Thunderhead by Miranda Darling review – pacy Sydney thriller hits a superficial note
This tightly plotted story shows a woman on the brink, and doesn’t make much room for anything else
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor review – a debut with dark undercurrents
In this haunting and restrained novel, a young woman sets out to escape the confines of a Welsh island
The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota review – the political is personal
This story of a man running to be union leader in a small Derbyshire town explores grief, guilt and ideological divides
Charco Press wins Republic of Consciousness prize for ‘gut-punch’ novel
Of Cattle and Men by Brazilian writer Ana Paula Maia, translated by Zoë Perry, is set in a slaughterhouse in an isolated corner of Brazil
The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya review – sun, sex, scenery and family guilt
A playwright brings unresolved memories to the stage in this clever study of art, dysfunction and generational difference
Reading Lessons by Carol Atherton review – breathing new life into old texts
How one teacher wrestles meaning and relevance from classics of English literature
Crime and thrillers of the month – review
An unreliable narrator keeps her husband and readers guessing; the welcome return of burned-out cop Jake Jackson; a multilayered family thriller; and a disturbing boarding school secret
You Are Here by David Nicholls review – love is in the fresh air
The One Day author’s new will-they-won’t-they tale, about two divorcees who find themselves walking the Lakes and Pennines, is a great comic novel – and superb on the landscape
Mania by Lionel Shriver review – we need to talk about stupidity
The US author’s novel about a cancelled lecturer in a parallel dystopia that prizes ignorance is missing her usual verve
The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey review – a deft saga of Ireland’s evolution
A pregnancy leads to the unearthing of a mother and daughter’s secrets and struggles in this skilful debut novel
I’m F*cking Amazing by Anoushka Warden review – a filthily frank, funny and moving debut
The British playwright’s first novel is sweary and saucy but also tender and soulful once it reveals its true heart
In brief: The Illusionist; The Borrowed Hills; Second Self – review
A fascinating biography of a true British army maverick, an ambitious Cumbrian western and a nuanced novel about a classic modern dilemma
Sunjeev Sahota: ‘I’ve always been in labour movements – but I’m critical of identity politics’
The Booker shortlisted novelist on writing his first significant non-working-class character, the literary critics who inspired him and why he’s not on Facebook
How to Make a Bomb by Rupert Thomson review – a stark study of male rage
The destructive desires of an inoffensive family man drive this subversive satire of existentialism
John Barth obituary
American postmodernist novelist whose experimental approach challenged literary conventions