Sincerely, Me: 2023’s most feel-good read from the Richard and Judy Book Club author

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Who knows you better than your best friend? Who knows your secrets, your fears, your desires, your strange imperfect self? Norman and Jax are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a five-year plan to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe by the time they’re fifteen. But when Jax dies before they turn twelve, Norman decides a tribute act for his best friend just can’t wait, so he rewrites their plan: The six of us arrived on that beautiful Greek island dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood orange sunsets, ready to lose ourselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends. In Norway 1617, a violent storm dramatically wipes out all the men in a small fishing community, leaving all the women to fend for themselves. Twenty-year-old Maren loses both her brother and father when they perish in the storm and, like all the women in Vardø, must learn to live without men. Eighteen months later, Absalom Cornet arrives from Scotland with his wife, Ursa, with the intent of bringing the women to heel. As a witch hunter, Absalom sees a place untouched by God and flooded with evil. Meanwhile, his wife sees something she never has before – independent women. Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1620 witch trials, The Mercies is a feminist story of love, evil, and obsession.

So, grab a cuppa and join Richard and Judy on the sofa for this brand-new podcast, and welcome to the Richard and Judy Book Club, exclusive to WHSmith! Being conversational is the secret to a good interview. I rarely prepare questions, and think: “What would I ask if we’d just met on a train?”Grace is about to turn ninety and she doesn’t want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants a quiet celebration: her daily swim in the sea and a cup of tea with granddaughter Elin and great-granddaughter Beca. More than anything, she wants to heal the family rift that’s been breaking her heart for decades.

After suffering years of brutal hardship at the Hospital, Lily is released into the world of Victorian London. But she is hiding a dreadful secret… It’s perfectly possible everyone on this planet is a martian. Life might have started on Mars, or a moon of Jupiter, before a meteor strike dragged chemicals and compounds here.Expertly researched and set against a global stage, ‘Never’ will take you on a high-stakes journey from the heat of the Sahara Desert to the political arenas of North America, East Asia and beyond, and sees a world edging closer to an unprecedented global crisis. Here are all six books chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club 2022 March List: I Have To Tell You Something by Susan Lewis Between the sprawl of London, suburban Essex, and the wild, unpredictable Outer Hebrides, three lives collide and interweave as questions are asked and secrets surface. What happened to Florence? Why is Dougie now so reluctant to return home? How can Nell make peace with the lies she’s been told? The Herd by Emily Edwards Wow, just WOW. I've waited a long time for a crime novel to do something different, to keep me guessing, to blow me away - this is that book. I suspect that this is one of those books, like Behind Her Eyes, where it's best if you come to it with no p Wow, just WOW. I've waited a long time for a crime novel to do something different, to keep me guessing, to blow me away - this is that book. I suspect that this is one of those books, like Behind Her Eyes, where it's best if you come to it with no preconceptions, so I'm not going to say too much. But if you think this is 'just another woman and daughter on the run novel' then you would be very, very wrong.

Three women, connected by one brutal crime. Three women, determined to right the wrongs done to them. Three women, with everything to hide. When it comes to revenge, even good people are capable of terrible things. But only one person killed Daniel Sutherland. How long can their secrets smoulder, before they explode into flame? As the hunt intensifies, Emma knows that she is in mortal danger. And that she needs to find the traitor before they find her . . . We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman It is only as the night of an ancient and mysterious family ritual looms closer that Janey comes to realise they need her . . .Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their vindictive father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did someone snap after that dreadful evening? Or did another person appear later that night with the worst of intentions? That must be what happened. After all, if one of the family were capable of something as gruesome as this, you’d know. Leigh Collier has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised – her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be. But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average – a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence. But now the past is catching up. Then a case lands on her desk – defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It’s the highest profile case she’s ever been given – a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it’s no coincidence that he’s chosen her as his attorney. Trapped in a tense, fearful marriage, Isabelledoesn’t know what has become of Émile and the future she hoped for. But when she glimpses him from the window of the French House, their lives collide once more. Little do they know that they differ radically over one very important issue. And when Bryony, afraid of being judged, tells what is supposed to be a harmless white lie before a child’s birthday party, the consequences are more catastrophic than either of them could ever have imagined.

In a rural Wiltshire town lies TheDevil’s Corridor. A road which has witnessed eerie happenings from unexplained deaths to thesounds of a child crying at night. But nothing more puzzling than theOlivia Ru therford case. Four girlsdrove home but after their car crashed only Olivia was found. Twenty years later, journalist Jenna Halliday is covering thecase. But thelocals aren’t happy with this stranger’s arrival. Least of all Olivia. Jenna soon starts receiving threatening notes and it is clear someone wants her out of this town before she suffers a dark fate. And whilst Judy is enjoying being a lady of leisure and writing, Richard has been busy fronting The One Show, Sir Terry Wogan's Radio 2 show and The Wright Stuff! Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she’d yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa’s world is shattered to the winds. Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess? Here’s the complete Richard and Judy Book Club Summer 2021 List (July). The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrove

Richard and Judy Book Club 2022 Book List (May 2022)

And to do that she must find her daughter, Alys – the only person who can help to put things right. Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect – his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As her increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen’s true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again.