Debut novels by CBC alumni we can't wait to read in 2024
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
4th Jan 2024
As you pack away your Christmas decorations and set New Year's resolutions, it's time to turn your attention to what promises to be another bumper year for book releases. We've collated some of the must-read debuts by our talented former students that we can’t wait to read in 2024. From dark and twisted mysteries to will-they-won't-they romance, here are the debuts that you should be adding to your reading lists this year.
Someone Like You by Becky Alexander
Pre-order your copy (Storm Publishing, 10 Jan 2024)
If you’re after a story full of dark and emotional drama, you’ll want to watch out for Becky Alexander’s debut novel.
Despite attending numerous auditions, out-of-work RADA trained actress, Jemima Evans, is yet to get her big break. When she's offered a casting opportunity with highly respected and extremely influential executive producer, Rebecca Sheridan, Jemima is prepared to go to any length to prove that she is perfect for the role.
Perfect for fans of Anatomy of a Scandal, The Girl Before and The Silent Patient.
Becky was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2021.
Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull
Pre-order your copy (Penguin Books, 25 Jan 2024)
For fans of Austen's novels and delightfully compelling mysteries, I introduce to you Miss Austen Investigates!
Welcome to Hampshire, 1795, where a young Jane Austen has her sights set on securing a marriage proposal from the dashing Tom Lefroy at a local ball.
But when a shocking discovery is made - a milliner's lifeless body tucked away in a linen closet - Jane finds herself embroiled in an unexpected murder mystery.
As she races against the clock to clear her beloved brother Georgy's name, Jane uses her sharp wits to navigate the treacherous waters of society, unmasking secrets and unearthing hidden motives along the way. With every twist and turn, Jane's determination to solve the case deepens. And if she fails, her brother will face the ultimate punishment - the hangman's noose...
Jessica took our Writing Historical Fiction and Edit & Pitch Your Novel courses in 2021.
The Trials of Lila Dalton by L. J. Shepherd
Pre-order your copy (Pushkin Press, 1 Feb 2024)
The Trials of Lila Dalton is a twisty, unexpected locked-room mystery that follows one woman's race against time to find a killer, clear her own name, and escape the island that threatens to keep her trapped forever.
I look up to find twelve strangers staring back at me… and I realize I'm the one they're waiting for.
Lila Dalton has no memory of how she came to be in this courtroom; no memory of how she got to the courthouse at all, or why she's facing a jury who seems to be waiting for her. The man on trial is accused of mass murder, and she's his lawyer, but she can't remember any details of the case. She can't remember anything…
Stranded on an island in the Atlantic Ocean where the most serious crimes are tried, Lila has to prove her client's innocence if she wants to go home. But how can she solve this case when she's not sure she can trust anything around her, including her own memory?
L.J. was a student on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in London in 2020.
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
Pre-order your copy (Hutchinson Heinemann, 15 Feb 2024)
The List of Suspicious Things has already received glowing reviews from early readers including Elizabeth Day and Rob Rinder – if you're a fan of mystery stories, this is certainly a debut to watch for 2024.
Yorkshire, 1979
Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.
Because of the murders.
Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.
Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?
So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't.
But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.
What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?
Jennie was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course online in 2020.
Read all about Jennie’s journey to publication.
The Painter's Daughter by Emily Howes
Pre-order your copy (Orion Publishing, 29 Feb 2024)
A beautifully intimate tale of sisterhood, art and class in 18th-century England, Howes' debut reimagines the little-known lives of Thomas Gainsborough's two daughters in luminous, pitch-perfect prose.
It's 1759 in Ipswich and sisters Peggy and Molly Gainsborough are the best of friends who do everything together. But there is another reason they are inseparable: from a young age, Molly has had a tendency to forget who she is, to fall into mental confusion, and Peggy knows instinctively that no one must find out.
When the family move to Bath, the sisters are thrown into the whirl of polite society, where the merits of marriage and codes of behaviour are crystal clear, and secrets much harder to keep. As Peggy goes to greater lengths to protect her sister from the threat of an asylum, she finds herself falling in love, and their precarious situation is soon thrown catastrophically off course. The discovery of a betrayal forces Peggy to question all she has done for Molly - and whether any one person can truly change the fate of another.
Emily was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course online in 2021. She is now represented by C&W literary agent, Susan Armstrong.
Secrets of the Snakestone
Pre-order your copy (Nosy Crow, 14 Mar 2024)
Younger readers will want to get their hands on a copy of Piu DasGupta's, Secrets of the Snakestone. Perfect for fans of Nazneen Ahmed Pathak, Abi Elphinstone and Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
In this magical adventure story, Zélie and Jules face a deadly race to solve a family mystery and a vicious crime that stretches from the jungles of Calcutta to the sewers of Paris.
Zélie is often accused of being a witch, but she doesn't believe in magic. Until Jules climbs up from the reeking Parisian sewer and hands Zélie the golden locket he discovered there. The locket once held the magical Snakestone, and Zélie knows that if she can find the stone, she might also find her missing father.
But a dangerous secret society are equally desperate to get their hands on the Snakestone and its powers. With their lives under threat, Zélie and Jules embark on a desperate hunt for the treasure, facing strange riddles, a mysterious circus, and the miles of murky tunnels that twist beneath the ancient city above...
Piu was a student on our Writing YA & Children’s Fiction – Three Months course in 2020.
The Happiness Blueprint by Ally Zetterberg
Pre-order your copy (HarperCollins US, 2 Apr 2024)
The Happiness Blueprint is a quirky story of love and lost souls full of characters you'll be rooting for.
Klara and Alex are having trouble connecting, but at least their calendars are in sync.
Klara—who’s always thought of herself as a little different—is feeling a disconnect these days. She has type 1 diabetes, currently works in a dead-end job, and is in desperate need of a change. When her dad falls ill, Klara begrudgingly agrees to help run his small construction company while he recovers, even though it means moving back home and pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone to the extreme.
Alex has been a shell of himself since his brother died in an accident. He’s unemployed, has bills piling up, and is distant from friends and family. His therapist is encouraging him to keep things manageable by setting up a calendar, checking off tasks each day, and looking for work to help get him back on his feet. When an ad pops up for a carpenter position at a small construction company, he jumps at the chance to take a step forward.
Klara's and Alex’s stories unfold through a series of miscommunications in this clever and witty novel that’s about finding acceptance and even love in unexpected places.
Ally studied on our Writing Your Novel – Three Months online course in 2021.
You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here: A Psychiatrist’s Life by Benji Waterhouse
Pre-order your copy (Vintage, 16 May 2024)
You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here is the perfect read for fans of This Is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes and The Prison Doctor. This medical memoir is an enlightening and darkly comic window into the world of psychiatry which will make you laugh and cry in equal measure.
Unlocking the doors to the psych ward, NHS psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a fly-on-the-padded-wall account of medicine’s most mysterious and controversial speciality.
Why would anyone in their right mind choose to be a psychiatrist? Are the solutions to people’s messy lives really within medical school textbooks? And how can vulnerable patients receive the care they need when psychiatry lacks staff, hospital beds and any actual cures?
You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here explores these complicated questions from both sides of the doctor’s desk.
Benji studied on our five-day intensive online memoir course in 2020 and was also a student on our Writing an Original TV Drama Serial course in 2022.
The Beach Hut by Leah Pitt
Pre-order your copy (Hodder & Stoughton, 23 May 2024)
If you're after a beautifully written, gripping psychological suspense novel from an exciting new talent, you'll want to pre-order a copy of The Beach Hut.
July, 1997. Matilda is killed in a tragic accident on the Dorset rocks, leaving her best friend Sophie alone, wracked with guilt.
Decades later, Sophie is back for the first time since that terrible summer, to sell her family's old beach hut and bury the memories forever.
But on clearing out the hut, she finds evidence that Matilda's death was no accident. What really happened the night she died?
As Sophie edges closer to the truth, the past starts to close in on the present. Because the close-knit community is still home to a killer, and they want Sophie gone...
Leah was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course (online) in 2021. She is represented by Curtis Brown literary agent, Rosie Pierce.
The Fabergé Girl by Ina Christova
(Publishing in Bulgarian and English in May 2024)
If you're a fan of historical fiction and cover art that is worthy of being hung in a gallery, you are going to want to get their hands on a copy of The Fabergé Girl by Ina Christova.
Seventeen-year old Alma dreams of joining the House of Fabergé. Right at the heart of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, the renowned house boasts workshops filled with talented artisans, winding staircases, a secret golden elevator and a glasshouse of tropical plants. But instead of following her dreams, she makes sketches in her room while her brother Oskar presents her work as his own.
Ever since their father died, Alma went into herself and started to design the most intricate jewellery pieces in her mind, imbuing them with her emotions. A Finnish artisan, Knut, helps her to overcome resistance and join the House of Fabergé where she gives full vent to her imagination. But it turns out that Knut is not a complete stranger. There are secrets in their intertwining pasts that will change their lives forever.
Ina was a student on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in 2020.
Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg
Pre-order your copy (Headline, 6 Jun 2024)
Described as Emma Cline's The Girls meets Lord of the Flies, Spoilt Creatures is an intoxicating debut about transgression, sisterhood and the seductive nature of obsession.
It was a place for women. A remote farm tucked away in the Kent Downs. A safe space.
When Iris - newly single and living at home with her mother - meets the mysterious and beguiling Hazel, who lives in a women's commune, she finds herself drawn into the possibility of a new start away from the world of men who have only let her down. Here, at Breach House, the women can be loud and dirty, live and eat abundantly, all while under the leadership of their gargantuan matriarch, Blythe.
But even among the women, there are power struggles, cruelty and transgressions that threaten their precarious way of life. When a group of men arrives on the farm, the commune's existence is thrown into question, hurtling Iris and the other women towards an act of devastating violence.
Amy was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2021.
The Echoes of Us by Emma Steele
Pre-order your copy (Headline, 6 Jun 2024)
If you're looking for a captivating love story on an epic scale, you'll adore Emma Steele's The Echoes of Us. Perfect for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and The Man Who Didn't Call.
Robbie and Jenn are meant to be. They've finally reconciled after eight months spent apart and both know that, this time, it's forever.
But forever might not be as long as they think.
As a truck hurtles towards their car on their way home, Robbie is thrown back into Jenn's past and he finds himself spectator in the most important moments of her life: golden moments from her childhood and heart-breaking ones from her teenage years; her exhausting time at med school and just where she's been for the last eight months. But he may find more than he bargained for...
Can Robbie right the wrongs in their past? Can he get to the bottom of what drove Jenn away eight months ago? Most importantly, can he change their present in order to save their future?
Emma was a student on our three-month online Writing Your Novel course in 2019.
Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands
Pre-order your copy (Orion Publishing, 13 Jun 2024)
Only Here, Only Now is a story about poverty, identity and family that shines with hope and resilience. It is an original and unforgettable coming-of-age novel filled with humour, honesty, and an abundance of love.
Fife, in the blazing hot summer of 1994. Cora Mowat's mates don't understand her, but then Cora Mowat doesn't understand herself. She's stuck on a seaside council estate full of dafties, old folk and seagulls, with a million dreams and a restless brain that won't behave. She's dying to escape but unsure of what the future holds - if it holds anything at all for a girl like her.
When her Mam's weird boyfriend moves in, tensions rise in their tiny house. Gunner means well, but he's dodgy - a shaven-headed shoplifter with more than a few secrets stashed under the bed. As their attempts to forge a makeshift family unravel, Cora rails against her small-town existence in search of love, acceptance and a path to something good. But sometimes you can't move forward until you find your way back . . .
Tom Newlands was awarded a free five-day novel-writing course place as part of our Breakthrough Writers’ Programme for under-represented writers in 2021.
Things Don’t Break On Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins
Pre-order your copy (Penguin Books, 20 Jun 2024)
With comparisons to Magpie and The Push, Things Don’t Break on their Own is a propulsive debut about how our memories shape us, and the lies we tell to escape them.
Nobody ever found out what happened to Laika Martenwood, the girl who vanished without a trace on her way to school one morning. But for her sister Willa, life shattered into tiny pieces that day, and she has never been able to put them back together again.
It’s been twenty-five years, and the only thing that has kept her going is her belief that her sister is alive, somewhere.
But when a dinner party conversation about childhood memories spirals out of control, a shattering revelation from one of the guests forces Willa to rethink everything she thought she knew about her past. And, out of the debris of that explosive evening, the truth of what really happened begins to emerge...
Sarah took our three-month online Writing Your Novel course in 2021. She is represented by Curtis Brown literary agent, Felicity Blunt.
The Virtue Season by L.M. Nathan
Pre-order your copy now (Scholastic, 4 Jul 2024)
Are you ready for dystopian Bridgerton? Described as Bridgerton meets The Hunger Games with shades of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984, The Virtue Season is as romantic as it is sinister and completely unputdownable.
Manon Pawlak has just turned eighteen - a debutant at the start of The Virtue Season: a process which will result in a match with a suitable genetic mate.Her best friend, Agatha, has been decommissioned. Her seizures mean that she has been branded with a scar on the crest of her cheek which will forever sit at the corner of her vision, colouring the world in shades of mauve.
This is the story of their ritual year. And the Council is watching...
L.M. Nathan took our six-month Writing Your Novel course (online) in 2021. She is represented by Curtis Brown literary agent, Ciara Finan.
The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson
Pre-order your copy (Transworld Publishers, 11 Jul 2024)
Historical fictions fans are going to want to get their hands on a copy of Josie Ferguson's debut novel based in Berlin in 1961 during the Second World War.
Lisette lives in East Berlin but brings her new-born baby to a hospital in West Berlin. Under doctor's orders, she goes home to rest, leaving the baby in the care of the hospital. But overnight the border between East and West closes, slicing the city - and the world - in two. With a city in chaos and armed guards ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross, her situation is desperate. Lisette's teenage daughter, Elly, has always...
Josie studied on our six-month online Writing Your Novel course in 2021.
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