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13 best books to read in March

While away the last of the cold days with these brilliant reads, recommended by Good Housekeeping Books Editor Joanne Finney
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1

A Spool Of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

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Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anne Tyler, returns with her 20th book. It's five decades since the best-selling American writer was first published and her experience shows in every beautifully-written sentence. A Spool Of Blue Thread is a stunning novel about three generations of a family that perfectly captures the fights, petty irritations and deep connections between them. Abby and Red are getting older and a decision must be made about how best to look after them, so their grown-up children return home, bringing with them old hurts and rivalries. A believable and wise read.

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2

I Do Not Sleep by Judy Finnigan

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With her second novel, TV presenter and book club founder Judy Finnigan proves she deserves to be taken seriously as a writer. I Do Not Sleep is a tense, atmospheric story about a mother who refuses to accept that her son is dead. 

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3

Second Life by SJ Watson

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A Hollywood blockbuster film came out of SJ Watson’s impressive debut, Before I Go To Sleep, and now he’s back with another white-knuckle ride of a thriller. In Second Life, a woman becomes entangled in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a killer. A masterclass in suspense. 

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4

Vanessa And Her Sister by Priya Parmar

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Priya Parmar brings to life the stormy relationship between two siblings, the writer Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell, in the brilliant Vanessa And Her Sister.  

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5

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

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The Kind Worth Killing is a terrifically hypnotic page-turner that marks Peter Swanson as an exciting new talent. Two strangers meet in the departure lounge at Heathrow – and by the time they part, they’ve become accomplices in a murderous pact. 

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6

Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback

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Historical crime fiction is the latest trend to emerge from Scandinavia. Wolf Winter by Swedish writer, Cecilia Ekback, is a gripping murder mystery set in the bitter winter of 1717 in a Lapland village full of dark secrets. 

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7

​Etta And Otto And Russell And James by Emma Hooper

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Etta And Otto And Russell And James by first-time novelist Emma Hooper is a wise and wonderfully uplifting tale about a 82-year-old woman who makes a solo pilgrimage to get her first glimpse of the sea. 

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8

Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward

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Spiralizers are the kitchen gadget of the moment, thanks to Ella Woodward and her hugely popular healthy eating blog. If you need a little encouragement to join the green juice gang, her new cookbook, Deliciously Ella, is full of genuinely tasty ways to pack more veg and vitality into your diet. 

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9

​The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury

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The Fish Ladder is a moving memoir about film editor Katharine Norbury’s journey to find the mother who abandoned her as a baby in a Liverpool convent. 

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10

The Offering by Grace McCleen

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Award-winning author Grace McCleen returns with The Offering, a mesmerising story of innocence corrupted.

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11

​A Vintage Wedding by Katie Fforde

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A Vintage Wedding by Katie Fforde is a warm-hearted rom-com about three women looking for a fresh start in a Cotswolds town. 

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12

Lay Me Down by Nicci Cloke

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A couple struggle to escape their difficult pasts in Lay Me Down by Nicci Cloke.

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13

The Story of Land And Sea, by Katy Simpson Smith

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Katy Simpson Smith's dazzling debut, The Story of Land And Sea, follows a father’s desperate bid to save his daughter’s life. 

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