Fiction
Murders for late October
Professor Jeremy Black rounds up the best autumnal reads that are successful in grounding a sense of place
The satisfaction of small pleasures
The most anticipated book of the year, a Booker Prize nominee and a posthumous release: John Self on three new, big releases this month
A fully-packed bookcase
Three books that each offer a traditional holiday-reading pleasure
Murders for the summer holidays
Jeremy Black recommends a menagerie of disturbing animal-themed stories to entertain throughout the summer
Contemporary writing with a twist and a tug
In this month’s fiction selection, John Self discovers novels that successfully use their style to enhance rather than simply describe the story
Murders for late June
From midnight Parisian walks and femmes fatales to jazz and corruption, Jeremy Black rounds up the best murders
The YA boo gang
Young Adult fiction has become cancel culture’s savage front line
Debutant novels and great expectations
John Self on debut novels that provide an insight into publishing in Britain
The fundamental truths of fiction
Kit Wilson says the slow atrophy of the English novel is contributing to a decline in empathy and the rise of tribalism, trolling and “stay in your lane” identity politics
The enduring power of brief encounters
A trio of novels that are connected by their surprising manner of finding their way to us