Joan's Picks: Lady Tan’s Circle of Women and After That Night

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See. She’s a terrific writer - one of my favourite books in recent years was The Island of Sea Women. This new one is historical, set in 15^th Century China about a woman - Yungxian Tan - whose grandmother was a doctor (highly unusual) and was raised to understand and assist with women’s health, and whose best friend was a midwife in training. When Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage everything changes and she’s forbidden from seeing her friend or from practicing her medicine; she’s expected to behave like a proper wife - but she has other ideas. Based on a woman who lived during the Ming dynasty, this is really terrific and went straight to the top of the NY Times bestseller list on publication. 

After That Night by Karin Slaughter. I still think she has the best surname for a thriller writer. This is about her ongoing characters Will Trent who works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and his fiancé, Sara Linton who’s a medical examiner. Fifteen years ago, Sara’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, she has remade her life. Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. She battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked, but as the investigation progresses, led by Will, it becomes clear that this assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s, all those years ago. Gritty, really clever thriller writing. Fans will love it. 

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