20 book club books to discuss and debate

Why read this: A gripping true story that exposes the hidden forces shaping modern London, this is the latest compelling read from the bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing. When teenager Zac Brettler falls to his death from a luxury riverside apartment, his parents uncover a secret double life and are drawn into a world of extreme wealth, deception and danger. Patrick Radden Keefe blends forensic reporting with emotional depth, revealing how a global city’s glittering surface can conceal darker truths about power, identity and inequality. It’s both a heartbreaking family story and a sharp portrait of a city in flux.

If you’re looking for: Investigative journalism, true crime, modern London, extreme wealth, narrative non-fiction.

Great for fans of: Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, Butler to the World by Oliver Bullough, A Thread of Violence by Mark O'Connell, Putin's People by Catherine Belton.

Discussion topics: Identity and reinvention, the influence of wealth, double lives, modern adolescence, true crime writing, changing London.

Why read this: A dead judge. A defendant who refuses to speak. And a case that may be unwinnable by design. When junior barrister Leila Reynolds is thrust into a high-profile murder trial, she is chosen by the accused for reasons she does not understand. As the courtroom battle intensifies, Leila must persuade a jury without testimony, evidence that won’t cooperate, and while concealing secrets of her own.

If you’re looking for: Legal thrillers, courtroom drama, unreliable narratives, high-stakes tension, twist-driven plots, morally complex characters.

Great for fans of: Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, Apple Tree Yard.

Discussion topics: Ethics in the legal system, the power of silence, personal bias and justice, how far someone will go to win.

Why read this: Outrageous, warm-hearted and sharply observed, Motherfaker turns a wildly implausible premise into something both hilarious and unexpectedly moving. Barri has spent years slaving away as a teacher and covering for colleagues with kids. When her husband vanishes – along with her savings – it’s the final straw. And so, she hatches a wild plan: fake a pregnancy and use the paid maternity leave to start over somewhere new.

If you’re looking for: Humorous fiction, escapism, small community dynamics, moral dilemmas with a light touch.

Great for fans of:
The Break by Marian Keyes, Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, Alexandra Potter.

Potential discussion topics: Loneliness, reinvention, the pressures on women at work, 'what would you do?', comedy in fiction. 

Why read this: Elegant, unsettling and quietly explosive, Among Friends dissects the fragility of long-held relationships beneath a veneer of privilege. Over the course of a single weekend, decades of friendship begin to fracture, as buried tensions and unspoken resentments surface – culminating in a moment that changes everything. Sharp, perceptive and emotionally charged, this is a novel that invites you to look closer at what binds people together – and what can tear them apart.

If you’re looking for: Upper-class discontent, friendship under strain, family secrets, psychological tension, literary page-turners.

Great for fans of: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, The White Lotus, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.

Potential discussion topics: Loyalty and betrayal, friendship versus obligation, the impact of wealth on relationships.

Why read this: Glamorous, witty and quietly incisive, Meet the Newmans pulls back the curtain on America’s favourite TV family at the moment their perfect image begins to fracture. Set against the shifting cultural tides of the 1960s, this is a richly entertaining story of fame, identity and reinvention, as secrets surface and the woman at the heart of it all begins to question everything she’s been told to be.

If you’re looking for: Family drama, behind-the-scenes fame, 1960s setting, feminist themes, humour with emotional depth, ensemble casts.

Great for fans of: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Discussion topics: The idea of perfection, gender roles and expectations, public image versus private truth.

Why read this:
Disturbing, provocative and impossible to look away from, Trad Wife peels back the glossy veneer of influencer perfection to reveal something far more sinister. As journalist Jenny investigates Mia’s idyllic online life, the cracks begin to show – and then something much darker seeps through. Blending psychological horror with sharp social commentary, this is a bold, unsettling read that lingers.

If you’re looking for: Horror, feminist fiction, social media satire, cult-like dynamics, surreal and unsettling narratives, domestic noir.

Great for fans of:

Catriona Ward, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, Black Mirror.

Discussion topics: Performative femininity, social media and identity, power and control in domestic spaces, modern misogyny.

Why read this: This razor-sharp, creepy thriller will leave you constantly questioning what is real, as a woman discovers her life has been depicted in the pages of a bestselling novel. Ten years ago, ambitious and driven Hope landed a job with bohemian author Ambrose Glencourt, which ended in a fatal disaster. Hope has worked hard to keep the secret of those events ever since. But now, Ambrose has written a novel based on the story which paints a rather different version of events from what Hope remembers. Which one of them is the reliable narrator?.

If you’re looking for: Books about books, feminist thriller, dark secrets, toxic relationships, revenge.

Great for fans of: Alice Feeney, Lisa Jewell.

Potential discussion topics: Unreliable narrators! Narrative ownership, the reliability of memory, revenge.

The number one global bestseller and Book of the Year 2025 for Audible, The Times, Cosmopolitan, The Economist and more.

‘How else to put this? Bloody hell’ – The Guardian
‘Jaw-dropping . . . A tell-all tome’ – Financial Times
‘A Bridget Jones’s Diary-style tale of a young woman thrown into a series of improbable situations’ – The Times

Sarah Wynn-Williams joined Facebook believing the company could change things for the better. Instead, what she encountered over seven years was so shocking that Meta obtained a legal order to silence her.

Now you can read her award-winning story. Candid and entertaining, Wynn-Williams’ account pulls back the curtain on Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and the global elite. She exposes the true cost of Silicon Valley’s ambition, from outrageous schemes cooked up on private jets to the alarming consequences of Facebook’s aggressive pursuit of global dominance.

Careless People is an ordinary woman's gripping and darkly funny memoir that will forever change how you view the technology that runs our lives – and the unchecked power of those who control it.

With a new foreword for paperback from Naomi Alderman.

‘Amazing: of all the books in all the world Mr Free Speech Zuckerberg wants to ban, it’s the one about him’ – Marina Hyde
‘Urgently necessary reading’ – Elizabeth Day, author of The Party and Friendaholic

Shortlisted for the Westminster Book Awards 2025
Shortlisted for the Hatchards First Biography Prize 2025
Shortlisted for the Unwin Award 2026
Winner of the Blueprint Asia-Pacific Whistleblowing Prize 2025
Winner of the Speakies Award for the Best Non-Fiction Memoir Audiobook

Why read this: This claustrophobic, devastating yet also darkly hilarious novel is sure to get a great discussion going. When young academic Zoe starts an affair with the glamourous, successful Penny, she can't quite believe what's happening. But once Penny confesses all to her live-in lover, Justine, their happiness seems assured. Yet, there is something else Penny needs as badly in her life as Zoe’s adoration, and thus the beginning of their affair might also have signaled its end . . .

If you’re looking for: Power dynamics, queer fiction, obsession, psychological tension, dark humour.

Great for fans of: Sarah Moss, Deborah Levy, Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.

Potential discussion topics: Power and control in relationships, parenting and parents, the nature of desire.

Why read this: Epic, emotional and richly drawn, The Women shines a light on the overlooked role of women in the Vietnam War. Frankie McGrath, a nursing student in '60s California, joins the Army Nurses Corps to follow her brother to Vietnam. Through Frankie’s journey from naïve student to battle-hardened nurse, it explores courage, trauma and the bonds forged in crisis. With a memorable heroine, searing insights, and lyrical beauty, The Women is a poignant tale of courage guaranteed to move any book club.

If you’re looking for: Historical fiction, strong female friendships, war narratives, emotional storytelling, coming-of-age.

Great for fans of:
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.

Potential discussion topics: The legacy of war, the nature of heroism and honour, friendship under pressure, trauma.

Why read this: Kristin Hannah again turns her attention to the often neglected stories of women in war time – this time, World War Two. Following two sisters in occupied France, each forced onto very different paths, it explores love, sacrifice and survival with emotional intensity and sweeping storytelling. 

If you’re looking for: Historical fiction, strong female characters, wartime resilience, emotional storytelling,  moral dilemmas.

Great for fans of:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.

Potential discussion topics: Different forms of bravery, moral choices under occupation, the role of women in war, sisterhood and conflict, memory and legacy.

Why read this: Atmospheric and thought-provoking, The King’s Witches is based on a true story from a dark chapter of Scottish history. The novel explores the impact of the sixteenth-century Scottish witch trials through the lives of three very different women: Princess Anna of Denmark, betrothed to King James VI of Scotland, her pious lady-in-waiting Kirsten Sorenson, a woman with her own secret desires, and Jura, a young housemaid known for her healing charms. As suspicion and fear take hold, their stories reveal the human cost of persecution and the dangerous intersection of power, religion and gender.

If you’re looking for: Historical fiction, feminist perspectives, witch trials, multiple viewpoints, moral tension.

Great for fans of:
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Stacey Halls.

Potential discussion topics: Justice versus hysteria, women and power, historical bias, truth and storytelling.

Why read this: A BBC Radio 2 Book Club recommendation and a Sunday Times bestseller inspired by real events. Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week. What happened to the three men, out on the tower? Twenty years later, the women they left behind have been driven apart by the tragedy. Still struggling to move on, Helen, Jenny and Michelle are approached by a writer who wants to know their side of the story. But by confronting the past, dark fears and hidden truths begin to surface. Emma Stonex weaves a suspenseful mystery with an unforgettable story of love and grief.

If you’re looking for: Unsolved mysteries, dual timelines, atmospheric settings, emotional depth, literary suspense.

Great for fans of:
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, Broadchurch.

Potential discussion topics: Grief and memory, truth versus perception, isolation and claustrophobia. 

Why read this: Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Trust unpicks the mythology of wealth and power through layered, competing narratives. Everyone in 1920s New York knows of Benjamin and Helen Rask, the Wall Street tycoon and the daughter of bohemian aristocrats. They live in a sphere of untold wealth, but what is the true cost of their fortune? This mystery sits at the heart of a bestselling novel that all of New York has read. But, like all stories, there are different perspectives. Hernan Diaz tracks these narratives across a century and documents the truth-bending power of money, with provocative revelations at each turn.

If you’re looking for: Literary fiction, unreliable narrators, wealth and power, experimental structure, historical settings.

Great for fans of:
Colson Whitehead, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Potential discussion topics: Capitalism and morality, narrative control, the construction of legacy.

Why read this: London, 1850. Constance Horton has disappeared. Maude, her older sister, knows only that Constance abandoned the apothecary they call home, and, disguised as a boy, boarded a ship bound for the Arctic. She never returned. When she finds Constance’s journal, it becomes clear that the truth is being buried by sinister forces. To find answers Maude must step into London’s dark underbelly, and into the path of dangerous, powerful men. The kind of men who seek their fortune in the city’s horrors, from the hangings at Newgate to the ghoulish waxworks of Madame Tussaud’s. 

If you’re looking for: Historical adventure, mystery, Victorian London, revenge narratives.

Great for fans of:
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

Potential discussion topics: Justice versus revenge, women in Victorian society, London's dark history.

Why read this: Set in a poverty-stricken Glasgow in the early 1980s, Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-winning debut is a heartbreaking story which lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty and the limits of love. Agnes Bain has always dreamed of greater things, but when her husband abandons her she finds herself trapped in a decimated mining town with her three children, and descends deeper and deeper into drink. Her son Shuggie tries to help Agnes long after her other children have fled, but he too must abandon her to save himself.

If you’re looking for: Literary fiction, coming-of-age, heartbreaking reads, social realism.

Great for fans of:
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

Potential discussion topics: Addiction and responsibility, unconditional love, social inequality, identity and resilience.

Why read this: It's an autumn day in 1686 in Amsterdam, and eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a splendid house in the finest part of the city. She has come to marry esteemed trader Johannes Brandt, but instead his sharp-tongued sister opens the door. When she finally encounters Johannes he presents her with an amazing wedding gift: a cabinet representing their home. It is furnished by an enigmatic miniaturist, whose creations not only mirror but begin to predict the increasing peril they find themselves in . . .

If you’re looking for: Historical fiction, mystery, secrets, gothic undertones.

Great for fans of:
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal.

Discussion topics: Control and autonomy, gender roles, the power of secrets.

Why read this: Smart, unsettling and darkly compelling, The Centre takes a brilliant premise – instant language fluency – and twists it into something far more disturbing. Anisa spends her days writing subtitles for Bollywood films in her London flat, longing to be a translator of literature. Her boyfriend, Adam, on the other hand, has an extraordinary aptitude for language - or so Anisa thinks. After learning to speak Urdu practically overnight, Adam reveals his secret. It's the Centre: an elite programme that guarantees fluency in any language in just ten days. But when Anisa enrols and is quickly seduced by all that is made possible, she soon realizes the disturbing, hidden cost of its services.

If you’re looking for: Speculative fiction, satire, ambition, identity, dark twists, contemporary settings.

Great for fans of:
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, Black Mirror.

Potential discussion topics: That twist (trust us), the ethics of ambition, cultural appropriation, the cost of success, authenticity versus performance.

Why read this: Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing. Jack is excited about turning five. He lives with his Ma in a small room, with a skylight and a door that is always locked. His only friends are Ma, and the cartoon characters he sees on TV. Then one day, Ma admits there is a world outside. Narrated in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. 

If you’re looking for: Emotional fiction, unique narrative voice, survival stories, psychological depth.

Great for fans of:
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson.

Potential discussion topics: The author's choice of narrator, perspective and innocence, trauma and recovery, parenting under extreme conditions.

Why read this: As bombs fall on 1940s London, Emmy dreams of assisting the war effort as a fearless Lady War Correspondent. Unfortunately, after a misunderstanding over a job advert, Emmy instead ends up as a typist for formidable agony aunt, Henrietta Bird. But Mrs Bird won’t answer letters containing any form of Unpleasantness, so what can Emmy do but try to help these desperate women herself? A Richard & Judy Book Club Pick and Sunday Times bestseller, Dear Mrs Bird is a sweet and uplifting wartime tale of bravery, friendship and love. 

If you’re looking for: Historical fiction, uplifting stories, humour in adversity, friendship, wartime settings.

Great for fans of:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Call the Midwife.

Potential discussion topics: Censorship and truth, resilience, uses of humour.