Just Read It

When Mrs Ida Laine, a glamorous older Parisian woman, suddenly stops coming to the French cafe where she is a regular, Sylvia Morelle, a waitress and young journalist in training, begins her own investigation into Ida’s disappearance.

As the weeks go by, Sylvia gradually begins to unearth more than she bargained for about Ida’s disappearance, forcing her to confront some difficult questions about her own past.

I don’t want to say too much about this novel as it will give away some really good spoilers, and I want readers to have the same experience I did when reading this charming debut by self-published author Sunna Coleman.

I will say that Her Empty Chair is one of the most delightful books I’ve read this year! The winner of the Best Fiction entries for the 2025 Ink Book Prize, which I was judging, this novel took me on an unexpected journey through the streets of London in search of a beguiling older Parisian woman who had seemingly befriended a young waitress at random.

With flashbacks to Ida’s life in Paris as a wife and mother, interpersed with Sylvia’s recollections of their interactions at the cafe, the loose threads that connect these two women begin to intertwine.

I was so invested in the plot, so much so that I found myself praying (literally!) that nothing untoward had happened to Ida, as I’d grown to love the character so much! I also loved how the novel was so well-paced, and given the plot twists and turns, the ending maintained a sense of realism, which I really appreciated.

Her Empty Chair is a lovely read, beautifully and sensitively written. It’s definitely been one of my reading highlights this year, and was a more than worthy winner of the Ink Book Prize for Best Fiction.