October is a time of changes – not just for seasons but also for books, writes Jane Corry. We haven’t quite forgotten the summer and yet Christmas isn’t that far off. The beauty about stories is that you can be in any season as you’ll find from the selection below.
ONE SUMMER IN ITALY by Sue Moorcroft. Published by Avon. £7.99
Transport yourself back into the sunshine with this lovely story about Sofia who decides to live her own life after caring for her father and head to the Umbrian mountains in Italy.
But there she finds all kinds of family secrets - and also meets a handsome and mysterious hero!
Sue Moorcroft knows how to tell a good story.
SNOW IN THE GARDEN: A FIRST BOOK OF CHRISTMAS by Shirley Hughes. Published by Walker Books £12.99.
Well, I did promise you that we’d explore the seasons!
This is a charming collection of stories, poems and things to make with beautiful illustrations.
The author is the legendary Shirley Hughes who delighted my own children with her warm family stories and now does the same with the grandchildren.
A perfect present to buy now for your advance Christmas shopping.
TRAVELS WITH MY GRANNY by Juliet Rix and Christopher Corr. Published by Otter-Barry Books £11.99.
This really got to my heart! Granny has travelled all over the world during her lifetime.
She’s been to India, Egypt, China and Peru.
Now she gets confused and can’t go far – except in her mind where she continues to visit all kinds of different places.
‘Where are we going now, granny?’ asks her grandchild. Open the book and you will see!
This book is described as a ‘sensitive introduction to old-age confusion through the loving and imaginative relationship between Granny and her grandchild’.
I’d agree with that.
DEVON GHOST TALES by Janet Dowling. Published by The History Press.
This will get your bones shivering on a dark winter night – in a good way!
A fascinating collection of stories about ghosts in Devon, which the author has painstakingly researched and re-told in her own words.
AN UNWANTED GUEST by Shari Lapena. Published by Bantam Press. £12.99.
When you live in a beautiful place like Sidmouth, you’re always inundated with friends and relatives who want to come and stay.
But when guests start arriving at the remote Mitchell’s Inn, they don’t know each other.
As the weekend starts and the weather becomes worse, they find themselves cut off from the outside world.
Then the first body is found.
A killer is in the group – and there’s nowhere to hide. This is a pacey thriller which will have you on the edge of your seat.
Jane Corry is a Sunday Times best-selling author. Her recent novel The Dead Ex is published by Penguin.
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