THE WISE WOMAN ~ PHILLIPA GREGORY

Alys joins the nunnery to escape hardship and poverty but finds herself thrown back into the outside world when Henry VIII's wreckers destroy her sanctuary. She uses witchcraft to win a lover but since heresy against the new church means the stake, and witchcraft the rope, Alys's danger is mortal.

WHO CARES~ AMANDA STEANE

The figures are shocking - every year about 34,000 people die unnecessarily in today's NHS hospitals and another 25,000 are unnecessariy permanently disabled. These victims of NHS mistakes, bad hygiene and poor care are our loved ones. Amanda Steane's "Who cares?" is one of these 59,000 horror stories. Her husband Paul went into hospital with a minor problem - through repeated neglect in two NHS hospitals, he emerged an invalid. Throughout his time in hospital, his wife Amanda desperately tried to alert nurses, doctors and managers to the things that were going wrong with her husband's care. Each time, she alerted them to a new horror, they would promise that nothing like that would ever happen again - but things just got worse. Finally, an invalid deprived of his independence, his legs, his ability to communicate and everything he enjoyed, he took his own life. Hospital managers denied all responsibility by claiming key parts of Paul's medical records had been 'lost'. But a nurse, outraged at what she saw, sent Amanda copies of the 'missing' records and the police were called in to investigate.

HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY~ AUDREY NIFFENEGGER

Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin ...but have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins' mother - and who can't even seem to quite leave her flat...With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, "Her Fearful Symmetry" is a delicious and deadly twenty-first-century ghost story about Niffenegger's familiar themes of love, loss and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time.

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE ~ MARITA CONLON-MCKENNA

Everyone knows that Amy and Dan are made for each other. So when they announce their engagement their families are over the moon, especially Amy's mother Helen. What could be more exciting than planning a daughter's wedding? But as the countdown to the Big Day begins, and mother and daughter throw themselves into creating the wedding of their dreams, not everyone's prepared for the commotion this involves. Bride-to-be Amy sees her best laid wedding plans start to unravel and things go from bad to worse, as Helen struggles to pick up the pieces and get her family back on track. Amy and Helen each discover what love and marriage is all about...but is it too late? It's not easy being a mother, let alone the Mother of the Bride!

HOUSE RULES ~ JODI PICOULT

Jacob Hunt is a teenager: brilliant at maths, wicked sense of humour, extraordinarily organised, hopeless at reading social cues. And Jacob has Asperger's. He is locked in his own world – aware of the world outside, and wanting to make a connection. Jacob tries to be like everyone else, but doesn't know how.

When his tutor is found dead, all the hallmark behaviours of Jacob's syndrome – not looking someone in the eye, odd movements, inappropriate actions – start looking a lot like guilt to the police. And Jacob's mother must ask herself the hardest question in the world: is her child capable of murder?

THE ITALIAN WEDDING ~ NICKY PELLEGRINO

Settled in London and with their own delicious slice of home in the form of Beppi's restaurant, 'Little Italy', the Martinelli's are a typical Italian family; fighting, eating and loving in equal measure. Now, Pieta's sister Addolorata is getting married. Since Pieta is a bridal designer it falls to her to make the wedding gown. But she is distracted by a series of family mysteries. Why is her father feuding with another Italian in the neighbourhood? Why is her mother so faded and sad? And could the man she's always held a torch for really be getting married to someone else? As Pieta stitches and beads her sister's wedding gown she uncovers the secrets that have made her family what it is and that stand between her and happiness. The Italian Wedding is a feast of food and love. It's about discovering who your family really are. And who you really want to be.

BLOOD HARVEST~ S.J.BOLTON

A Time To Be Born. Twelve-year-old Tom and his family have just moved to a small town perched on the crest of the moor. But troubles begin when Tom sees a mysterious child lurking around the nearby churchyard. A Time To Die. Psychiatrist Evi is trying to treat a young woman haunted by the disappearance of her little girl. A devastating fire burned down their home, but even two years on she is convinced her daughter survived. A Time To Kill. Harry is the town's new vicar, quickly befriended by the locals. But unusual events around the church suggest he isn't entirely welcome, and that this odd little town harbours a terrifying secret.