MAY HIGHLIGHTS - JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS

MAY HIGHLIGHTS – JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS

May’s a busy month for us with three authors touring: we have the exciting and thrilling Deon Meyer with Thirteen Hours, the energetic and adventurous Braam Malherbe with The Great Run and the meticulous and astute Antony Altbeker with Fruit of a Poisoned Tree.

So Much For That, the extraordinary new novel, from the Orange Prize winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, is a deeply affecting tale told with Lionel Shriver's trademark originality, intelligence and acute perception of the human condition. The Hand that First Held Mine is a gorgeously written story of love and motherhood and a tour de force from one of our most acclaimed and best loved novelists, Maggie O’Farrell. Natasha Solomons, in her brilliant debut novel tells the heart warming story of a man desperate to be accepted by English society in Mr Rosenblum’s List.

Dear Husband is a gripping and moving new collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates, in which she re-imagines the meaning of family, by unexpected, often startling means. Sue Miller’s The Lake Shore Limited is a deeply felt exploration of the intricate workings of relationships: the things we try to hold onto, and the things we desperately want to let go of. Tawni O’Dell casts us under her narrative spell where characters and places are rendered with fragile tenderness in Fragile Beasts while Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love is a towering tale of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, superbly realised and beautifully written.

The Swimmer is a captivating novel about love, loss and what home really means by Roma Tearne; New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon in The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Anchee Min once again brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history in Pearl of China the sequel to the bestselling Empress Orchid. The Book of Human Skin is a bewitching, daring, darkly humorous story alive with historical detail from Michelle Lovric.

Imogen Robertson makes you want to read every word in Anatomy of Murder, the plot is serpentine and satisfying with enough false tales and distractions to create a genuine mystery. Elizabeth George's masterly new novel This Body of Death brings Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley back onto centre stage; while one day, one city, and twelve murders is the premise for the thrilling new novel from Colleen McCullough, Too Many Murders.

In Random by Craig Robertson Glasgow is being terrorised by a serial killer who has the police baffled and the media calling him The Cutter; Steve Berry’s The Paris Vendetta is international intrigue, indestructible heroes and conspiratorial action at its very best. Desire is a compulsive, edge-of-your-seat read combining glamour, thrills and dangerous passion from Louise Bagshawe.

The Dead-tossed Waves is Carrie Ryan's sensational new novel and reveals more of the secrets of the world first discovered in Forest of Hands and Teeth. Shadow Prowler is epic fantasy at its best and is the first in a trilogy by Alexey Pehov that follows professional thief Shadow Harold on his quest for a magic Horn that will restore peace to the kingdom of Siala.

Our non-fiction list opens with the stories of two immensely inspiring women; Oprah A Biography by award winning biographer Kitty Kelley is the much anticipated first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful and admired public figures of our times. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s memoir This Child Will Be Great is the story of an outspoken political and social reformer who, despite danger, fought the oppression of dictators and championed change.

Compiled and edited by John Clare, Captured in Time tells the story of South Africa’s turbulent history in a collection of extracts from the most illuminating, entertaining and significant works written about the country and its diverse people over almost five centuries. Telling Times, a collection of Nadine Gordimer’s writing from 1950 to 2008, is an important document of twentieth-century social and political history, told through the voice of one of its greatest literary figures.

In The Incredible Human Journey, Alice Roberts sets out to examine how early humans spread across our planet and were shaped by the range of environments they had to survive but, more importantly, discovers just how astonishingly closely related we all are, while Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett take you on a powerful inward journey which will explode the limiting paradigms that have kept you from experiencing unbridled fulfilment in The Journey: Consciousness The New Currency.

The bestselling author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, Mireille Guiliano, offers a long-awaited collection of delicious healthy recipes and advice on eating well without gaining weight in The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook.

And finally everything you need to know in the run up to the world’s biggest tournament and some things you didn’t know you needed to know can be found in Talksport’s Book of World Cup Banter. The Guide to the 2010 World Cup is the book all soccer fans will want beside them as millions begin limbering up for the World Cup Final here in South Africa – we can’t wait!