As you may or may not know, I recently started a kick-ass, all-female book club called Ladies Lit Squad – so I have a lot of books to read of late. Having a book club is a bibliophile’s dream as I get sent new books every week. Here are four I really enjoyed and which will be in the goodie bags for the next book club if you’re going!

THE ROANOKE GIRLS

The Roanoke Girls tells the story of Lane Roanoke, her cousin Allegra and a rather dysfunctional family tree. The beautiful girls in the Roanoke family all share a dark secret, and that’s what the book is about – I don’t want to give too much away. I read this in a couple of days as I just couldn’t put it down. This book reveals some killer plot twists within the first few pages, hooking you instantly… and it continues to deliver to the very end.

Buy The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

GATHER THE DAUGHTERS

Set in a dystopian future (or maybe it’s the present, I haven’t worked it out), Gather The Daughters is A Handmaids Tale for Millennials. Told through the eyes of a handful of teenage girls on an island cult, the book is dark and creepy. The set up is much like a Mormon community, there’s no technology or contact with the outside world on this island, and every summer the girls run wild, like Rumspringa, as the rest of the year they have it pretty bad. I recommend this but the ending might leave you cold.

Buy Gather The Daughters by Jennie Melamed

THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER

This book centres around a premise that many of us find endlessly fascinating – abduction. The main character was born in… captivity… as her mother was kidnapped by her father as a teenager. The protagonist grew up, living off the land of the marsh, until she escaped. Now grown up, living a normal life, she learns her father has escaped from prison. I found the central characters in the book really interesting, but I enjoyed the flashbacks more than the present day.

By The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne

I’LL EAT WHEN I’M DEAD

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead is pretty ridiculous, but then it’s also pretty true to life (from someone who has worked in fashion and at a magazine). It’s basically a murder mystery set inside a workplace drama, with a bit of romance thrown in. If you’re not into fashion then you’ll be lost and/or bored, plus, there are some weird references where you think that this might be set in 2045 or maybe the 90s. It’s hard to tell. It’s The Devil Wears Prada if it was written on acid – but pretty entertaining.

Buy I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Bourland