Euan Thorneycroft

I love crossover literary/commercial fiction (Bookclub fiction). I want to read novels which start conversations and tap into the zeitgeist such as Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid or The List by Yomi Adegoke. And I want immersive, transporting novels which take me on a journey to a time and place, and where I step into other people’s shoes such as Still Life by Sarah Winman, or Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. I read a lot of crime and thrillers from police procedurals to spy fiction, psychological suspense and full-throttle action adventure, and if they have a really unusual and imaginative hook, so much the better. I want to be on the edge of my seat and engrossed. Here are just a few authors I love – Mick Herron, Cara Hunter, MJ Arlidge, TM Logan, Chris Whitaker. I also love those crime novels which push the boundaries of the genre , such as My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Historical fiction is also a big passion of mine, and that might be a historical crime series along the lines of Laura Shepherd Robinson or Elodie Harper, or something stand-alone in the vein of The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins or The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews. I want to be transported to the time and place depicted in these novels – setting is a key ingredient. And I want characters who are complex – greedy, empathetic, selfish, noble – often all at once!

In non-fiction, I love memoirs in all shapes and sizes. Writing a memoir requires many of the skills of a novelist (which is one of the reasons I like it) – you have to shape your story, immerse the reader in your world and above all, get them to care. Some stand-outs for me are Educated by Tara Westover, The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks, and Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. I am also interested in working with experts in their field and helping them turn their ideas into something that will appeal to a broad readership. I am most interested in those ideas which can be told through stories and narratives, in the areas of history, science, technology, politics and nature.