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14 best books to read this October

This Autumn is a bumper season for smart, gripping new reads. From Sarah Waters' latest, to a brand new Poirot story, Books Editor Joanne Finney picks out 14 of the best books to read this October.

By Joanne FinneyPublished: 17 October 2014

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The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

Nearly 40 years ago, Agatha Christie killed off Hercule Poirot - but now he is back. For the first time the Christie estate has given permission for the legendary Belgian detective to be brought back to life by another writer.

It could have backfired but Little Face writer Sophie Hannah has done a terrific job. In The Monogram Murders, three bodies are found dead on the same day in a luxurious London hotel with a monogrammed cufflink in each of their mouths...

Guaranteed to give ‘ze little grey cells’ a workout!

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The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse

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A new novel from Kate Mosse is always a treat. Set in a Sussex village where a grisly murder has taken place, The Taxidermist's Daughter is part ghost story, part psychological thriller and will send shivers down your spine.

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The Children Act by Ian McEwan

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Atonement author Ian McEwan excels at creating believable female characters. The heroine of his new book, The Children Act, is a high court judge whose husband wants an open marriage. At work she has to intervene when a boy's parents refuse medical help on religious grounds.

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The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

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The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters is a gripping tale set in the 1920s about the dramatic consequences of a passionate affair.

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Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

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Foodies will savour Delicious! by American restaurant critic Ruth Reichl. It’s a delightful mix of mystery, romance and mouthwatering food.

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The Secret Place by Tana French

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When a body is found on the grounds of an exclusive girls’ school, the suspects are all teenagers. Could one of them be a cold-blooded killer? The Secret Place shows Tana French is a crime writer at the top of her game.

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The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar

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A sprawling country house where things go bump in the night is the creepy setting for The Hidden Girl. Louise Millar cranks up the tension brilliantly in this unpredictable and menacing drama.

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Man At The Helm by Nina Stibbe

Love, Nina, a memoir in letters, was a surprise hit. Now Nina Stibbe has written her first novel. Man At The Helm is about a divorcee living in a small, gossipy English village, whose children embark on a quest to find her a new man. Poignant and absolutely hilarious.

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Station eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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Station Eleven is set in a future where only a handful of people have survived a plague. It sounds off-putting but it's a beautifully written and compelling debut from Emily St. John Mandel.

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The Temporary Bride by Jennifer Klinec

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Bored of her life as a City banker, Jennifer Klinec quit her job and openeed a cookery school. Her new career takes her to Iran, where she learnms the secrets of Persian cuisine from a local woman. The woman's son is suspicious of this independent Westerner, but the two fall in love. The Temporary Bride is a moving memoir about love against the odds.

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I Can't Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan

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Prepare to have your heart broken by I Can’t Begin To Tell You, an emotional wartime tale about divided loyalties by Elizabeth Buchan.

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The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

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Few writers can match David Mitchell’s originality and inventiveness. Told in six interconnected parts, The Bone Clocks chronicles the life of an unusual woman with clairvoyant powers.

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Mr Mac And Me by Esther Freud

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In 1914, architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh left his beloved Glasgow for the Suffolk coast. In Mr Mac And Me, Esther Freud paints a fascinating portrait of this eccentric man.

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We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas

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We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas is a sweeping debut about an Irish-American family struggling to make a new life for themselves in America.

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