Archives par étiquette : Northbank Talent Management

THE EMPTY CRADLE de Lisa Rookes

A completely gripping and chilling suspense novel, with a shocking twist.

THE EMPTY CRADLE
by Lisa Rookes
Orion, August 2025
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Amy’s so sure that her husband, Joel, is deeply invested in their future together. After all, it’s his dream of a family together that has them trying so hard to have a baby, despite a series of disappointments. It’s this certainty that leaves Amy absolutely floored when she learns of Joel’s affair with her best friend.

Heartbroken and horrified, Amy flees to a dilapidated cottage in a Yorkshire village, a place she’d bought with dreams of making it feel homey and warm. In the new village, she feels like a clear outsider, but a group of local women soon take her under their wing. They gather for a routine book club, they say. Before Amy knows it, these women are in her life, and in her home.

Amy wakes one night to find herself outside in the fields. Strange offerings seem to be left on her doorstep. And the surveillance camera she installs shows shapes creeping around her house in the night. Strangest of all, she suddenly finds she’s pregnant. A pregnancy that feels like a cruel joke.

The book club is incredibly invested in Amy’s pregnancy. And it might just be in Amy’s mind, but the women’s interest doesn’t always seem safe. What do the women want with her? And what do they want with her baby?

Lisa Rookes is an award-winning journalist and lecturer. She spent the start of her career as a crime reporter and news editor before moving to national newspapers and women’s magazines. She is currently head of the undergraduate Journalism programme at the University of Sheffield and has won further multiple awards for her teaching. She lives in Holmfirth in South Yorkshire with her two sons, an arthritic Labrador and a disabled pug.

ALL AT SEA de Jonathan Whitelaw

A destination murder-mystery – think Below Deck meets Knives Out. Perfect for all fans of Only Murders In the Building.

ALL AT SEA
by Jonathan Whitelaw
HarperNorth, publication date TBC
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Howie Temple is down on his luck and desperate for cash. A once promising action movie star, he now lives off a crumbling reputation. On his way to film a new reality TV show, which casts a team of c-list celebrities as crew aboard a luxury yacht, he meets fellow contestant, influencer-of-the-moment Cassandra Troy. The duo take an immediate dislike to each other.

After a hectic first day of filming, the pair are shocked discover that the captain of the ship has been murdered – locked in his control room, slumped over the wheel, a knife in his back. Convinced by the show’s ever-opportunistic director to keep the cameras rolling, the pair team-up to hunt the murderer.

Will the show make Howie and Cassandra bigger stars than they could ever dream of? And can they crack the case before the killer strikes again, or will they go down with this sinking ship?

Jonathan Whitelaw is a Scottish writer and journalist based in Canada, and he’s also a regular host at book events and panels, as well as a regular arts reviewer on BBC Radio Scotland’s Afternoon Show. Jonathan is a leading author in the cosy crime market. His latest series, Bingo Hall Detectives, is published by HarperNorth. There are currently two books in the series, The Bingo Hall Detectives (2022) and The Village Hall Vendetta (2023), the first of which awarded the Gilpin Hotel Prize for Fiction at this year’s Lakeland Book Awards.

STALEMATE de Mary Newnham

Piglet if written by Dolly Alderton, STALEMATE is a testament to the fact that your coming-of-age story can begin whenever you choose, be that in your 30s, 40s or beyond.

STALEMATE
by Mary Newnham
Hodder & Stoughton, January 2026
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Awkward secondary school Physics teacher, Amy and her gym bro fiancé, Josh are in no rush to make it to the altar.

The couple are content with their quiet life in the slow lane. Until they’re coerced by Josh’s family into getting married much earlier than anticipated.

There’s just one problem: after ten years of dating, their sex life has completely dried up.

As time ticks closer and closer to the big day, Amy scrambles to cross everything off her to-do-list… including Josh.

Mary Newnham is a British female fiction writer. Mary found her love for writing when she started blogging about Bloody Marys. Her film production degree led her into the world of advertising, where she worked in the film department at a Soho ad agency. For a brief time, she lived in Australia as a constantly sunburnt producer before returning to England. She currently writes and records The Quack, a weekly blog featuring true stories and witty observations. Mary has an MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes. She lives solo in Jericho, Oxford. She doesn’t own a cat.

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII de Jess Venner

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII will transport readers into the final 24 hours of the ancient city, vividly detailing the lives of seven diverse characters. Through a blend of meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this book brings Pompeii’s last day to life in a way that is both immersive and unforgettable.

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII:
The Last 24 Hours
by Jess Venner
HarperCollins, Spring 2026
(via Northbank Talent Management)

In her thrilling new take on the ancient city, Dr Jess Venner casts aside traditional archaeological and historical perspectives to immerse readers in the vibrant daily lives of its inhabitants. We meet Julia Felix, a successful female entrepreneur defying Roman convention; a slave who gains his freedom during a night of revelry; and politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa who is hosting the Plebian Games at the amphitheatre.

Using real historical figures the book plausibly recreates their final day before the eruption; a fresh narrative approach that brings the ancient streets to life through the eyes of those who lived, worked, loved, and ultimately met their fate there.

Dr Jess Venner is an award-winning ancient historian and archaeologist, and a world-leading expert on Pompeii and Herculaneum. She is currently an academic at the prestigious Institute of Classical Studies in London and was elected as an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society for her contributions to history. She has a following of over 140,000 engaged history fans on TikTok as @lifeinthepastlane_, and has appeared in publications such as The Times, The Mirror, The Daily Star, and Ancient History Magazine.

ASHVALE: THE VAMPIRE’S THRALL de Jade Church

The Vampire Diaries meets Vampire Academy in this deliciously bloody vampire romance filled with tension, magick, feminine rage, and morally grey characters.

ASHVALE: THE VAMPIRE’S THRALL
by Jade Church
self-published, August 2023
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Leonora Romilly was murdered. The catch? She didn’t stay dead.

Instead, she finds herself alive-ish and swept away to Ashvale to learn how to be a fully-functioning, albeit undead, member of society.

At Ashvale, the blood runs free and the sexual tension never sleeps, but under the surface, something much more sinister lurks.

With her would-be murderer still roaming free, a new-found love, and her lost memories on the line, can Leonora survive Ashvale with both her head and her heart intact?

From bestselling romance author Jade Church, ASHVALE is a new adult paranormal romance with vampires, blood bonds, an academy setting, dark forests, ‘I-hate-that-I-want-you’ tension, hidden identities, murder, a dark debut ball, and an FMC just as morally grey as the MMC. Readers who love angsty romance, bites that feel good, and bloodthirsty main characters will devour this story!

Jade Church is an avid reader and writer of spicy romance. She loves sweet and swoony love interests who aren’t scared to smack your ass and bold female leads. Jade currently lives in the U.K. and spends the majority of her time reading and writing books, as well as binge re-watching The Vampire Diaries.