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.

Character and voice is also crucial. I’m a huge fan of Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb, Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club cast and Lynda La Plante’s Jane Tennison. I’d really love to see more strong, memorable women in crime. In bookclub fiction, voices that have stayed with me are Adduni in The Girl With The Louding Voice, Cyril in The Heart’s Invisible Furies and Molly in The Maid. I also loved Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall and Florence Knapp's The Names.

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, The Housemaid, The Last Mrs Parrish and None of This is True.

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, Tinder Swindler, Unicorn Girl or Fyre Festival. 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 Bridges of Madison County, The Kite Runner, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Birdsong, My Sister’s Keeper, Cilka’s Journey and Four Winds.

For an escapist read I will always reach for romance - be it a Bridgerton-style regency romance or something much more contemporary, I will always fall for a happy-ever-after, diverse characters and a fresh take on familiar tropes.

In non-fiction, I’m looking for a fresh take or perspective in an area where you have expertise or real-life experience.

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