Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Michael Joseph, £20)
The bestselling YA author’s first novel for adults has an intriguing premise: thanks to the combination of a blow to the head by an unseen assailant and a pre-existing medical condition, Jet Mason has a week to solve her own murder before a fatal aneurysm rupture. Jet, who comes across as rather younger than her 27 years, has retreated back to the dysfunctional bosom of her wealthy Vermont family after dropping out of law school; she disagrees with the police department’s choice of culprit and conducts her own investigation with the aid of childhood friend Billy. As Jet’s neighbours, family and the construction business from which the Masons derive their money come under the microscope, secrets and cover-ups are revealed, and it starts to look as if the killer may be very close to home … A propulsive plot, where the pathos is fuel for real suspense, makes this perfect holiday fare – a genuine page-turner for YA and adult readers alike.
Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson (Faber, £18.99)
Set in Massachusetts, this is a mystery told in reverse order. We know from the first sentence that Wendy is planning to kill her husband Thom, after discovering that he is writing a novel that threatens to expose their darkest secret. It’s the last straw: Thom, who is not only sexually incontinent but increasingly prone to getting blackout drunk, has become not only a disappointment but a liability. The narrative, which forms a kind of moral balance sheet, switches between his point of view and Wendy’s as it takes us back through almost three decades of marriage, and finally to 1982, when they first met as teenagers on a school trip to Washington DC. It’s cleverly done, with seemingly insignificant details emerging in a consequential light once we have knowledge of what happened earlier in the chronology of the pair’s lives. Swanson fills in all the puzzle parts meticulously, for a complete picture.
