Top Picks From the Transworld January-June 2016 Catalogue

As the year draws to a close it announces a bumper period for showcases, where publishers present some of their most anticipated upcoming releases to the media and bloggers. After the Walker Books showcase last month, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Transworld one this month and I'm delighted to share my top picks from their January-June 2016 catalogue below.

The Widow by Fiona Barton (14 January 2016) – This psychological thriller has been ALL over my Twitter feed in recent months thanks to the excellent publicity campaign and I for one am super intrigued. This debut focuses on the wife of an accused killer and the aftermath of his death. Was he really as innocent as she believed him to be, or did she not know her husband at all?

Wickham Hall by Cathy Bramley (14 January 2016) – If you've ever visited this blog before you know I love Cathy's fab novels ever since I read her debut Conditional Love, and so of course I am stoked about the new full paperback release next year (the fourth part of this novel is released this week in digital format if you can't wait that long!). I am actually reading it right now and I'm about mid-way through and dare I say it's Cathy's best yet?!


The Ballroom by Anna Hope (11 February 2016) – Anna shot to literary fame last year with her debut novel Wake (which, shamefully, I have not yet read). And when I spotted the STUNNING proof cover of her second book (the black and white novel pictured above) at the event I was instantly sold. And that was even before the incredible reading she did at the Transworld showcase, revealing the extraordinary location of the titular ballroom; inside an asylum in the early 1900s.

The Finding of Martha Lost by Caroline Wallace (10 March 2016) – This one has such a striking cover as well and I love the sound of the quirky story and main character, a girl who was abandoned in a suitcase on a train from Paris and has been waiting for someone to 'find' her at the lost property in the station ever since. It sounds like The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick meets Lost & Found by Brooke Davis and I can't wait to dig in.


Five Rivers Met on a Wooden Plain by Barney Norris (21 April 2016) – This novel caught my eye because it is written by playwright Barney Norris, and as a theatre geek I am very keen to see how his experience in this field influences the writing within his novel. The story sounds incredibly intriguing too, focusing on five different lives colliding amid a car crash in Salisbury.

Martini Henri by Sara Crowe (16 June 2016) – Sarah is not only a well-known actress and comedienne, but she also rose to writing fame with her first novel Campari for Breakfast (another one I have yet to read, shame on me!). Even though Martini Henri is a follow-up to her debut, it can be read as a stand-alone as well and Sarah's reading at the showcase had me in stitches, it was so hilarious!

And those are my top picks from the Transworld January-June 2016 showcase! Even thought I highlighted just six of the upcoming titles, I recommend you keep an eye on their entire 2016 catalogue because each and every one of the books presented on the night by the Transworld team and the authors sounded absolutely brilliant.

What new novels are you looking forward to reading in 2016 (Transworld or otherwise)? Leave your recommendations in the comments below as I'd love to check them out!