The New Jodi Picoult Novel, And Four Other Books That Will Start An ‘Intense Discussion’ In Your Book Club

Jodi Picoult has long been writing novels with a strong ethical dilemma, taking the reader through the experiences of different characters facing the situation from different angles. What's changed is the reader: the febrile world of current US politics has made us more engaged than ever with discussing gnarly issues. And just in time for Picoult's latest, which is set in a US women's reproductive health centre where a hostage situation takes place. With an intricate backward-weaving structure, a host of compelling voices and her characteristically calm but captivating tone, this is a very special novel about a very difficult subject. Here are four other novels with enough of an ethical dilemma to provide an properly intense book club discussionu2026

The complications of a historic rape case, unreliable memories and adolescent desires are the back drop for Kelly's most recent thriller. She writes fantastically taught, compelling psychological dramas and this one - darting between memories of a festival during the 1999 eclipse and the current day is easily her best. Eeking out details about the past while slowly forming a picture of how it affected the present, it is subtle and manipulative in equal measure, leaving the reader guessing - and wrong footed - time after time. You'll lose sleep over it but you might not mind.

The haunting premise of this early Moriarty novel was enough to catapult her to must-read author status: Cecilia Fitzpatrick finds a letter her husband has left her to read in the event of his death. It contains his darkest secret. Only he's not dead. Following Cecilia's choices, as we watch her discovery, while learning what led her extended family to this point is a masterclass in storytelling, which delicious dollops of insight into marriage, mother in laws and the daily grind.Where so many thrillers peter out towards the end, this one has a final few pages which will haunt you for weeks.

The novel that did more for tissue sales than any other in the last decade. Me Before You tackles euthanasia, through a prism of young love, female ambition and the English class system. When Lou discovers that her new employee Will, a handsome young man who is a quadriplegic following a road accident, is planning to end his life, she makes it her mission to persuade him not to. A journey of self-discovery follows, but one quite unlike anything we've seen on the page - or now on screen.A gorgeous love story with the pace of a thriller.