Sussex


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="667" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-12-667x1000.png" alt="Summer reading titles" class="wp-image-85143" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-12-667x1000.png 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-12-533x800.png 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-12-768x1152.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-12.png 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-whistler-nbsp-by-ann-patchett-bloomsbury-20"><strong>Whistler&nbsp;by Ann Patchett (Bloomsbury, £20) </strong></h3>



<p>Not yet discovered Ann Patchett? This latest is a great place to start. Fusing family drama with escapist affluence and glimpses of bookish New York, it’s a soft summer read full of generous wisdom. It begins as Daphne Fuller’s husband notices an older man following them around the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Turns out he’s her long-lost stepfather, Eddie Triplett. As a child, she’d adored him until his brief marriage to her mother ended abruptly following a car accident that left Daphne and Eddie stranded overnight in a frozen wreck. His reappearance is Daphne’s cue to unpick a lifetime of secrets and misunderstandings. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunger-amp-thirst-nbsp-by-claire-fuller-fig-tree-18-99"><strong>Hunger &amp; Thirst&nbsp;by Claire Fuller (Fig Tree, £18.99) </strong></h3>



<p>Award-winning novelist Claire Fuller is a dab hand at the kind of creepy disquiet that sets the pages flying. Her latest is about art, memory and more but it’s also a full-on literary horror story. She lures the reader in with the story of Ursula, a vulnerable yet steely young woman who’s just beginning to find her place in the world, learning what real family looks like, forging friendships, and most of all discovering her own talent as a sculptor. Flash forward in time, and a true-crime documentary is probing the unsolved disappearance of Ursula’s friend. It’ll have you shivering even in a heatwave.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-villa-coco-nbsp-by-andrew-sean-greer-sceptre-16-99"><strong>Villa Coco&nbsp;by Andrew Sean Greer (Sceptre, £16.99) </strong></h3>



<p>Tuscany, here we come! Consider this your villa invitation, although there’s also its aged, eccentric owner the Baronessa to deal with. It’s she who hires the novel’s protagonist, a 21-year-old American college grad whose job it is to catalogue the villa’s contents. What could possibly go wrong? Romance, comedy and some coming-of-age realisations fuel a sunny farce. Award-winning Andrew Sean Greer wrote it as an attempt to revive the ‘charm novel’, and he definitely gets an A for effort.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-by-maggie-o-farrel-tinder-25"><strong>Land by Maggie O&#8217;Farrel (Tinder, £25) </strong></h3>



<p>Maggie O&#8217;Farrell rocketed up the bestseller list with her heart-tugger <em>Hamnet</em>. Her first novel since is set in the wake of Ireland’s Great Hunger, so you’ll need more hankies at the ready. It’s 1865 and we’re on the trail of Tomás and his heel-dragging son, Liam, as they map the country for the British. Ghosts, buried treasure and one very loyal dog feature in an episodic tale of love and pluck that’s by turns dreamy and visceral. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-10.png" alt="Summer reading titles" class="wp-image-85144" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-10.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-10-533x800.png 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-10-667x1000.png 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/07/Untitled-design-10-768x1152.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yesteryear-nbsp-by-caro-claire-burke-fourth-estate-16-99"><strong>Yesteryear&nbsp;by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate, £16.99) </strong></h3>



<p>Listen up because there’s a lot going on in this zeitgeisty first novel. Its narrator is Natalie, a trad wife influencer living an apparently dreamy life on an idyllic Midwestern farmstead. Her sourdough boules are perfection, her ranch aesthetic is just-so, and she’s married to a dishy cowboy. Of course, the reality turns out be a bit different but things get interesting when she finds herself whisked back to the 19<sup>th</sup>&nbsp;century for a dose of proper trad wifedom.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-natural-disaster-nbsp-by-lisa-owens-nbsp-virago-16-99"><strong>Natural Disaster&nbsp;by Lisa Owens&nbsp;(Virago, £16.99) </strong></h3>



<p>It’s our heroine’s final day of maternity leave and she’s determined – determined! – to make magical memories, even if it means bribing her boys with overpriced snacks. The weather isn’t playing ball but that’s only the start of an unfortunate series of events that includes a trip to A&amp;E. Along the way, she’s able to snatch a few moments to reflect on parenthood’s drudgery and the toll it’s taken on her marriage but this tartly observed comedy is also full of love – the kind that’s demonstrated by showing up for each other again and again.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-pinnacle-nbsp-by-abir-mukherjee-harvill-16-99"><strong>The Pinnacle&nbsp;by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill, £16.99) </strong></h3>



<p>Shove over cosy crime, it’s time for a destination thriller. We’re Mumbai-bound where George Abercrombie wakes from a sozzled slumber with far more than a hangover to deal with. In the city’s most sumptuous skyscraper, the Pinnacle, his Bollywood superstar wife Sweety Sahota has been murdered in their bedroom. Her phone and laptop are nowhere to be found, and he can’t remember a thing. All he knows is that he’s going to be the prime suspect. No one is to be trusted as this twisty, slick whodunnit hurtles towards its denouement.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-all-in-nbsp-by-claire-powell-nbsp-chatto-amp-windus-16-99"><strong>All In&nbsp;by Claire Powell&nbsp;(Chatto &amp; Windus, £16.99) </strong></h3>



<p>This is a less a holiday read than one to reach for when you’re stuck at your desk and have absolutely had it with colleagues’ OOOs pinging back at you. Think of it as wish-you-weren’t-here lit. At its centre are married couple Jo and Dave. IVF and money troubles have taken their toll and the strain of a luxe family getaway, funded by Dave’s flashy big brother, might just be the final straw – that’s even before their luggage goes missing. Add sunburn, day drinking, and sibling strife and you’ll be only too glad to be sat at home. Come for the hapless comedy, stay for the gentler reflections on family bonds.&nbsp;</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-to-buy-them"><strong>Where to buy them&#8230; </strong></h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.chapter34.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chapter 34</a>, Shoreham-by-sea</li>



<li><a href="https://www.muchadobooks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Much Ado Books</a>, Alfriston</li>



<li><a href="https://www.thecrowroadbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Crow Road Books</a>, Arundel</li>



<li><a href="https://www.steyningbookshop.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steyning Books</a>, Steyning</li>



<li><a href="https://www.kemptownbookshop.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kemptown Bookshop</a>, Brighton </li>



<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/rotherbooks/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rother Books</a>, Battle</li>
</ul>



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<p><strong><em>In the mood for more? </em></strong></p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/whats-on-in-july/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">July calling! What&#8217;s on in Sussex this month</a></li>



<li><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/cafes/picnic-spots-sussex/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">9 perfect picnic spots (plus where to fill your hamper)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/cafes/afternoon-tea-with-a-twist-11-sussex-spots-to-enjoy-fresh-takes-on-the-classic-treat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Afternoon tea with a twist? 11 fresh takes on the classic treat</a></li>
</ul>


Summer reading, sorted – just add beachy vibes

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