Araminta Hall has worked as a journalist since 1994 at some of Emap's biggest titles, including Bliss Magazine and New Woman. Since 2000 she has freelanced for a variety of magazines and national newspapers. She lives in Brighton with her husband and three children.
The Secret Thread (2026) Eve Chase "The Secret Thread is a stunning, evocative novel that pulls you into a hot summer on a grand country estate, in which the lives of two families become fatally entwined. Characters you feel like you know coupled with descriptions that are wonderfully lush and vivid meant I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I had to find out what happened to them all."
Based on a True Story (2026) Sarah Vaughan "Sarah Vaughan is one of my go-to writers and a modern, female re-telling of King Lear is exactly the sort of brilliance I have come to expect from her. This is a compelling story, with deep roots, which asks us to think about the stories we tell not just publicly, but also privately, to make up a life. It manages that rare trick of being both addictive and thoughtful."
Witch Trial (2026) Harriet Tyce "Compulsive reading . . . I was totally immersed in the story. One of the best courtroom dramas I've read in a long time."
Some of Us Are Liars (2025) Fiona Cummins "Fiona Cummins has that rare ability to write about the darkest of subjects with real pathos, realised most completely in her moody, strange but ultimately deeply sympathetic anit-hero, Saul Anguish . . . A tightly bound plot . . . and characters that settle in your heart."
William (2024) Mason Coile "A gripping page-turner that makes you think, William gets you by the throat and doesn't let go until it has spun you through some of your darkest fears. Mason Coile has written a modern-day Frankenstein for our digital age that grapples with the notion of consciousness and what makes a human."
Teddy (2024) Emily Dunlay "I loved the claustrophobic, glamourous world Emily Dunlay has created in Teddy, a heroine who will make your heart flutter. There is a timelessness to Teddy's feelings of constraint and guilt and trying to be all things to all to people, that too many women will still recognise all too well. A heady, steamy novel about desire for people, possessions and ultimately the self."
Dead Mile (2024) Jo Furniss "Dead Mile has done a very clever thing in taking a situation we've all been in and turned it into a high concept thriller. Because who hasn't drawn to a standstill in motorway traffic and not wondered at their lives of the people in the cars around them. A high octane ride of stalled traffic, stuck lives, terrorist attacks and a murder in plain sight, with a very satisfying ending."
Nightwatching (2024) Tracy Sierra "So tense, so thought-provoking.The definition of 'can't put down.'"
The Quiet Tenant (2023) Clémence Michallon "The Quiet Tenant seethes with male anger and aggression and yet its beating heart is about the strength of women and our ability to survive. I was desperate to find out what happened to Rachel and all the characters because I was so invested. Beautifully written and observed."
End of Story (2023) Louise Swanson "A compelling novel with an intriguing premise and a genuine didn't-see-it-coming twist. It made me think about how we tell stories, how we occupy them and how stories can ultimately change us."
Truly, Darkly, Deeply (2022) Victoria Selman "A creepy, engrossing novel which plunges the dark depths of a serial killer and his crimes. But also a meditation on memory, culpability and acceptance that gives a much-needed voice to the unspoken victims of heinous crimes. And with a properly surprising ending."
Complicit (2022) Winnie M Li "A masterful example of the slow burn thriller, highlighting the still all-too-true fact that often the real terror for women is simply existing in a man's world. Also an ode to the power and beauty of story-telling. I loved it."
The Hiding Place (2022) Simon Lelic "Another totally thrilling page-turner. Masterful writing about teenage insecurity again, with a plot that twists and turns in to such a dramatic conclusion. Also so filmic, I could see every scene - surely has to be adapted!"
Sundial (2022) Catriona Ward "A deeply dark and unexpected tale about families, love, hate, the long shadow of the past, and the redemptive power of storytelling. Clever, poetic and immersive."
How to Find Your Way Home (2022) Katy Regan "A truly touching story about love, hope, belonging and memory, with authentic and lovable characters who you're rooting for from the first moments."
The Ballerinas (2021) Rachel Kapelke-Dale "Wonderfully atmospheric, THE BALLERINAS is a twirling dream of a story exploring the sacrifices and pain of creation, the shrinking of women and the pressure of always being on show."
Surrogate (2021) Susan Spindler "A visceral and intimate study of the mechanics of womanhood, both physically and emotionally, which will leave you asking questions about yourself and how far love stretches. I especially loved the ending."
The Long, Long Afternoon (2021) Inga Vesper "Atmospheric, beguiling murder mystery with important things to say about race, gender and class. Loved it!"
The Art of Death (2021) (DI Grace Archer, book 1) David Fennell "Have just finished this hair-raisingly dark thriller . . . you won't be able to put it down."
33 Women (2020) Isabel Ashdown "An unexpectedly timely novel about searching for your true self in an isolated world. With that rare thing, a twist I genuinely never saw coming."
The Searcher (2020) (Cal Hooper, book 1) Tana French "Immersive and atmospheric ... Cal and Trey could very well be the new sort of heroes we need in this strange world."
The Thursday Murder Club (2020) (Thursday Murder Club, book 1) Richard Osman "A properly funny and totally charming murder mystery steeped in Agatha Christie joy. Also the best crime solving foursome and full of a type of Britishness that makes you smile."
Black Widows (2020) Cate Quinn "It's unusual to read a story that reveals a completely different life, but that's exactly what Black Widows does. A thrilling tale which twists and turns along an immersive desert landscape, with a surprising Thelma & Louise style ending that makes you feel proud of the sisterhood."
Take Me Apart (2020) Sara Sligar "What a clever, visceral thriller. A raw, unfiltered twist on gaslighting that challenges how society treats women. It made me sad, angry, and fired up."
Jessica Moor "Reading Keeper is a visceral experience ... cleverly reminding us that for some women simply existing in a man's world is more dangerous than anything else."
The Vanished Bride (2019) (Bronte Sisters Mystery, book 1) Bella Ellis "What a breath-taking concept that Rowan has completely pulled off - setting up our most beloved literary heroines as investigators in a compelling mystery that asks us to think about the constraints of women in that time . . . Fun, charming and intriguing."
Unfollow Me (2019) Charlotte Duckworth "A timely, page-turner of a novel, that asks the reader to think about all the ways we judge women, both personally and professionally."
The Secrets You Hide (2018) Kate Helm "Clever concept so brilliantly executed. Compelling plot but more compelling character study that left me desperate to find out why instead of who. First class psych thriller."
