A MOTHER’S PROMISE, the true story of Renee Salt’s survival of the Holocaust, is a Sunday Times bestseller

A MOTHER’S PROMISE, the true story of Renee Salt’s survival of the Holocaust, written with Kate Thompson, is a Sunday Times bestseller, jumping straight to Number 6 in the hardback bestseller list.

A MOTHER’S PROMISE is published by Seven Dials (Orion) in the United Kingdom with US and Canadian editions set to be published on March 4th by Alcove Press and Simon & Schuster Canada.

Renee’s powerful story was featured in BBC documentary ‘What Happened at Auschwitz’ in January 2025 and Renee has appeared on Sky News, ITV’s Lorraine and in Prima magazine. She also met the Prime Minister Kier Starmer at Number 10 Downing Street at a reception for Holocaust survivors.

From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers – her mother’s. Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and hope for one another.

The strength of Sala’s love gave them both something fragile yet beautiful to cling to in an ugly, depraved world. It was her mother who hid Renee, lied to the SS, went right when she was directed left – whose small actions had life-saving consequences. Now, for Renee, the need to share has finally overcome the desire to forget.

Praise for A MOTHER’S PROMISE

‘A powerful testament to a mother’s love during unbelievable hardship… Renee’s story of resilience and survival is powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read.’ – Elizabeth Bellak, co-author of RENIA’S DIARY

‘A privilege to read. It is a deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. What a fascinating, heartbreaking story… How heartening to see the strength of family love and resilience threading through the narrative. I was engrossed from the opening… Renee’s own words are brilliantly supported by Kate’s in depth exploration of context and her well-crafted storytelling. In addition to the evocation of Renee’s past life, the narrative is fascinating from a textile history point of view, highlighting Nazi policies of plunder and exploitation… I valued the way in which she was able to share her memories, despite her deep reservoirs of pain and loss… As a dress historian I was also impressed by Renee’s sense of re-humanisation when given a wool skirt to replace the awful garments doled out at Auschwitz. I was elated when she described the profound joy of saving money from her post-war sewing work in order to treat herself to a shop-bought dress.’ – Lucy Adlington, author of THE DRESSMAKERS OF AUSCHWITZ

‘This is a most extraordinary memoir, distinctive for its detailed recollection and its fearlessness in recording the truth of what happened.  Such accounts stand against violence and tyranny for all time.’ – Rachel Hore

‘A moving portrayal of one young woman's heroic life story... Renee’s journey is one of hope through the ashes of the past.’ – Heather Dune Macadam, author of 999: THE EXTRAORDINARY YOUNG WOMEN OF THE FIRST TRANSPORT TO AUSCHWITZ

‘An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is, a story that proves to us that human beings are remarkable and endlessly inspiring.’ – Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of THE PARIS ORPHAN

‘A powerful account of a young girl’s incredible resilience in the face of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust, Renee Salt’s memoir is needed now more than ever. A riveting read.’ – Julia Kelly, bestselling author of THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL

‘This is a book that will stay with me for a long time... A beautiful account, so movingly told.’ – Anna Stuart, author of THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ

‘Renee Salt and Kate Thompson come together in powerful unity in a way that is both deeply moving and unforgettable. This is a story the world needs to know.’ – Madeline Martin, author of THE BOOKLOVER’S LIBRARY

‘Quite simply the most important book you will read this year. It will stay with me for a very long time.’ – Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of THE LAST LIFEBOAT

 About Kate Thompson

Kate is an award-winning journalist, ghostwriter and novelist. She spent five years’ working on national newspapers such as the Daily Express and Daily Mail, and also on all the major national woman’s magazine titles. Her debut novel, SECRETS OF THE SINGER GIRLS, was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2015, with first week sales of over 10,000. Kate’s first non-fiction book, THE STEPNEY DOORSTEP SOCIETY, was published by Penguin in February 2019 and reached number one in the history categories on Amazon.

THE LITTLE WARTIME BOOK CLUB, a standalone historical novel, was published in Spring 2024.

About Renee Salt

Reene was born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in Zdunska-Vola, Poland, in 1929 and is a Holocaust survivor. Renee and her mother survived both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. After the Holocaust, Renee returned to her hometown to try and find any surviving members of her family. She moved in with an aunt in Paris where Renee then met her husband, Charles, a British soldier who had helped liberate Bergen-Belsen. They married in 1949 and had two children. Renee lives in northwest London and has five grandchildren. She regularly speaks in schools about her experiences during the Holocaust.

THE GHOSTS OF ROME by Joseph O’Connor hits Number One in Ireland

THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the second literary thriller in the Rome Escape Line Trilogy by bestselling author Joseph O’Connor, has jumped straight to Number One on the Irish bestseller chart after three days on sale and is in the Top 20 in the UK hardback chart as well.

The novel is published by Harvill Secker in the United Kingdom and Ireland and has just been published in the US and Canada by Europa Editions. In the UK, THE GHOSTS OF ROME was launched at Daunt Books in Marylebone and at the Irish Embassy in London where Joe was in conversation with Emma Madigan, Irish Diplomat and Former Ambassador of Republic of Ireland to the Holy See. A sold-out event at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, launched the bestselling Irish edition.

February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome. Inside the beleaguered city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini is a member of the band of Escape Line activists known as ‘The Choir’. Their mission is to smuggle refugees to safety and help Allied soldiers, all under the nose of Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann.

During a ferocious morning air raid a mysterious parachutist lands in Rome and disappears into the backstreets. Is he an ally or an imposter? His fate will come to put the whole Escape Line at risk.

Meanwhile, Hauptmann’s attention has landed on the Contessa. As his fascination grows, she is pulled into a dangerous game with him – one where the consequences could be lethal.

Like MY FATHER’S HOUSE before it, THE GHOSTS OF ROME has been published to widespread acclaim. In The Guardian, Laura Wilson called the novel ‘nail-bitingly tense… vivid and moving’ in her round up of the ‘Best Recent Crime and Thrillers’ while the Sunday Times named it as one of their ‘Books to Look out for in 2025. The Sunday Independent commented that ‘The version of the war created here rings so emotionally true and clear… The writing has the energy and tension of a thriller yet the language is rich, visual and beautiful. The narration swoops in close to each character then the lens widens, almost cinematically. It becomes a bird flying over the city, strong and free, observing the tragedy and chaos below. Fans will love this return to the Choir.’

Reviewers in the US also have high praise for THE GHOSTS OF ROME. In a rave review in The New York Times, Alex Preston said ‘O’Connor has often been likened to the great Irish modernists for the lyricism of his voice-driven novels. But THE GHOSTS OF ROME also situates him within a broader European tradition of memory and moral reckoning, one that returns again and again to World War II. O’Connor embraces this legacy while transcending its cliches… What emerges is not just a wartime thriller, though it is that, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures.’ Kirkus Reviews said ‘the story is exciting and rich with prose that’s a joy to read… Top-notch storytelling filled with emotion and drama’ while Publishers Weekly called the novel ‘pulse-pounding’ in a starred review. More praise can be found below.

The first novel in the trilogy, MY FATHER’s HOUSE, was published by Harvill Secker and Europa Editions in 2023, when it flew straight to Number One on the Irish bestseller charts, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It has now sold more than 100,000 copies in the English language. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Eason An Post Irish Novel of the year 2023, and also longlisted for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award.

 

Praise for THE GHOSTS OF ROME

‘O’Connor has done his research with care, drawing on O’Flaherty’s unpublished letters, diaries and journalism. With his real people in place, the author spins a new tale of derring-do, recounted with the help of imagined interviews conducted many years later… O’Connor paints a lively picture of a city filled with Fascist police and German soldiers, some on furlough from the North, everyone watchful and hungry, the streets filthy, the black-market prices rising every day… THE GHOSTS OF ROME is both a tribute to the imagination and courage of his remarkable team and a riveting thriller.’ – Caroline Moorehead, The Times Literary Supplement

‘A mesmerising, tragic, horrifying, utterly unputdownable story… A deeply affecting read with an ending that’s sad yet life affirming, this is an outstanding choice for fans of WWII fiction and of writers like Anthony Doerr.’ – Emily Melton, Booklist, starred review

‘O’Connor is a novelist capable of real poetry who also gives thriller fans a reason to turn the pages… Meticulously researched… This tremendous piece of work captures everything from the Ardeatine massacre to the musicality of the eternal city, which the roar of war cannot quell… There’s also a satisfying ending before the touching coda, setting things up nicely for the trilogy’s final entry. If it’s even half as good as this, it will be a very good book indeed.’ – Pat Carty, The Business Post

‘From the opening tour de force sequence of the Allied air-raid on Rome to the brilliantly done (and unexpected) coda, I found it utterly gripping and, if anything, even more enjoyable, atmospheric and informative than MY FATHER’S HOUSE was (a high bar to clear)… a tremendous read.’ – Peter Kemp

‘There is no finer writer of historical fiction than Joseph O’Connor. Nazi occupied Rome springs to life under his skilful pen.  In THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the tension builds almost unbearably as the Contessa faces down Commander Hauptmann. Beautifully written, warm and witty, this story of a terrorised city is a must-read. Thrilling, terrifying and entertaining in equal measure. Bravo!’ – Liz Nugent

‘It was hard to turn pages fast enough to keep up with the rapid-fire pace of THE GHOSTS OF ROME. Joseph O’Connor lures readers into a little known, but important, facet of World War II history and keeps them hooked until the very last page.’ – Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE and THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM

‘The lyricism of his writing is sublime.’ – Ryan Tubridy

‘Joseph O’Connor’s THE GHOSTS OF ROME is as thrilling, beautiful and sensational a novel as you’ll read this year or any year.’ – Donal Ryan, What Our Top Authors Are Reading Now, Irish Sunday Times

‘O’Connor’s characters, historical and fictional, resonate with all the villainy, heroics, indecisiveness, kindness and headstrong daredevilry that make up any group of humans from kindergarten on – but here, uniqueness can prove lethal.’ – E. B. Boatner, Lavendar

‘Lovers of suspenseful stories, students of WWII history and those who are looking for a novel with relatable characters and a worthy moral framework will surely find this one to their pleasure.’ – Reading the West

‘Eternal Rome is always in the background as bombings scatter ancient artifacts and the city’s great age brings old shadows to the streets... Superb storytelling.’ – Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

‘O’Connor continues to stun with this follow-up to MY FATHER’S HOUSE ...Chilling, engrossing, inspiring!’ – Kelly Justice, Fountain Books

‘NOT just another WWII story, this one is filled with such memorable characters and the suspense is truly thrilling and I am exceedingly anxious for the third and final book in this wonderful series. I need to know what happens… the suspense is killing me!’ – Mollie Mitchell, Heathfire Books

‘Intense and riveting... I’ve become attached to the characters, and it is easy to get lost in the time and place of events. O’Connor is a master storyteller and not to be missed! A must read!!’ – Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette

 

 About Joseph O’Connor

Photo credit: Urszula Soltys

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin, where he still lives. THE GHOSTS OF ROME is his eleventh novel: he is also the author of film scripts, radio and stage plays, two collections of short stories, and several bestselling works of non-fiction.

2022 was the 20th anniversary of Joseph O’Connor’s novel STAR OF THE SEA which was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies in the UK alone and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages, Italy’s Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

His novel GHOST LIGHT was chosen as Dublin’s One City Book novel for 2011. Published in 2019, SHADOWPLAY, has won him extraordinary praise, was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, The Dalkey Novel Prize, the Costa Novel Prize, among others, and won him Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. The French edition was shortlisted for the Jean Monnet Prize and the Vintage paperback was a Richard and Judy Winter 2020 pick.

He holds an honorary Doctorate in Literature from University College Dublin and received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012. He is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

 

Visit Joseph O’Connor’s website.

Deon Meyer’s LEO returns to the top of the South Africa charts with English-language edition

Fresh from his recent London visit for the publication of LEO, Deon Meyer has continued his domination of the South African bestseller lists, with the new English-language edition flying straight to the top in its first week on sale. Translated by K.L. Seegers, LEO was published on 10 October by Hodder and Stoughton, in partnership in South Africa with Jonathan Ball Publishers.

This latest chart-topper follows the success of the Afrikaans edition, published by Human & Rousseau in October last year. It celebrated ten weeks at the top of the charts, with longer runs still in the Afrikaans-language and South African Authors charts.

Grove Atlantic will publish in the US and Canada on 18 February 2025. LEO is already out in France (Editions Gallimard), the Netherlands (A W Bruna) and Germany (Aufbau), where Deon has just begun an extensive reading tour. Deon’s Afrikaans-speaking fans can also look forward to a brand-new audiobook of FENIKS (original title of DEAD BEFORE DYING) – available in the format for the first time, published by NB this November.

LEO picks up the story of Meyer’s heroes Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido – now stars of M-Net (South Africa) and Tubi (US) series DEVIL’S PEAK. Following the explosive events of THE DARK FLOOD, the detectives are now languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime and government corruption at the highest level. Then a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message – suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat.

On the other side of the country, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part of a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. A single link connects the murdered businessman to the special forces, making Benny and Vaughn’s case all the more mysterious. Another former soldier is soon killed, as is an agent of the country’s disgraced former president; and then the heist crew reorganizes with an even more audacious theft in mind.

Following leads as they fly at them, not sure exactly who to trust and struggling to connect the dots as the motives don’t seem to add up, Benny and Vaughn find their case increasingly points to the corruption polluting the country. They know the clock is ticking – and Benny also has to be at the altar on time for his very anxiously-anticipated wedding day.

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in 31 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for LEO

‘Meyer is not just the finest crime writer in South Africa but one of the best anywhere; he juggles labyrinthine plot strands with a mass of local detail and socio-political commentary.’ – Barry Forshaw, Financial Times

‘When a new Deon Meyer lands on the shelves, I feel like W.H. Auden: “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone / Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.” All 490 pages of such a book have to be devoured in one sitting. Keep it for the holidays, or for a weekend when you have nothing planned… You’ll be on the edge of your seat, chewing your nails… Meyer is the best, if you ask me... Buy LEO and take a day or two off work.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Vrye Weekblad

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Follow Deon on Twitter

Top Five bestseller for ONE OF US IS DEAD by Peter James

ONE OF US IS DEAD, the 20th instalment of Peter James’ internationally bestselling Roy Grace series, has jumped straight to Number 3 in the UK bestsellers list after only five days on sale. ONE OF US IS DEAD was the second-highest new entry in the bestsellers list with a volume sales increase of 13% against the same period last year. ONE OF US IS DEAD is published by Pan Macmillan in the UK and the US.

In ONE OF US IS DEAD, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace finds out just how dangerous a dead man can be… When James Taylor arrives late for a funeral, he has to stand at the back of the small church. But, as the service progresses, Taylor notices a man six rows in front of him. At first he thinks he must be mistaken, but the more he looks at the man, the more convinced Taylor becomes that this is his old schoolfriend Rufus Rorke. Except it couldn’t be him, could it? Because two years ago Taylor attended Rufus Rorke’s funeral. He even delivered Rufus’s eulogy. On the other side of Brighton, at Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has been alerted to a number of suspicious deaths that he can’t get out of his mind. But how are they linked? And could they possibly be connected to Rufus Rorke?

The ONE OF US IS DEAD publication tour saw Peter carry out book signings, Q&As and radio interviews across the UK, along with a spectacular book launch on Brighton Pier. Peter was also a Special Guest at Harrogate Festival in July, co-headlined Bloody Scotland in September with Elly Griffiths, and will be appearing at Chiltern Kills Festival, Murder One Festival and Fatal Shore in October.

ONE OF US IS DEAD joins Peter’s many other chart successes this year: the paperback edition of STOP THEM DEAD flew straight to Number 2 in the bestseller list on publication in April, and THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, the much-anticipated standalone revealing the mystery of Sandy Grace’s disappearance, was an instant Number 1 bestseller on publication in May. The paperback edition of THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD is out on 7th November 2024.

Fans of the Roy Grace book series – and all crime fans alike –  can also tune in to series four of GRACE on ITVX, starring John Simm and Richie Campbell. Recently announced, the much-loved tv series will return for series five in 2025, featuring four feature-length episodes.

About Peter James
Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series. The opening episode of GRACE, based on the first Roy Grace novel, DEAD SIMPLE, was broadcast in March 2021 with John Simm starring in the lead role as the tenacious detective. It was a TV Pick of the Day across all the major UK newspapers, appeared on ITV 1’s prime Sunday night slot and viewing figures quickly reached more than 8.8 million, with glowing reviews. The fourth series aired in Autumn 2024 and the fifth series will be broadcast in 2025.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-three million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 20 Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award and in 2024 he won four Silver Nielsen Bestseller Awards. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017), THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019), LOOKING GOOD DEAD (2021) and WISH YOU WERE DEAD (2023) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. His stage shows to date have grossed over £17 million at the box office. PICTURE YOU DEAD begins touring in 2025 and tickets can be purchased here. Several of his works are optioned for film.

Peter took part in the launch podcast of the Queen’s Reading Room in January 2024, having had the Grace series featured on the Royal Reading Room previously. He appeared on the podcast again in June 2024, where he was named one of Her Majesty’s favourite crime writers and Roy Grace her favourite fictional detective!

Praise for ONE OF US IS DEAD
‘Another just-one-more-page-thriller.’ – Anna Bonet, i newspaper, ‘The best new books to read in September 2024’

‘All hail the Queen’s favourite detective as the indefatigable Peter James returns with the 20th Roy Grace mystery… Grace’s instincts are as sharp as ever, but can he outsmart Anthony and complete the rest of the murderous jigsaw? His adage that it’s the mistakes that criminals make that bring about their downfall will be tested to the limit in a climax aboard a light aircraft high over the Channel. That royal warrant should be on its way any day now.’ - The Times, ‘New Thrillers for September’ 

‘DS Roy Grace returns in the twentieth gripping instalment in Peter James’ bestselling series, as links to a man supposedly dead and buried start cropping up in an ongoing investigation into a series of suspicious deaths.’ – Waterstones, ‘September’s Best Books’

Praise for Peter James
‘If you have never read Peter James’ crime thriller series about the Sussex detective Roy Grace, I would highly recommend you give it a try.’ – Queen Camilla, Press and Journal

‘Peter James is one of the most fiendishly clever crime fiction plotters.’ – The Daily Mail

‘Roy Grace ... is fast becoming one of the more memorable coppers in modern crime fiction ... A first class police procedural.’ – The Times

‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ – Independent on Sunday

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter

‘Probably the closest we’ll get to a British Stephen King’ – The Financial Times

‘Peter James is one of the most fiendishly clever crime fiction plotters’ – The Daily Mail

‘In uncertain times, I always tend to fall back on old, familiar favourites, so I’ll be reading Peter James’ Roy Grace series. They are thrillers with enough drama to keep you guessing. Reading a well-crafted mystery gives me a sense of accomplishment – almost as if I’ve solved everything myself!’ – Emma Shacklock, Books Editor, Women & Home Magazine

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Lee Child

‘A master plotter.’ – The Bookseller

‘James has been compared with Stephen King, but in many ways he's better’ – Daily Express

‘This compulsive horror story is a tale of the search for immortality . . . I cannot remember when I last read a novel I enjoyed so much’ – Sunday Telegraph

‘A thought-provoking menacer that’s completely technological and genuinely frightening about the power of future communications’ – Time Out

 Visit Peter’s website.

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