Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson (Century, £20)
After working his way through a small army of co-authors, including Bill Clinton, James Patterson’s latest collaborator is none other than Dolly Parton, who draws on a lifetime’s experience of the country music scene for this distinctive rags-to-riches thriller. When tiny but determined wannabe singer-songwriter AnnieLee Keyes hitchhikes into Nashville (dirt roads, ol’ blue jeans and trucks abound), she’s not only seeking stardom but hoping to outrun her (fairly easily guessable) past. Befriended by Ethan Blake, a handsome army veteran turned musician, and Ruthanna Ryder, retired country legend and, one suspects, Parton’s mouthpiece, AnnieLee learns how to deal with predatory agents and managers and begins to climb the ladder to stardom. Although the mystery runs a distant second to the fascinating details of the country scene, in particular how it treats female artists, the likable trio will have you rooting for them all the way – and Parton has released an album of songs to accompany the book.
Reputation by Sarah Vaughan (Simon & Schuster, £14.99)
Vaughan’s timely and chilling new novel highlights how female politicians are not only judged more harshly than their male counterparts, but also receive vastly disproportionate amounts of online abuse. High-profile MP Emma Webster, who has launched a campaign to protect women from revenge porn, is the recipient of rage-fuelled messages from anonymous internet trolls as well as threats from an angry constituent who thinks she’s not doing enough to address his – equally legitimate – grievance. It isn’t only her own life that becomes more perilous as her star rises; her 14-year-old daughter, Flora, is being bullied and ostracised by her schoolmates. Flora is driven to retaliate with some cyberbullying of her own, the narrative threatens to get out of hand – and Emma finds herself on trial for murder. Vaughan never shies away from the moral complexities in this unsparing exploration of the pressures women face both in private and public life, while masterfully retaining the suspense right up to the last page.
Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura, translated by Marie Iida and Allison Markin Powell (John Murray, £16.99)
This kidnap-and-extortion story, first published in 1997 and now translated into English, is only half of a Japanese bestseller, with the concluding book due to be published in the autumn. Those who aren’t keen on delayed gratification may prefer to wait a while – or, since the first volume runs to a wrist-spraining 576 pages, may need to get reading right away. Sections focus on single characters in the all-male cast (the women, so far at least, are mere walk-ons). We begin with the five kidnappers – each of whom has a grudge against the giant Hinode beer company and its CEO, who is to be the kidnappee – and move on to the journalists who are covering the story, and the police (there’s a handy dramatis personae at the front in case you lose track). Challenging but rewarding, Lady Joker is a panoramic view of late 20th-century Japanese society, rife with social injustice and corporate corruption: a fascinating slow burn of a book, detailed, complex and immersive.
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson (Atlantic, £12.99)
In contrast to Takamura’s book, Wilson’s third novel is a short but perfectly formed Highsmithian morality tale. The unnamed narrator, a struggling fortysomething author, is at JFK waiting for a delayed flight when a chance encounter with a former classmate results in an invitation to the first-class lounge. There Jeff Cook, who has clearly done well for himself, recounts how, about 20 years earlier, the course of his life was changed when he rescued a drowning stranger from the Pacific ocean. When he later learned that the person he had saved was an important art dealer, Cook tracked him down, insinuating himself into his life. The dealer, a man of questionable morals, took Cook under his wing, and their fates became entwined … Wilson makes subtle, clever use of the framing device in this compact story of destiny, deception and plausibility.
Hot Water by Christopher Fowler (Titan, £8.99)
The author of the Bryant & May series turns his attention away from London for a darkly comic thriller about the English middle classes on holiday in the French Riviera. Married wine merchant Steve, in lust with the embarrassingly younger Summer, flies her out to a hired villa for some adulterous sexy-time a week before anyone else arrives. But his plans are stymied by his London work schedule, and Summer is left to her own devices. By the time Steve arrives, with his wife, teenage son and the other guests hard on his heels, she has disappeared, leaving only a trail of detritus. Hannah, the maid, who has hooked up with Summer the preceding week and become obsessed by her, is determined to uncover the truth, but things get increasingly complicated when a local child disappears and the police are involved. A pitch-perfect mix of mystery and social satire, expertly plotted and written with relish.
