The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad by Simon Parkin review – the lost heroes of Soviet horticulture

This fascinating history of Nikolai Vavilov and the staff at his plant institute tells a story of almost unbelievable self-sacrifice while under siege during the second world war

On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy review – in the presence of a higher power

Philosopher Simon Critchley’s painstaking attempt to explore transcendent experience provides a fascinating overview of Christianity’s great outliers

A Short History of British Architecture by Simon Jenkins review – Doric columns and grand designs: the greatest hits

In a book of two halves, Jenkins seeks to educate readers in the ‘language’ of style as well as offer a polemic on the ravages visited upon our cities by modernist planners

Juice by Tim Winton review – eloquent cry of a climate vigilante

This sci-fi tale of avengers hunting polluters in a scorched Australian dystopia serves as an essential call to arms over global heating

My Beloved Monster by Caleb Carr review – love letter to an adored companion

The troubled US author found acceptance with Masha, a wild Siberian, and his memoir about their time together may be the most effusive paean to cat love ever written

Dawn’s Early Light by Kevin Roberts review – weird vibes and pyromania from Project 2025 chief

Head of Heritage Foundation wants to burn it all down in his new book and won’t shut up about it

The Enigma Girl by Henry Porter review – an innovative spy tale

A former MI5 agent establishes herself as a heroine for the ages in a fresh thriller about intelligence-gatherers past and present

In brief: Nobody’s Empire; Cocktails With George and Martha; Never: The Autobiography – review

A touching coming-of-age novel from the Belle and Sebastian singer; a blow-by-blow account of a classic film; and pop star Rick Astley’s idiosyncratic life story

Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik review –the seductress and the sphinx

This account of the purported bond between Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, two fascinating chroniclers of late 20th-century America, is titillating but diminishes both writers

War by Bob Woodward review – the Watergate veteran on Gaza, Ukraine and Trump

Woodward’s latest page turner takes you inside the room – but can he still claim to be an impartial fly on the wall?

The Red Shoes review – the RSC’s restyled fairytale doesn’t fit properly

Nikki Cheung impresses as the girl who loves dancing so much she’s carried away by her shoes, but Nancy Harris’s script frustrates

A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry audiobook review – love, chaos and creativity

The singer-songwriter’s atmospheric memoir reveals many musical adventures and doesn’t shy away from exploring her challenging times

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Outsider by Jane Casey; White City by Dominic Nolan; The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz; The Fate of Mary Rose by Caroline Blackwood; Ink Ribbon Red by Alex Pavesi

The Genetic Book of the Dead by Richard Dawkins review – the great biologist’s swansong

A wonderful but thoroughly conventional celebration of the science of evolution

The Thinning by Inga Simpson review – apocalyptic thriller offers glimpse of a better world

Two teens embark on a race against time across a ravaged Australia in this stunningly wrought dystopian novel