27 April 2022

5 new books to read this week

27 April 2022

New releases span nailbiting thrillers and sci-fi mysteries…

Fiction

1. A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon is published in hardback by The Borough Press, priced £16.99 (ebook £7.99). Available April 28

Joanna Cannon is a master of twisty tales, and A Tidy Ending is a roller-coaster ride. Linda is a downtrodden wife – she cooks, cleans and runs around after husband Terry. She is taken for granted by her mother, her husband and her colleagues at the charity shop she works at. Looking for a bit of excitement, Linda starts searching for Rebecca – the woman who used to live in her home on Cavendish Avenue. She imagines what life could be like, picturing herself in the pages of the glossy magazines that fall through the letterbox. Then there is a murder, and things start to fall into place for Linda. Hats off to Cannon for piecing together a sinister story that could take place on any residential estate.9/10(Review by Rachel Howdle)

2. Sea Of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel is published in hardback by Picador, priced £14.99 (ebook £8.49). Available April 28

Exploring survival in parallel worlds, Sea Of Tranquillity is a sci-fi mystery unfurling across time, through three very different people. Edwin St. Andrew is in newly-discovered Vancouver Island in 1912, novelist Olive Llewellyn visits Earth on a book tour in 2203, and Gaspery-Jacques Roberts is a detective born hundreds of years later, yet intricately intertwined in the timeline. Existing centuries apart, they are united by a moment of meta-physical disturbance – a feeling of suddenly being in several places at once. Emily St John Mandel is a master of pandemic apocalypse fiction, and her third novel is no exception. Weaving together a panorama of pandemics, moon colonisation and time travel, Sea Of Tranquillity is a poignant novel grounded by the humanity of life, death, love, loss, and family.7/10(Review by Rebecca Wilcock)

3. People Person by Candice Carty-Williams is published in hardback by Trapeze, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available April 28

Imagine growing up with a dad who loves his gold jeep more than you – this is the reality for the five half-siblings we encounter in People Person. Yet, apart from their shared absent father, they have little else in common – until a life-altering and dramatic event kick-starts a bumpy relationship between the quintet. People Person is the next offering from Candice Carty-Williams, author of the hugely successful Queenie – meaning you’ll likely approach it with high expectations. A fast-paced novel, it won’t take you long to lap up, but the drama, violence and blackmail can border on chaotic and slightly ridiculous. However, the relationships between the five leads keep you reading. Diverting away from the nuclear ideal of family, this modern take is refreshing and uplifting.7/10(Review by Elspeth Keep)

Non-fiction

4. Men by Raven Smith is published in hardback by Fourth Estate, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.99). Available April 28

Known for his witty social media presence, funny Vogue columns and ability to capture the zeitgeist, it’s hard not to like Raven Smith. But, unfortunately, he perhaps is better suited to essays and small bites of content. In Raven Smith’s Men – an autobiography loosely based around the men in his life, from the important to the fleeting – it all feels a bit frenetic. There are too many similes and metaphors, and Smith jumps from topic to topic with blinding speed. Perhaps each chapter would be better suited as a solo piece, rather than a full book. Getting the balance between witty and insightful is tough – at times Smith nails it, such as the sections discussing his relationship with his stepfather, or the finale analysing the patriarchy and why he’s so obsessed with men – but at other times he misses the mark (the part on eating disorders felt a bit off). Smith is still a delight (albeit a graphic one – prepare for some gross-out sections) – but potentially not in a full book.7/10(Review by Prudence Wade)

Children’s book of the week

5. The Offline Diaries by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene is published in hardback by HarperCollins Children’s Books, priced £12.99 (ebook £7.99). Available April 28

Twelve-year-old Ade is dreading starting a new school, until she meets Shanice, a shy girl with a pink journal just like her own. Despite their differences, confident Ade and introverted Shanice form a fast friendship, talking online through messaging app “ChatBack”, although they share most of their problems and worries offline with their diaries. But when Ade attracts the attention of the two most popular – and mean – girls in school, can the friendship survive? A fresh and original take on growing up, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene create two distinctive and believable Year 8 characters trying to navigate the social maze of school, and whether fitting in is truly the most important thing.8/10(Review by Catherine Lough)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 23

HARDBACK (FICTION)1. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart2. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus3. The No-Show by Beth O’Leary4. With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher5. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake6. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch7. Galatea by Madeline Miller8. Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes9. Wild And Wicked Things by Francesca May10. Gallant by V.E. Schwab(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith2. Freezing Order by Bill Browder3. Northerners by Brian Groom4. Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell5. The Meal Prep King by Meal Prep King6. The Shortest History Of The Soviet Union by Sheila Fitzpatrick7. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 20228. Taste by Stanley Tucci9. Butler To The World by Oliver Bullough10. Nistisima by Georgina Hayden(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith2. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart3. The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof4. Atomic Habits by James Clear5. 1979 by Val McDermid6. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman8. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman9. The Fellowship Of The Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien10. Happy Mind, Happy Life by Dr Rangan Chatterjee(Compiled by Audible)

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