Quercus Books Book Mail 💌
- The_Secret_Bookreview
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
This week, I was thrilled to receive a special delivery of book mail—all from the incredible Quercus Books.
It's always exciting to get my hands on new reads, and these editions are stunning.
The Boys by Leo Robson:
Set in London during the 2012 Olympics, The Boys follows Johnny Voghel, a man in his late thirties who is feeling emotionally and professionally stuck.
He works a dead-end job at a university, is grieving the recent deaths of his parents, and is experiencing a slow decline in his romantic relationship. His life takes an unexpected turn when his estranged half-brother Lawrence suddenly returns from Chicago to stay at their old family home.
Lawrence’s reappearance forces Johnny to confront unresolved tensions and feelings of inadequacy. Eager to rekindle their bond and perhaps regain a sense of purpose, Johnny involves himself in Lawrence’s world, including connecting with Lawrence’s old flame and two mysterious students who seem to drift through the city’s social and emotional undercurrents.
The story unfolds over the course of two weeks and explores themes of sibling rivalry, identity, emotional disconnection, and the longing for belonging. As the Olympics light up London with celebration and momentum, Johnny’s personal life is quietly unraveling and reassembling in the background.
It’s a reflective and often melancholic look at adulthood, missed chances, and how family dynamics can linger well into middle age. The book is out now and available to purchase.
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The Woman Who Laughed by Simon Mason:
In early 2020, a series of murders targeting Black sex workers in northern England shocked the nation.
Among the victims was Ella Bailey, a bright and promising young woman last seen speaking to a client in a Sheffield alley. Though her body was never found, a man named Michael Godley confessed to all three murders, including Ella’s, and the case was closed.
Five years later, another sex worker is murdered in the same area, and a new clue reignites interest in Ella’s fate: the bag she was carrying on the night she disappeared reappears mysteriously, hanging on the doors of a café.
A local homeless man claims to have seen Ella alive, sitting in a churchyard. In response, South Yorkshire Police enlist the help of the Finder, a methodical investigator with a talent for uncovering the truth through quiet persistence and deep listening.
As he retraces the steps of Ella’s life, the Finder revisits the tense early days of the pandemic and interviews the people closest to her — including her controlling boyfriend Caine, her girlfriend Loz, and her bewildered foster parents.
The story slowly unravels how Ella, a clever, high-achieving student and former athletics champion, came to vanish without a trace. The investigation delves into themes of race, class, systemic failure, and how society often fails its most vulnerable. The Finder must navigate danger and deceit to uncover the truth, all while the city is gripped by fear and suspicion.
This is a slow-burning, atmospheric mystery driven by character and emotion, with a strong social conscience at its core. The book is out now and available to purchase.
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Havoc by Rebecca Wait:
In the early 1960s, sixteen-year-old Ida Campbell arrives at St Anne’s, a crumbling girls’ boarding school on the south coast of England. She has fled a scandal in Scotland and clings to her scholarship as a second chance. St Anne’s, though eccentric and outdated, offers her a form of refuge — at least at first.
But Ida’s hope for peace is quickly unsettled. Her new room-mate is Louise Adler, a notorious misfit with a reputation for rebellion and suspected arson. Their uneasy alliance is just one part of a complex and shifting dynamic among the girls.
In the background, the staff at St Anne’s struggle to keep the school afloat. Eleanor Alston, the disillusioned geography teacher, is nursing the wounds of a failed affair. She is immediately suspicious of the newly arrived and overly charming Matthew Langfield, a teacher whose credentials don’t quite add up.
As term progresses, strange symptoms begin to afflict the students — involuntary movements, seizures, and a growing sense of hysteria. Rumours of poisoning swirl. The cause of the illness remains elusive, and paranoia grips the school.
Is it a physical ailment, a psychological epidemic, or something more sinister?
As secrets rise to the surface, Havoc explores themes of repression, trauma, female friendship, and the instability of institutions built on silence. With the Cold War looming and social norms tightening around them, the characters must confront both personal and collective truths as the school unravels.
Havoc is a gothic-tinged, slow-burning literary mystery that delves into the inner lives of girls and women at a time of profound societal pressure and fear. The book is out now and available to purchase.
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