Each month, Beyond The Page: A WGBH Book Club features a notable author, who takes part in a live Q&A with a WGBH personality to discuss the intricacies of that month's novel. With each monthly book selection, we also ask the author for a list of reading recommendations. For its April edition, Beyond The Page selected C. J. Tudor's The Burning Girls, an explosive thriller where an unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present.
Here are three reading suggestions from C. J. Tudor:
He Started It by Samantha Downing - Four siblings and two spouses take a road trip with their grandfather’s ashes to secure a million-dollar inheritance. Take a motley bunch of psychos who would do anything to get their hands on the cash. Add in a missing person, an act of revenge and a mysterious black truck following them, and this road trip is never going to end well.
Bath Haus by P J Vernon (out June 15) - Described to me by the editor as ‘Gone Girl with Grindr’! Oliver, a recovering addict has the perfect life with his husband, Nathan a successful surgeon – until one night he visits a gay bath house, and is almost murdered. A roller coaster ensues as he tries to protect his perfect life while playing cat and mouse with a killer. A belter!
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead - A college reunion turns dark and deadly. Six friends, one unsolved murder, and the secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade. With nods to Heathers and The Breakfast Club this is fast paced, thrilling fun.
What she's reading now:
Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King and Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth MacNeal.
Sometimes, when you haven’t got much time it’s good to dip into short stories —and I realised I had this collection on my bookshelf and hadn’t read it for some reason. King is my hero and reading his books is like settling into a favourite armchair—a really scary sort of armchair!
I don’t read historical novels much, but I like to read out of genre when I’m writing. I’d heard great things about Elizabeth MacNeal’s previous book, The Doll Factory, so when I was sent a proof of Circus of Wonders, the premise intrigued me.
1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living, ostracised by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin. But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped and becomes famous as the ‘Leopard Girl’. But what happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her?
It’s a pretty involved book, so I will probably finish it after I’ve done with my edits! And it’s actually a long wait in the US for this one. Not till next Feb. I have no idea why as it’s out in the UK next month.
Looking for more? Then join the club. Don't miss out on the next selection and virtual session by joining the Beyond The Page Facebook Group and signing up for the e-mail newsletter.
