This week, Catherine Raynes reviews two new exciting books for you to read. 

Chanel's Riviera - Anne de Courcy

Far from worrying about the onset of war, the burning question on the French Riviera in 1938 was whether one should curtsey to the duchess of Windsor. Featuring a sparkling cast of historical figures, writers and artists including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dalí, the Windsors, Aldous Huxley and Edith Wharton - and the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart - CHANEL'S RIVIERA is a sparkling account of a period where such deep extremes of luxury and terror had never before been experienced.

Big Sky - Kate Atkinson

Jackson Brodie, ex-military police, ex-Cambridge Constabulary, currently working as a private investigator, makes a highly anticipated return, nine years after the last Brodie, Started Early, Took My Dog.

Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It’s picturesque, but there’s something darker lurking behind the scenes.