Read This: Books under the Radar is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire – who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love. You can see the full list of books which have been selected, as well as the author’s latest book on Bookshop.org, where you can have a browse and buy any that take your fancy. Happy reading!

Read This: L V Matthews

I was lucky enough to interview L V Matthews with two other crime writers, for the Winchester Books Festival earlier this year on how she writes, and it was a fascinating discussion. A proof of her new book, To Love a Liar is on my to-read shelf! Here’s what she has to say about herself:

For over ten years L V Matthews worked both in domestic and international sales for major UK publishing houses, before leaving to pursue a career in writing. She is the author of three psychological thrillers, one of which, The Twins, was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. To Love A Liar is her next book coming out in March 2025 with Viking, and is a book of murder, certainly, but also love. It is about putting your trust in those who then betray you – a portrait of a marriage under strain, and an affair that was doomed from the beginning. How do we know how to do the right thing when the right thing itself is murky?

Twitter @LV_matthews
Instagram @lv_matthews_author

Here are the three books she’s chosen:

Elemental by Amanda Curtin

Elemental is one of the finest pieces of atmospheric fiction I’ve ever read. It is a book written with such evocative detail, and with such attention to invoking the senses, that I could almost taste the salt of the sea when I picked it up again to write this review. The novel is about Meggie Tulloch who, at the end of her life, is penning her experiences for her granddaughter, Laura. From her struggle to make something of herself beyond the ice-floes and the bitter winds of northern Scotland, to the shores of Western Australia where the weight of memories is as oppressive as the heat. Her message to Laura is that life is what you make of it – that hardship and joy are all equal parts of the tapestry. Though at times this book is a heartbreaking read, it is also wonderfully hopeful, and you will savour each page

The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook

British Colonel Lewis Morgan is tasked with rebuilding the city of Hamburg after World War Two, and, given his senior rank, he is bestowed a mansion on the river Elbe. He does however, make a controversial decision – in wanting promote relationship building and harmony between recent enemies, he allows the previous owners, a German widower and his daughter, to stay in the house and life alongside him. For a time they live in quiet concord – until, that is, the Colonel’s wife arrives. To say this novel is moving is an understatement. Its characters are beautifully real – some in the guilt and resentments they foster, others in the anger and fury, and in some, the compassion and empathy they evoke. The novel’s themes of respect and decency in a time where those values had been utterly shattered by war, utterly stole my heart. (And I will never forget the scene with the boy at the window!)

The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies

I will die on the hill that Robertson Davies is one of the all time literary greats. My mum introduced Davies’ books to me when I was in my 20s, and I was completely astounded that his novels could contain such breadth of subject matter as well as sentences that read like poetry. Each line feels gilded with elegance and consideration.

The Deptford Trilogy is set in 1908, and begins as ten year old Dunstable ducks a snowball thrown by his childhood friend, Percy. The intended snowball instead hits a pregnant woman who goes into early labour, and subsequently Paul Dempster is born. It is the start of a journey into their three lives, now inextricably linked, and what a ride we are given. The book delves into myth, magic, psychology, and the very human desire for belonging. Davies was a writer quite unique.

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I’ve read and really enjoyed The Aftermath, and I’ve heard of The Deptford Trilogy but not Elemental. What’s a better reason to pick it up? Have you read any of these? If you’d like to be told about future Read This recommendations, you can follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter.

More Read This: Books Under the Radar

Lou Morrish author of Women of War
Francesca Ramsay author of Pinch Me
Sarah Leipciger author of Moon Road
Tim Chapman university librarian
Juliet West author of The Faithful
Lindsay Hunter author of Hot Springs Drive
Gina Chung author of Sea Change
Susmita Bhattacharya author of Table Manners
Vanessa Harbour author of Safe
Freya North author of The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne
Judith Heneghan author of Birdeye
Clare Mackintosh author of I Promise it won’t always Hurt like This
Barney Norris author of Undercurrent
Jo Leevers author of The Last Time I saw You
Alice Winn author of In Memmoriam
Jane Borges author of Bombay Balchão
Anna Mazzola author of The Book of Secrets
Jenna Smith book blogger and book club organiser
Lucy Atkins author of Windmill Hill