From dark academia and chilling thrillers to feel-good fiction and heart-warming romance, check out our selection of the latest releases from Must Read Books for April 2024.
New Releases for April
The Four
Ellie Keel
Dark academia perfect for fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains. Four scholarship students’ dreams come true when accepted into an exclusive boarding school, but they will soon be bound by a dark secret that could save one of them… or destroy them all…
We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms. The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege. It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly. But Marta didn’t push her then, or – if you choose to believe me – at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened. I’ve told this story as clearly as I could – as rationally as I’ve been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don’t regret what we did. And I would do it all again.
Butter
Asako Yuzuki
Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors.
That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?
Cheater
Karen Rose
Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick finds herself standing over a dead body in the Shady Oaks retirement centre. Frank Flynn has been stabbed and his room ransacked.
Though he kept his background quiet at the centre, Kit recognises Frank from the San Diego Police Department. Had the former detective been following a trail that led to his murder? When the head of security is also found dead, it points to a conspiracy right at the heart of Shady Oaks.
The one person who might be able to help uncover the truth is just who Kit has been avoiding: Dr Sam Reeves. As a volunteer at the centre and a friend of the victim, the forensic psychologist could be just what her case needs.
But without access to CCTV of the day of the murder, how will Kit catch her killer? And can she do so before anyone else is put in danger?
How To Solve Your Own Murder
Kristen Perrin
In 1965, seventeen-year-old Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. Of course, no one took her seriously – until she was dead.
For Frances, being the village busybody was a form of insurance. She’d spent a lifetime compiling dirt on every person she met, just in case they might turn out to be her killer. In the heart of her sprawling country estate lies an eccentric library of detective work, where the right person could step in and use her findings to solve her murder
When her great-niece Annie arrives from London and discovers that Frances’ worst fear has come true, Annie is thrust into her great-aunt’s last act of revenge against her skeptical friends and family. Frances’ will stipulates that the person who solves her murder will inherit her millions. Can Annie unravel the mystery and find justice for Frances, or will digging up the past lead her into the path of the killer?
The Last Murder at the End of the World
Stuart Turton
When Silvia and her mother finally land in a place called Island City, after being expelled from their ancestral home in a not-too distant future, they end up living and working at The Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower where Silvia’s aunt, Ena, serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family’s past. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place she was born and spent her early years; nor does she know why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an opening: a person willing to give a young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia’s lonely and impoverished reality.
Startling, inventive, and profoundly moving, The Morningside is a novel about the stories we tell, and the stories we refuse to tell, to make sense of where we came from, and who we hope we might become.
The Kellerby Code
Jonny Sweet
Edward is living in a world he can’t afford and to which he doesn’t belong. To camouflage himself, he has catered to his friends’ needs: fetching dry cleaning, sorting flowers for premieres. It’s a noble effort, really – anything to keep his best pals Robert and Stanza happy. In return, his proximity to them might sponge the shame of his birth and violent past cleanly away.
But the chink in his armour is his painfully unrequited love for Stanza. When he realises Stanza and Robert are an item, Edward is pushed too far. His little acts of kindness take a sinister turn, giving way to the unspeakable brutality Edward fears is at his core. Are there limits to what he will do for his friends? Are there limits to what he will do to them?
The Crimson Moth
Kristen Ciccarelli
On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can’t help but find herself falling for.
Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
A Dawn of Onyx
Kate Golden
Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.
Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning-and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears. But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.
To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life-and hopefully, her heart.
Next of Kin
Hannah Bonam-Young
Two bickering strangers trying to foster their younger siblings team up to create a stable home, but the undeniable chemistry between them threatens to ruin everything.
When she discovers her biological mother has had a new baby, Chloe doesn’t hesitate to provide a home for her. Failing to meet social services’ financial evaluation, she’s forced into a new initiative: joining households with another prospective guardian.
Surly garage mechanic Warren, who is trying to gain custody of his deaf teenage brother, does not make a great first impression. But as their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren discover they have more in common than they thought. So much so that the chemistry between them threatens everything they’ve fought for…
Next to You
Hannah Bonam-Young
Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is leading nowhere, and she’s just not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulse purchase: a giant yellow forty-eight passenger school bus that she intends to make a home.
With little-to-no renovation experience, but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt – mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.
While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt’s a total family guy with ‘settle down with me’ tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment averse. Matt and Lane have silently agreed that friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. So when Matt offers to help her with the bus, and in the bedroom, Lane’s sure it can never work… can it?
Small Hours
Bobby Palmer
If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden…
You’d see a father and son, a fox standing between them.
You wouldn’t know that Jack has returned from the city, still determined to be the opposite of his father. Or that Gerry would rather talk to animals than this angry man back under his roof.
You wouldn’t imagine that neither is quite who the other remembers. That someone irreplaceable is missing. That one conversation might change everything. If you saw them in the small hours, you’d begin to piece together their story. It’s about connection and belonging – and how the world comes alive when you stop to take it in.
The Morningside
Tea Obreht
Welcome to The Morningside. The Morningside was once the jewel of Island City. But now the luxury high-rise is crumbling and Island City is half-underwater.
The building’s newest resident is an eleven-year-old girl, Silvia. Having arrived with only her mother, who is stubbornly secretive, Silvia knows little about the place they left behind. But her aunt, Ena, superintendent of the high-rise, delights in recounting the richly imaginative folktales of their demolished homeland to her little niece.
Suddenly Silvia’s world fills with magic and myths. Myths that seem to be coming true, when she encounters the mysterious inhabitant of the building’s penthouse, Bezi Duras, and her three massive dogs that may or may not be humans in disguise . . .
Consumed by curiosity, Silvia embarks on a mission to find out the truth about Bezi Duras, and her own haunted past.
A Prince so Cruel
Ingrid Seymour
A prince by morning. A beast by nightfall.
There is a curse on his blood, an ailment that, if revealed, could destroy his kingdom. The only one who can help him is me, a human with average healing abilities. It’s what the Envoy told him, and her word is law. I’m his only hope.
He sends his blue-blooded friends to kidnap me so I can join their quest to Mount Ruin, the only place where I can heal him. The path is terrifying, and the prince is lying, hiding things from me. To make matters worse, he isn’t always nice. A Fae prince isn’t supposed to lust for a human, especially when she’s his prisoner. And a human girl isn’t supposed to burn for someone so out of her league. The quest might kill me, but it’s my heart I’m worried about.
King of Sloth
Ana Huang
Charming, easy-going, and rich beyond belief, Xavier Castillo has the world at his fingertips. He also has no interest in taking over his family’s empire (much to his father’s chagrin), but that hasn’t stopped women from throwing themselves at him . . . unless the woman in question is his publicist.
Nothing brings him more joy than riling her up, but when a tragedy forces them closer than ever, he must grapple with the uncertainty of his future – and the realization that the only person immune to his charms is the only one he truly wants.
Cool, intelligent, and ambitious, Sloane Kensington is a high powered publicist who’s used to dealing with difficult clients. However, none infuriate – or tempt – her more than a certain billionaire heir, with his stupid dimples and laid-back attitude. She may be forced to work with him, but she’ll never fall for him . . . no matter how fast he makes her heart beat or how thoughtful he is beneath his party persona. He’s her client, and that’s all he’ll ever be. Right?
Wild Love
Elsie Silver
A brand new small town romance series from TikTok sensation, Elsie Silver.
Visit Rose Hill in 2024! From USA Today Bestselling Author Elsie Silver comes an all new small town romance series set in the same beloved universe as Chestnut Springs. New town, new characters, same addictive love stories.
Taming 7
Chloe Walsh
She’s the quintessential sunshine girl. He’s the lovable class clown. But storm clouds are rolling in, and this Tommen boy is about to get serious.
Tommen’s cheeky lad, Gerard ‘Gibsie’ Gibson, is a comedian at heart, but underneath his happy-go-lucky-nature lurks a broken boy, tortured by the events of his past. Using humour to cope with his demons, Gibsie hides everything from the world.
Only one person knows who he truly is on the inside. His friend’s little sister. His Clairebear. Enveloped in sunshine, Claire Biggs, has spent her whole life adoring the boy across the street. Her brother’s friend. Seeing a side to Gerard that no one else sees, Claire is determined to tame her wild-at-heart childhood best friend.
But when the unexpected occurs and lines are crossed, will Gibsie and Claire’s friendship survive? Will it blossom into something more, or will they lose themselves in the riptide?
