The 10 best novels of 2016
After much deliberation and in no particular order, here are our Books Editor's favourite fiction of the year – consider your Christmas catch-up reading list sorted...
The Muse by Jessie Burton
Burton’s 2014 novel The Miniaturist was the fastest-selling debut since Fifty Shades Of Grey. No pressure for the follow-up then. Happily, The Muse is another corker. The narrative flits between bohemian 1930s Malaga and the swinging ‘60s London art world, as we gradually learn of the characters’ connections. The result is a beautifully crafted, simmering love story. Difficult second novel syndrome? Certainly not.
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it takes a bold writer to rework one of the world’s best-loved novels. Happily, Sittenfeld, author of American Wife, nails it with her take on Austen’s Pride And Prejudice. The action transposed to modern-day America, Eligiblesees New Yorkers Liz, a magazine writer, and her sister Jane, a yoga teacher, return to their Midwest home for an awkward family reunion. Then handsome doctors Bingley and Darcy show up…
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
Readers of Kepnes’ 2014 brilliant, hipster-thriller debut,You, will be familiar with NYC book store manager Joe, a disconcertingly hot stalker and serial killer (think Jamie Dornan in The Fall). Now Joe’s back, taking his misanthropic ways to LA, where he meets a selection of fakes and fame-seekers. Like before, the story is told entirely from Joe’s extremely persuasive point of view, a device that leaves you massively conflicted.
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick
A stellar love story that echoes down the centuries, we open with Irish scientist Roisin and French chef Francois meeting at a snowy South Pole research station. But it turns out their paths have criss-crossed their entire lives, every time a comet bursts across the sky. One of those books with a million big themes – science and the supernatural, family love and duty, and how we’re all connected by nature.
Maestra by LS Hilton
History academic Lisa Hilton gives erotic fiction a literary reboot in the first of her trilogy starring glamorous anti-heroine Judith. Working for a London auction house, she stumbles upon a huge art world conspiracy, while having insane amounts of extremely graphic sex. As much a first-class thriller as it is smut, the second instalment, Domina, is out in March.
This Too Shall Pass by Milena Busquets
A big hit in the author’s native Spain, this is a poignant, sometimes stark exploration of female grief. Blanca is mourning the death of her mother by uprooting her life and losing herself in sex. Lots of sex - with lovers past and present. The fact that it’s set in the Spanish coastal town of Cadaques adds to the sultry, sizzling feel.
Not Working by Lisa Owens
Claire isn’t unemployed she’s, um, between jobs, having left an humdrum office role to find her calling. Thatcalling is proving somewhat elusive, so she busies herself making elaborate five-course dinners for her boyfriend Luke, arguing with her mother, picking out flattering photos in case she’s ever kidnapped and the press needs one, and over-analysing life’s daily minutiae. Very funny and very true, Owens totally nails that tricksy twentysomething period when you’re yet to work out what the hell to do with your life.
This Must Be The Place by Maggie O’Farrell
O’Farrell has corned the market in beautifully observed, poignant family dramas, and this is her best so far. With its multiple voices, time hops and globe-trotting locations, it’s epic but intimate too. Middle-aged Daniel hears a long-lost voice on the radio - his college girlfriend Nicola. This prompts his quest to discover what happened to her and re-examine his own behaviour as a young man. Its sprawling cast of well-drawn characters means we get to know Daniel from every angle.
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Neurotic, scatty and fretting about her marriage, son, career and endless #firstworldproblems, Eleanor Flood would be a nightmare friend – but as a comic creation, she’s a total dream. Semple, the author of Where’d You Go Bernadette, charts one manic day in Eleanor’s outwardly charmed life, with unexpected clarity merging from the chaos. Never has a meltdown been so entertaining.
Mount! by Jilly Cooper
Did you steal your mum’s copy of Riders (the one with a jodphur-clad lady’s bottom on the jacket) as a teenager? Those who got their sex education from the bonkbuster queen Cooper’s ‘80s novels will be thrilled to hear that, 30 years on, show-jumping cad Rupert Campbell-Black is back - and as randy as ever. Now pushing 60, he still LOVES shagging – as does everyone, including the horses, in this hilariously racy doorstopper. Sample seduction line: “You’re so wet it’s a rainforest. And a tiger’s entering it.”
