the two parts of his name separate. His co-worker at the local supermarket, however, often calls him Joe-Nuthin.
A constant presence in his life, Joe’s mother has written two notebooks for him, filled with advice to help him navigate the confusing world around him. When Joe is forced to step out of his comfort zone, he turns to his mother’s words of wisdom and learns to start becoming independent.
THE PARADISE PROBLEM
BY CHRISTINA LAUREN
Anna and Liam’s marriage is one of convenience and mutual benefits – it gives them access to cheap housing and lets them save money while in college. After graduating, Anna signs the divorce papers and the two go their separate ways. A few years later, Anna is a struggling artist while Liam is a Standford professor and heir of a grocery chain. When Liam shows up, Anna learns their divorce was never finalised but this also presents them a big opportunity.
By simply pretending to be a happily married couple, the two could just get their hands on massive inheritance.
I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL
BY NATALIE SUE
As someone who hates her job and colleagues, Jolene copes with her stress by secretly including hateful messages in her emails and changing the text colour to white.
When Jolene gets caught, she’s forced to undergo training with the new HR employee Cliff to mend her ways while her computer is set up to monitor her activities.
Due to an IT mix-up, Jolene now has access to the entire department’s emails and DM.
With every single message laid out before her, Jolene takes the opportunity to salvage her career and prove her worth as an employee.
YOU LIKE IT DARKER
BY STEPHEN KING
A collection of 12 stories, with a mix of new and previously published.
The five new stories feature a long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills; a sudden psychic flash and its impact on numerous lives; a widower who travels to Florida and receives an unexpected inheritance under significant conditions; a veteran who answers a job ad and learns some corners of the universe are best left unexplored; and the dual nature of prescience, a reminder that a life of tragedy can still be meaningful.
THE FIVE YEAR LIE
BY SARINA BOWN
Ariel receives a text message in the middle of a meeting, urgently asking to meet her.
The sender is Drew – the father of her child and is supposedly dead since she last saw him five years ago.
When she arrives, nobody shows up. With a colleague’s help, Ariel begins investigating Drew’s disappearance and discovers fraudulent activities at her family’s company.
ONE PERFECT COUPLE
BY RUTH WARE
Five couples sign up for a reality TV show where they film on a remote island and compete for a cash prize. For Lyla, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for her boyfriend Nico to launch his acting career. When a storm hits and cuts them off from the outside world, the cast finds themselves stranded and is forced to fend for themselves.
LIES AND WEDDINGS
BY KEVIN KWAN
Behind the magazine covers and glamorous lifestyle of the Greshams shown on social media is a mountain of debt. To save the family estate, Rufus’s mother urges him to attend his sister’s wedding and find himself a wealthy woman amidst the gathering of the rich and powerful. Rufus, however, has no interest in settling down with someone just to solve his family’s financial problems. Instead, he wishes to pursue his childhood crush despite his mother’s disapproval. – Aqilah Rahman
