Whitcoulls Recommends: The Pirate Queen and Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel

The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon. Fiction, based on the real life of Grace O’Malley who lived in the 16th century and gained renown as a fiercely independent woman and a fearless pirate who controlled an army of men, key maritime routes and trade in the west of Ireland. Suffering English rule, she bowed to no one and her story is extraordinary. This is by the author of The Frozen River which is one of my favourite books in recent years. 

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley. Readers of Agatha Christie will be familiar with Miss Marple, her village living amateur detective about whom many books were written. Lucy Foley has now produced a new Miss Marple story, authorized by the Christie estate - in which Miss Marple finds herself in a flash hotel high in the Alps where murders occur and of course her sleuthing skills come to the fore. It’s a real homage to the original author, and fans of her work - but also readers discovering them for the first time - will find much to enjoy. 

LISTEN ABOVE