Here are my favourite reads this year:

The Heretic’s Treasure by Scott Mariani – I discovered the Ben Hope adventures this year and I’m now officially hooked!   They’re pacy, well-plotted with twists galore and the best villains ever!

The Codex by Douglas Preston – Fast-paced adventure about a dying man who buries himself with his treasure in a Honduras Mayan tomb and challenges his three sons to find him. 

The Picts and the Martyrs by Arthur Ransome – The arrival of the dreaded Great Aunt could spell doom but the Blacketts and the Callums find a way to have an adventure-packed summer.  This book is such fun!

Summer at Fairacre by Miss Read – another gorgeous slice of village life featuring some of my favourite fictional characters.

The Black Book of Secrets by FE Higgins – A dark, atmospheric and page-turning children’s adventure with one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read.

Persuasion by Jane Austen – Reading this was long overdue but its tenderness and heartbreaking beauty will mean I’ll be returning to it again soon.

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls – A beautiful and poignant first novel about a young boy who is dying.  Sam is adorable and I loved his father and sister too.

Memoirs of a Master Forger by William Heaney – The most unusual book you’ll ever read.  Strange, compelling and wickedly funny.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo – Deeply moving story of two brothers who go to fight in WW1.  It’s about the world they leave behind them and the new world they face together.

Non-fiction:

Act One by Moss Hart – Incredible autobiography of a New York playwright struggling to make it on Broadway.  I loved Hart’s gentle humour and his passion for his art.