Hell Run Tobruk by Justin Fox
For readers interested in the experiences of SA forces in the North African campaign, Justin Fox’s Hell Run Tobruk is a World War 2 naval thriller set during the siege of Tobruk, one of the campaign’s most critical battles. The novel follows Lt Jack Pembroke, an SA naval officer, as he takes part in dangerous supply runs to the town while under constant enemy attack.
In December 1941, Jack sails the on the HMS Gannet from SA to Egypt to join the coastal escort fleet. His mission is to protect convoys delivering supplies to Tobruk, which is surrounded by Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
The town’s defenders, including the Second South African Infantry Division, are running out of food, fuel and ammunition. The only way to keep them supplied is through the “Hell Run”, a dangerous Mediterranean route targeted by Luftwaffe bombers, U-boats, and Italian naval forces.
The convoys suffer heavy losses, with ships being sunk and survivors left stranded. Meanwhile, enemy artillery and aircraft tighten their grip on Tobruk, pushing the defenders to their limits. When Gannet is caught in the port, Jack and his crew must act fast to escape before the town falls.
During a brief stop in Alexandria, Jack has a short-lived romance with a Spanish woman, but the reality of war quickly takes over. With mounting pressure, constant attacks, and dwindling supplies, the fight for Tobruk becomes a battle for survival.
Fox’s novel about the often-overlooked role of SA naval forces in World War 2 is a tense and fast-moving account of war at sea, and the risks, losses and tough choices faced by those trying to keep Tobruk from falling.
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
Kate Fagan’s The Three Lives of Cate Kay, a Reese’s Book Club pick, tells the story of Annie Callahan, a woman who has lived under multiple names, most famously as the best-selling author Cate Kay.
As a teenager, Annie and her best friend Amanda dreamt of leaving their small town for Hollywood. But just before they were set to leave, a tragic accident changed everything.
Overwhelmed by fear and guilt, Annie fled, adopting new identities and cutting ties with her past. She eventually became Cate Kay, a hugely successful but reclusive author, known for a best-selling book trilogy that was adapted into blockbuster films.
After years of secrecy, Cate decides to reveal her true identity in a memoir. Writing it forces her to confront her past and the choices that shaped her career and personal life. Her story examines the conflict between ambition and authenticity, the consequences of unresolved relationships, and how fame reshapes personal identity.
Fagan weaves past and present together, showing the different stages of Cate’s life — from her youth as Annie, to her time as Cass Ford and finally her success as Cate Kay. The novel balances personal drama with intrigue, examining how reinvention can be both a survival tactic and a form of self-deception.
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance is a collection featuring one novel and three stories that explore gender, identity and desire with sharp social insight. Following her best-selling debut Detransition, Baby, Peters continues to push the boundaries of trans storytelling, balancing dark humour with emotional intensity.
The novel, Stag Dance, follows a group of lumberjacks working in an illegal winter logging camp. To break the monotony, they organise a dance, where some of them will attend as women — wearing a triangle bush over their genitals to signal that they wish to be courted.
When the toughest among them, huge and ugly, and known for his brute strength, volunteers, it unsettles the group — especially a younger, attractive jack who sees this as a challenge. Their rivalry spirals into jealousy, obsession and betrayal, culminating in a dramatic event that forces a reckoning with gender and transformation.
Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones imagines a dystopian future where an unstable ex-girlfriend sets off a gender apocalypse, turning personal grievances into world-altering consequences. The Chaser is set in a Quaker boarding school, where a secret romance between two roommates is marked by power struggles, manipulation and cruelty. The Masker is dark tale that takes place over a weekend in Las Vegas, where a young cross-dresser must choose between two people — an alluring mystery man who objectifies her or an older, trans woman who offers tough but honest guidance.
Peters’ writing is raw and unsentimental and is likely to rouse some spirited debates about intention and integrity.
Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell
In Roisín O’Donnell’s Nesting, a woman is trying to escape an abusive marriage while dealing with Ireland’s failing housing system. A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick, this debut novel is a stark portrayal of domestic abuse, control, and survival.
Ciara Fay, a young mother in Dublin, makes a sudden decision to leave her husband, Ryan, taking her two young daughters with her. Ryan’s abuse hasn’t left visible scars, but his emotional, financial and psychological control has worn her down.
She has no job, no savings and no legal right to take her children out of Ireland without his permission. Her only option is emergency accommodation, landing her in a single hotel room with no kitchen, where she and the children wait for a more permanent home.
Life outside Ryan’s control is harder than she imagined. The housing system is overwhelmed, and there’s little hope of a secure future.
She gets a job, but it offers little stability, and childcare remains a daily challenge. Meanwhile, Ryan exploits the legal system to maintain control, claiming she is reckless for uprooting their daughters. As the custody battle continues, she must counter his calculated manipulation while coping with the damage he has already done.
O’Donnell reveals the gruelling challenges women face when leaving abusive relationships, including financial insecurity, legal loopholes and social stigma.
Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch
Hannah Deitch’s Killer Potential is a fast-paced, high-stakes survival thriller that blends crime, satire, and a lesbian love story. Evie Gordon, a struggling SAT tutor, is accused of a brutal double murder.
She arrives at the Victors’ mansion in Los Angeles for a tutoring session but instead finds the parents murdered in their garden and a young woman tied up under the stairs. As she frees her, they are caught in the chaos, and Evie is mistaken for the killer. With no time to think, they run, becoming fugitives with no plan, no money, and no one to trust.
The woman Evie rescues stays silent, revealing nothing about her past or why she was in the house. As they stay ahead of the authorities, she becomes Evie’s only ally. Their growing connection adds to the tension, leaving Evie unsure if she can trust her. Meanwhile, the media twists the story, portraying Evie as a ruthless criminal and class warrior, sparking national outrage. Written as Evie’s after-the-fact confession, Killer Potential is a sharp critique of privilege, ambition, and public perception. Deitch’s writing keeps the pace relentless, mixing dark humour with biting social commentary.
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