Laura Heathfield

I read widely across genres! I am always looking for commercial crime, thriller, suspense, bookclub, historical and romance fiction as well as very select non-fiction.

Above everything I want to be entertained. I’m looking for a book you can’t wait to talk to someone about, in the same way as a new film or the latest release on Netflix. A book that engrosses me from the first page to the last, desperate for someone I know to read so we can discuss as soon as possible.

It will always be an original hook that draws me in, a whole premise that can be summed up in one line that immediately stops me in my tracks and makes me think. In bookclub fiction, titles I have enjoyed include The Calamity Club, Broken Country, The Names, The Paper Palace and Where The Crawdads Sing. I also love an uplifting bookclub read that leaves me with a feeling of hope and optimism such as The Correspondent and Remarkably Bright Creatures.

I love to be engrossed by a pacy, twisty, surprising plot. It doesn’t need to be overly complex – sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. I want to be thrown curveballs I never saw coming and be kept guessing until the last page. Books I have devoured are Nightwatching, Wild Dark Shore, All The Colours of The Dark, The Last Mrs Parrish and None of This is True. Voice and character are also important and for those reasons I loved Mad Mabel, Strange Sally Diamond and Katy Brent's Kitty Collins books.

I am a huge fan of true crime and would love to read a fiction version of podcasts I’ve been gripped by. I really enjoy cold cases being reopened as a result of new evidence or technology which exposes past injustices such as on Bone Valley, In The Dark or Who Killed Emma? I’m particularly drawn to stories of deep deception or scams such as those by Anna Delvey or Coco Berthmann, Unicorn Girl or Fraudacious. I’m always intrigued by anything involving investigation into cults, such as in BBC Sound’s World of Secrets.

I also love nothing more than sobbing my heart out over a book and being left emotionally wrung-out! Whether it be a devastating historical tragedy or star-crossed lovers torn apart by destiny. Books that have broken my heart include The Silence in Between, The Bridges of Madison County, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Great Alone.

For an escapist read I will always reach for romance. I love when the familiar tropes are done differently, complex love triangles, beautiful settings, and complex, diverse characters. I'm a fan of Carley Fortune, Annabel Monaghan and Abby Jimenez. I'm looking for smart writing, off-the-charts chemistry, escapism and YEARNING.

In non-fiction, I’m looking for a new approach or perspective in an area where you have expertise or real-life experience. Topics I enjoy reading about include parenting, neurodiversity, mid-life and solutions to modern-day challenges such as phone addiction.

I am not looking for poetry, novellas, short story collections, screenplays, children’s or middle-grade books.