An ancient mermaid is fished out of the sea, with dramatic consequences on the imaginary Caribbean island of Black Conch.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one - it’s classed as literary fiction, yet popular enough to win a Costa Award - but I loved it. I occasionally struggled with the written Caribbean dialect (which reflects how my brain works, and is absolutely not a shortfall of the book), though this was easily solved by reading the words out loud - I suspect this would make an excellent audiobook since the language adds such richness to the story and characters. I loved that the mermaid was powerful, feral and terrifying to anybody in their right mind - this so perfectly reflected the gathering power of nature which hangs over the whole book, and made her so intriguing. A skilfully-written, captivating story about love, solitude and power dynamics.