It’s a great week for reviews, with fan favourite Linwood Barclay back with his latest nail-biting thriller…

Fiction

1. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is published in hardback by Michael Joseph, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now

From the very first page, Charmaine Wilkerson makes it clear we are about to be taken on a twisty ride of adventures spanning more than one lifetime, making great use of short chapters to jump between characters and time periods. We meet estranged siblings Byron and Benny in the shadow of their mother’s death, as they meet with a lawyer to listen to Eleanor Bennett’s final message. As the emotional voice recording plays, we learn about the hardships Eleanor faced, from a forced arranged marriage in the Caribbean to starting a new life in the UK, before eventually settling in the USA. A delight to read, each page of Black Cake is more interesting than the last. Wilkerson weaves social history into the backbone of the story, in a way that’s nothing short of masterful.9/10(Review by Rachel Howdle)

2. Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay is published in hardback by HQ, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Murder mysteries don’t get much better than this, as Linwood Barclay continues his schedule of one really good idea a year. His latest story is about a wife – Brie Mason – who goes missing while her husband Andrew is on a fishing trip. Her family and the police suspect her husband, Andrew, of murder, but there’s no evidence. Over the next few years, his life collapses under the strain, only to be rescued by finding a new partner and moving away, leaving his house to be bulldozed. All seems to be well, until a woman resembling Brie turns up at his old address, and the police restart their inquiries against Andrew – who is forced to launch a do-or-die investigation of his own to discover the truth. The twists and turns of his quest to unravel the mystery are utterly compelling, and the drama will take your breath away.8/10(Review by Alan Jones)

3. Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka is published in hardback by Hachette, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Baffled by the cultural obsession with glorifying serial killers, Danya Kukafka’s Notes On An Execution is a new kind of crime fiction. It explores the lives of the survivors – shifting the power to those living with the consequences of violence. Sitting on death row, Ansel Packer isn’t waiting for death, but his chance to be celebrated. Instead, as his execution looms, we learn about his mother’s story; his wife’s twin sister; and the female detective who trailed him for years. Haunting and intense, Kukafka’s third person prose keeps you at arm’s length throughout, forcing you to see beyond the typical narrative lionising the violence of men.7/10(Review by Rebecca Wilcock)

Non-fiction

4. The Life Inside: A Memoir Of Prison, Family And Philosophy by Andy West is published in hardback by Picador, priced £16.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now

Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons – he and the inmates grapple with tricky concepts around time, shame, truth and freedom, their sometimes insightful ruminations interrupted by jokes, gossip and arguments. But West’s connection with prisons runs deeper than the urge to impart knowledge. His father, brother and uncle all served time – leaving an indelible impression on West’s life. This book brilliantly captures the boredom and frustration of prison, but where it really excels is showing the impact it has on those who haven’t committed a crime: the families. West is determined not to be like his relatives, but to keep himself on the straight and narrow he appoints what he calls an ‘executioner in my head’, who plagues him with distressing and obsessive thoughts. It’s his battle with this inner imprisonment, as well as his accounts of teaching, that makes The Life Inside both fascinating and moving.8/10(Review by Jackie Kingsley)

Children’s book of the week

5. We Are Family by Lucy Reynolds, illustrated by Jenna Herman, is published in hardback by Doodles and Scribbles, priced £12.99 (no ebook). Available now

Historically, many children’s books rely on the stereotype of mum, dad and children, which doesn’t reflect the reality of many lives. We Are Family shows the diversity of families in the animal kingdom, bringing an ecological message into a multi-dimensional portrait of the many ways households are created. At its heart is a rhyming verse with colourful illustrations of different animals to draw children in – although it’s not in bedtime story territory. Each picture is accompanied by a brief description of the lifestyle of each creature, explaining what is special about that animal’s family set up and dynamic. All kinds of families are represented, enabling children in different situations to feel their family unit is just as normal as any other. Likewise, it creates empathy, showing normal can come in so many different ways – and we should accept ourselves and others for who we are.7/10(Review by Bridie Pritchard)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 5

HARDBACK (FICTION)1. The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews2. Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman3. The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett4. Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan5. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara6. The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths7. Love Marriage by Monica Ali8. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe9. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman10. The Maid by Nita Prose(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. Tired And Tested by Sophie McCartney2. Pinch Of Nom Comfort Food by Kay Featherstone & Kate Allinson3. Otherlands by Thomas Halliday4. This Is Vegan Propaganda by Ed Winters5. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith6. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy7. Manifest by Roxie Nafousi8. What I Wish People Knew About Dementia by Wendy Mitchell9. Big Panda And Tiny Dragon by James Norbury10. The BBC by David Hendy(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith2. The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths3. Trust Me by T.M. Logan4. Atomic Habits by James Clear5. Windswept & Interesting by Billy Connolly6. Killing The Shadows by Val McDermid7. I Found You by Lisa Jewell8. The Maid by Nita Prose9. Will by Will Smith & Mark Manson10. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman(Compiled by Audible)