Kate Burke

Description

My list is made up of everything I like to read – gripping fiction featuring characters you can’t get enough of and whom you don’t want to part with at the end of a novel. I love dark stories but also uplifting love stories, too, and I’m keen to find more stories set in unusual or far-flung places. I love to learn more about a place and its inhabitants as I think fiction is all about escapism!

In terms of what I’m looking for: on the crime side, I love dark thrillers that keep me turning the page long into the night and that surprise me with plot twists and interesting narrative structures; crime series featuring new and fresh lead investigators; high-concept thrillers (contemporary or historical) that have a ‘what if?’ plot structure and say something about our society now or then.

On the historical fiction side, I love stories which combine a great sense of place and time (ideally, post-1800, please) with a mystery. I’m also a huge fan of anything set in a spooky old house so Gothic, atmospheric historical thrillers are also top of my wishlist!

Contemporary-wise, I love novels which have a discussable issue at their heart – and could work well for a heated book club discussion – as well as sweeping family stories about mothers, sisters and daughters (set anywhere in the world).

In case it’s helpful to know what I don’t represent: non-fiction, children’s and young adult books, science fiction, fantasy, spy, conspiracy or political thrillers.