Books: 11 great reads for the lazy days of summer

As we reach high summer, it’s time to choose a romance, thriller or family saga to read during your downtime. 

Here are 11 to consider:

1. The Woman In Suite 11, by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster, out now)

A decade on, this gripping follow-up to the New York Times bestselling author’s The Woman In Cabin 10 - adapted for a Netflix series starring Keira Knightley - is set on the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva where a terrified woman is held in a suite belonging to the hotel’s billionaire owner.

It sees the return of journalist Lo Blacklock, now married with children, who is invited to the grand opening of the exclusive Swiss hotel, only to find herself being asked for help by the wife of the billionaire, who claims she is being held prisoner in her marriage.

2. Somewhere Only We Know, by Cathy Bramley (Orion, out now)

When Magnolia Jones finds her daughter’s travel journal, she can think of no better way to honour her life than setting off on the gap year trip that the 23-year-old had dreamed of taking.

Memories of a romantic summer in Bali soon come flooding back, along with an old flame.

3. Great Big Beautiful Life, by Emily Henry (Viking, out now)

The TikTok sensation and bestselling novelist whose books have sold over 10.5 million copies worldwide brings readers this terrific beach read about a journalist, Alice Scott, who tracks down former heiress and party girl Margaret Ives on a remote US island, keen to pen the reclusive star’s memoir. But when a rival journalist turns up, things get heated, professionally and personally.

4. A Particularly Nasty Case, by Adam Kay (Orion, Aug 28)

Anyone taking a late summer break who loved former junior doctor Adam Kay’s hilarious and heartbreaking memoir This Is Going To Hurt should bag a copy of his debut novel, described as ‘hilarious, macabre and heartrending in equal measure’.

It begins when a hospital consultant dies of a heart attack and his fellow doctor smells foul play.

But then another doctor dies in similar circumstances - and the investigation begins.

5. My Other Heart, by Emma Nanami Strenner (Hutchinson Heinemann, out now)

Female friendships form the heart of this coming-of-age story across continents and generations, from the journalist who has spent much of her life living in southeast Asia, Australia and the U.S.

Beginning in 1998, it sees Mimi Traung lose her toddler at Philadelphia Airport, after which she is bundled onto a plane back to Vietnam and it seems her daughter is lost to her forever.

Some 17 years later, she returns to look for her. Meanwhile, two best friends, both part Asian but from very different backgrounds, plan to travel to search for their roots.

Eventually the three women come face to face and have to confront the people they truly are.

6. The Compound, by Aisling Rawle (The Borough Press, out now )

Anyone who follows reality shows with scepticism should bag a copy of this debut from the Leitrim ex-bookseller, which features a literary slice of Love Island and Big Brother in its setting.

It centres on Lily, who wakes up in the compound of the title surrounded by other gorgeous girls, all waiting for a group of men to join them after traversing a desert to escape a war-torn world.

It all seems a familiar shallow environment until the producers start asking contestants to perform sick challenges, with gruesome results.

Dark humour abounds, but the underlying message of this literary gem is more about the dangers of materialism and the lengths some people will go to cash in on fame.

7. The Treasures, by Harriet Evans (Viking, out now)

The first in The Sevenstones Trilogy - a new family saga set over 50 years and three generations, from the bestselling author of The Beloved Girls - is set in 1965 and follows Alice and Tom as they grow up in New York and Notting Hill respectively, and are one day connected by a lost treasure, a forgotten letter and a life-changing phone call.

Over a period of huge change as the Vietnam War and counterculture movement come to a head, Sevenstones - a house full of history and secrets - remains a constant.

8. Whistle, by Linwood Barclay (HQ)

The bestselling thriller writer makes his first foray into horror with this tale about successful children’s author Annie, who moves with her young son Charlie to a small town in upstate New York to recover from the sudden death of her husband and escape a scandal ignited by one of her books. But when Charlie finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed at their new home, things start to get spooky, as she begins to hear a train at night, even though there isn’t a line for miles.

And she also starts drawing a sinister new character who has no place in her children’s books.

9. Dream Count, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate, out now)

For those who might have missed this release in spring, pick up a copy of this eminent author’s first novel in 12 years, centring on female experience complicated by layers of race, wealth and shame.

It focuses on four African women living either side of the Atlantic, in very different circumstances, but in some way connected. One is a wealthy travel writer seeking love, while her best friend is a lawyer who is fervently aware of her biological clock. There’s also a housekeeper and a high-flyer trying to work out what she wants in life.

10. You Are Here, by David Nicholls (Sceptre, out now)

Just out in paperback for those who don’t have an e-reader or luggage space for a hefty tome, this love story has all the trademark humour, heartache and hope of Nicholls’ work, from One Day To Us and Starter For Ten, all of which were adapted for screen.

It sees two lonely people thrown together by a mutual friend on the coast-to-coast walk, often in driving rain and soggy anoraks.

Slowly, through their inner turmoils - he’s a geography teacher mourning the end of his marriage, she’s a divorced copy editor - they find friendship, comfort and hope in each other.

11. Men In Love, by Irvine Welsh (Jonathan Cape, Jul 24)

For those who like grittier reads, this sequel to Trainspotting brings back Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie as they leave heroin behind and seek joy on the dance floor, at the end of the Thatcher years.

Their journey to redemption takes in Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam and Paris - and to Sick Boy’s wedding day.