How to Stop Being a Naai by Mia ArderneLucian is 45 and his life is falling apart. His relationship is close to ending, he hates his job and his best days as a DJ are long gone. He still plays the occasional set in a dingy club, but even these nights remind him that he’s stuck in the past.As his problems pile up, Lucian has to face an uncomfortable possibility. Perhaps everyone else isn’t to blame. Perhaps he really is a naai.The novel follows Lucian’s attempts to become a better person through a fictional nine-step self-help programme. It starts with brutally honest self-examination and moves towards finding less destructive ways to deal with the worst parts of his personality. He’ll try almost anything, as long as it doesn’t involve actual therapy.Lucian suspects his behaviour may be connected to his difficult relationship with his father. But understanding where his problems come from won’t necessarily excuse the damage he’s caused. His failing relationship and unhappy working life eventually force him to decide whether he’s prepared to take responsibility and change.It’s a funny, sharp look at masculinity, the self-help industry and a middle-aged man who’s spent years avoiding the truth about himself.Cape Town writer Mia Arderne is the author of the cult hit Mermaid Fillet (2020), a wild, darkly funny and deliberately provocative Cape Town noir.‘Newes of Witches’ by Mairi Kidd. Picture (Supplied) Newes of Witches by Mairi KiddRural Scotland, 1629. Children are disappearing and others appear to have fallen under a sinister spell. Fear spreads quickly and the village wants someone to blame.The villagers arrest a young serving girl for witchcraft. With little social standing and almost no-one willing to defend her, she becomes an easy target.Local healer and midwife Mòrag doesn’t believe the accusation. Her work has taught her to recognise the signs of illness and to read people closely, so she begins investigating what’s really happening to the children. She also tries to save the girl before the suspicious villagers condemn her to death.The villagers depend on Mòrag’s medical knowledge, but they also distrust it. When she questions the witchcraft accusation, she risks becoming a suspect herself.Her investigation reveals a disturbing truth about the children’s disappearances. As she gets closer to the truth, fear turns neighbours against one another, and those in authority put the village in greater danger.The novel shows how fear fuels prejudice and allows a community to justify cruelty. Kidd also examines how society punishes women whose knowledge or independence challenges accepted roles.Mairi Kidd is a Gaelic-speaking Scottish writer. Her earlier historical novels include The Specimens (2024) and Poor Creatures (2025).‘Last Night in Montreal’ by Emily St John Mandel. Picture: (Supplied) Last Night in Montreal by Emily St John MandelLilia’s life on the run began when her father took her away from her mother. They crossed North America together, changing towns whenever someone got too close and leaving almost no trace behind.Christopher, the private detective hired to find them, refuses to give up. He often brings his daughter Michaela along, drawing her into a search that comes to dominate both their lives.Years later, Lilia is living in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, Eli, when she suddenly leaves. Eli can’t accept her disappearance without an explanation. A trail of letters leads him to Montreal, where he meets Michaela and begins to piece together Lilia’s past.The novel moves between Lilia’s childhood and Eli’s search for her. But the mystery goes beyond finding out where she’s gone. Eli wants to understand why Lilia can never stay in one place and why everyone who searches for her becomes so consumed by it.For Lilia, constant movement offers a kind of freedom, but it’s also a pattern she can’t break. Meanwhile, the people following her convince themselves that they’re acting out of love, even when their behaviour becomes controlling.First published in 2009, Last Night in Montreal was Mandel’s debut. She later broke through internationally with Station Eleven (2014), her novel about a travelling Shakespeare troupe performing for small groups of survivors after a pandemic wipes out most of civilisation.‘The Shampoo Effect’ by Jenny Jackson. Picture: (Supplied) The Shampoo Effect by Jenny JacksonWriter Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, a wealthy New England seaside town, and falls for Van Whittaker. Being with Van pulls her into a tight circle of friends who’ve known one another for decades.There’s Augusta, who comes from old money and keeps people at a distance. Fran is raising two children while dealing with her alcoholic husband. Then there’s Bailey, who’s pregnant with Van’s child.Caroline spends summer drinking on houseboats and gossiping on beaches while the kids play nearby. But beneath the surface are unresolved issues. As the group’s games become increasingly reckless, Caroline starts to see how fragile their carefree seaside world really is.She never quite stops feeling like an outsider. Her arrival changes the group, and the others aren’t convinced she belongs. When another unexpected pregnancy causes further upheaval, long-standing friendships begin to break down and marriages come under pressure. Secrets that have helped keep the group together also threaten to pull it apart.Told from several points of view, the novel looks at how money affects relationships and determines who will be blamed when things go wrong. It also looks at what marriage and motherhood do to old friendships and how quickly loyalty can turn into resentment.Jenny Jackson is the author of Pineapple Street (2023), a New York Times bestseller.‘Crash Into Me’ by Robinne Lee. Picture: (Supplied) Crash Into Me by Robinne LeeCecilia Chen, a Jamaican-Chinese photographer, lives in Paris with her French husband, François, and their two teenagers. When the family moves to Los Angeles, a car accident reconnects her with Anouk Ferrand, a supermodel she first met during a 1990s photo shoot in Cabo San Lucas.Seeing Anouk again brings back feelings Cecilia’s never fully resolved. The novel moves between their first meeting and their lives many years later, showing how their attraction developed and why neither of them completely left it behind.Cecilia’s marriage is already complicated. Both she and François have had affairs, and their relationship survives on several uneasy compromises. Anouk’s return forces Cecilia to confront her sexuality and question the choices she’s made. She also has to consider what pursuing the relationship would mean for her family.The 1990s sections pull readers into the fashion industry, exposing the exploitation and power imbalances behind its glamour. Cecilia’s role as a photographer places her inside that world but doesn’t shield her from its prejudices.The Los Angeles storyline adds racial and political tensions: the rise of Black Lives Matter in 2013, the start of police killings of black Americans in 2014 and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign. These events make Cecilia think more deeply about race and where she belongs in America.Robinne Lee is the bestselling author of The Idea of You (2017), which sold close to a million copies.Business Day