Welcome to Insider Reading, where the booksellers of Mr B’s give you the lowdown on new and future releases. We are very lucky as booksellers to get to read books ahead of publication – so let’s see what Team B has managed to get its hands on this time…

Emma has been one of many on the team devouring and loving Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore, which follows a father and his three children acting as caretakers for an underground seedbank on a remote island in an attempt to keep them safe from the ravages of climate change. But when a woman washes up on shore, they discover she isn’t the only one with secrets. Emma calls it a “beautiful, page-turning, emotional rollercoaster of a novel, perfect for fans of Emily St. John Mandel.” Pre-order now!

Tom Cox‘s struggles with the publishing industry have been well documented this year, so it is particularly pleasing to see his new novel, Everything Will Swallow You (Out now), find a home with Swift Press. Katrina is a certified fan for life, so it’s no surprise she loved it. She says of this strange but cosy state-of-the-nation story: “Think of Wallace and Gromit, but in Dorset. As usual, Tom’s writing is funny, whimsical, moving and frequently surreal.” Sounds delicious as a chunk of Wensleydale. Buy now!

Liv has found the literary romance of the year – of course she has – in Lily King’s Heart the Lover (Oct 16). King’s novels have always done really well at Mr B’s and we are sure this one will be no different. Liv says: “Isn’t there something so heartbreakingly beautiful about the lives we almost lead? Heart the Lover attacks this question with a ferocity that will leave you breathless… An intensely felt love story, this is easily the best book I’ve read all year!!!” Pre-order now!

We were delighted to be paid a visit this week by French novelist Olivier Norek, who came by the shop to sign copies of his new book, The Winter Warriors (Out now). Norek is a former captain in the French police who is also the author of the bestselling Banlieue trilogy. His new novel, however, is a departure from that series – The Winter Warriors is an epic of war and resilience set in Finland in 1939, and featuring the greatest sniper the world has ever seen. Ed recently read this, and says: “This is a superb book of Finnish resistance, about people forced to heroism, perfect for Robert Harris fans.” Buy now!

Becky has just returned from the annual Bookseller’s Association Conference and came back with a bundle of new proofs, but the one that’s really caught her eye is Alice Loxton’s Eleanor, a non-fiction account of England’s forgotten Queen, Eleanor of Castile, beloved wife of King Edward, whose body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London. Pre-order now!

Hannah has been diving into the latest novel from one of her fave YA authors, Motha Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou. Hannah says “I’m over the moon excited for this new book from one of my favourite authors! It’s got shadow creatures, addictive romance, and two worlds colliding, perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Holly Black. I can’t wait to interview Kika on October 30th.” Pre-order now!

Lastly, I received a very limited proof of Shadow Ticket (Oct 7), the new (probably last?) novel from legendary recluse and author-of-almost-unreadable-books Thomas Pynchon, so felt I had to tuck in immediately. Notoriously difficult, stylistically exuberant and reference-dense, Pynchon’s novels have divided opinion for all of his glorious career. His books are full of conspiracies, paranoia, jazz, science, mystery, and alternate visions of American history. Shadow Ticket is vintage Pynchon, following Hicks McTaggart, an ailing Milwaukee PI who finds himself wound up in a madcap case involving the disappearance of a cheese heiress that takes him to Chicago, New York and Hungary. But talking about the plot only makes you believe there is one: there is, of sorts, but you have to bring your A-game if you wanna compete with Pynchon’s flow. I read it, I sort-of enjoyed it, I loved the style, but I am not yet a fully-fledged Pynchon fanboy. Pre-order now!

Thanks for reading

Tom