Capsule x Hachette
Don’t forget – Father’s Day is fast approaching on Sunday 5 September! And don’t worry, we’ve taken all the hard work out of deciding what to get him, by creating this handy list of books – you just have to match your dad with which category most sounds like him!
And please note: While bookstores are closed level 4, most are still taking online orders, and will ship out the books as soon as they are able
For dads who… love a thriller by the king of the genre, Stephen King.
Billy Summers by Stephen King
If you’re going to treat your dad to a book this Father’s Day, why not leave him in the hands of the master of the thriller genre himself – Stephen King! In a stroke of perfect timing, his latest novel, Billy Summers, is out now and… It. Is. A. Doozy. Many are calling it his best work in years, and I’d say they’re spot on.
This time around things are a little different to what I’ve come to expect from a Stephen King novel – for a start, there’s not a single monster or supernatural creature – but, the multi-faceted human characters of this tale are more than enough to make it a complete masterpiece.
The story follows Billy Summers, a former sniper who is now a killer for hire – and the best in the business. But he has a point of difference – Billy is a man with a conscience, and he’ll only take on the job if the target is truly a bad guy. Now the time has come for Billy to hang up his gun, but he’s taking on one last hit – what could possibly go wrong on this last job??
This novel is impossible to put down, with its surprisingly heartfelt and beautifully paced storyline. It is part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there, and it features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. It’s about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption.
Your dad will be in excellent hands this Father’s Day with Billy Summers.
Get it for him if he also enjoyed: A Time to Kill, A Time for Mercy, Hummingbird Salamander.
For… History Buff dads who love a heroic true story
Tunnel 29: Love, Espionage and Betrayal: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helena Merriman
Bold, captivating, suspenseful, heartbreaking, uplifting… this one book has it all and is more gripping than any thriller could possibly hope to be!
The action takes place in the summer of 1962, recalling true events, when Joachim Rudolph, a student, is digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on the other side in East Berlin is dozens of men, women and children; all willing to risk everything to escape.
The story is pieced together by Helena Merriman, the award-winning creator of the BBC Radio 4 Podcast of the same name, who draws together hundreds of hours of interviews with the survivors, and thousands of pages of Stasi documents. She beautifully weaves together the tales of the ingenious group of student-diggers, the glamorous red-haired messenger, the American News network which films the escape, and the Stasi spy who betrays it. Because what Joachim doesn’t know as he burrows closer to East Germany, is that the escape operation has been infiltrated. As the escapees prepare to crawl through the cold, wet darkness, above them, the Stasi are closing in.
This stranger than fiction tale is one that truly deserves to be told and will leave your dad spellbound. It’s a rich story, that’s beautifully balanced and takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions. A definite must-read!
Get it for him if he also enjoyed: The Wonder, The Day of Battle,When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raiders
For dads who…. love a psychological thriller by a local author
The Last Guests, by J.P. Pomare
Tell Me Lies was hands down the best thriller I’ve read in 2021 so far (and believe me, I have read A LOT of the genre this year), so I was more than excited to read J.P. Pomare’s latest offering. J.P. has a knack for drawing you in from the very first page, and by the end of the first chapter I was riveted – downing the entire book on Day 1 of lockdown.
Set mainly between Auckland and a home on gorgeous Lake Tarawera, the story follows a young couple Lina and Cain, who rent out their lake front property as a holiday home. It’s a decision Lina comes to reluctantly – the house belonged to her grandfather and is filled with memories – but she agrees, they barely use the place, and God knows they could do with the money. And soon, thanks to Cain’s handyman work on the home, it’s in hot demand – and she and Cain (a former army veteran) start watching the bookings roll in – some much needed cash as they try to start a family.
But, very soon into the book, it appears that the couple have their secrets. Was the idea to let strangers stay in their home a good idea after all? Someone is watching – their most mundane tasks, their most intimate moments – and the things Lina and Cain want to keep hidden will be exposed…
As always, this book is beautifully written and builds to a frenetically fast pace – by which point, you – or your dad – will not be able to put it down. It’s dark, frighteningly believable, with well-rounded characters and a mind-blowing plot. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a good night’s sleep in a holiday home again! I highly recommend The Last Guests – it’s just as good as Tell Me Lies, if not better.
Get it for him if he also enjoyed: The Escape Room, The Perfect Family, The Safe Place, The Guilt Trip.
For dads who… love a good crime/police thriller!
When You Are Mine by Michael Robotham
As this book began, I had a hint of skepticism – it’s beautifully written and starts with an excellent hook, but I wondered if it was going to stray into predictable territory… the heroine of the story is a cop – her choice of career shaped by being in a bombing as a school child and the spell-binding policewoman who took control of the crime scene. But, getting into the force wasn’t easy with a criminal mastermind for a father, even though they are estranged. It soon became clear that I needn’t have had any reservations though – When You Are Mine is beautifully crafted with so much suspense and plot turns you won’t see coming.
More than just a crime thriller, this is a book about friendship – as well as obsession.
In the very first chapter, our heroine Philomena McCarthy, attends the scenes of a domestic assault, where she rescues a young woman, Tempe Brown. Tempe is the mistress of a decorated detective and while the incident is hushed up, it is clear that Philomena has unwittingly made a dangerous enemy with powerful friends.
Determined to protect each other, the two women strike up a tentative friendship. Tempe is thoughtful and sweet and makes herself indispensable to Phil, but sinister things keep happening and something isn’t quite right about the stories Tempe tells. When a journalist with links to Phil’s father and to the detective is found floating in the Thames, Phil doesn’t know where to turn, who to blame or who she can trust.
Michael Robotham is the multi-million-copy best-selling author of When She Was Good, The Secret She Keeps and Good Girl, Bad Girl and he writes one hell of a good psychological thriller. This one is a true page turner – and there’s a good reason why many are calling this his best novel yet. Highly recommended!
Get it for him if he also enjoyed: The Others, Mirror Man, Before You Knew My Name, Rabbit Hole
For dad’s who… love a M15 thriller set against the backdrop of a terrorism threat
Fast Track by Stephen Leather
This marks the 18th novel in the Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series, but it didn’t seem to matter one iota that I hadn’t read the previous 17 titles. Fast Track is complex and engaging and moves at a cracking pace. Plus, if your dad enjoys this one (which I have a feeling he will), you now have 17 books up your sleeve to purchase for birthdays, Christmases and future Father’s Days. Bonus!
Author Stephen Leather spent more than a decade as a newspaper journalist, working for the likes of The Times and the South China Morning Post before moving to novels – he’s now had his bestsellers translated into more than 10 languages.
If you’re picking this book up without having read the previous titles, what you need to know about Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd is that he was an SAS trooper, but left after being shot in Afghanistan. He went back to London, where he began working as a police officer before being recruited into an undercover squad to best make use of his unique talents.
Fast Track picks up many years later, and poses the question: who can you trust if you can’t trust the people tasked with protecting the nation?
See, murderous jihadists have been crossing the English Channel, passing themselves off as asylum seekers. MI5 have been keeping them under surveillance, but what starts as a simple terrorist takedown goes badly wrong and dozens of innocent civilians are killed in the heart of London.
And the screw is tightened when a bomb takes out senior members of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Someone within the security services has been working to their own agenda, and only Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd can identify the bad apple. His search for the rogue agent takes him to Turkey and then to Dubai, where his masters order him to carry out a breath-taking act of revenge.
If your dad loves a book with a thrilling, action-packed novel – this one will be right up his alley!
Get it for him if he also enjoyed: Zero 22, Never Let Me Down Again, Manhunter, Made to be Broken
AND….One Extra For You! A stunningly good thriller/black comedy
A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris
Okay, okay, this is a list for what to get your Dad, but it’s been a hard few weeks, so you deserve a treat!
This book was a complete surprise – it’s engrossing and electric, whilst also being wildly dark, and funny at the same time. It packs one incredible emotional punch and will have you on the edge of his seat – particularly as one hell of a twist is masterfully delivered!
See, it’s an incendiary moment for St Oswald’s school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls.
Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely forty, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.
But Rebecca is here to make her mark. She’ll bury the past so deep it will evade even her own memory, just like she has done before. After all...You can’t keep a good woman down.
A Narrow Door is the third in the St Oswald’s series (following Different Class and Gentlemen and Players) but you needn’t have read them to be fully engrossed by this captivating novel. It’s easy to see why the books have become best-sellers – Joanne Harris is a skilful author who writes brilliant characters and surprises her readers at every turn. I 100% recommend!
Get it if you also enjoyed: The Heights, Rabbit Hole, No Such Thing as Perfect.
Remember, while bookstores are closed level 4, most are still taking online orders, and will ship out the books as soon as they are able. Happy shopping, and happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there!
