The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade review – comic novel or conceptual art project?

The author’s alter ego is on a quest to uncover the life and work of his playwright idol in this whimsical debut

Lower Than the Angels by Diarmaid MacCulloch review – sex and the church

A superb history of Christianity’s 2,000-year relationship with our animal instincts

The Hotel by Daisy Johnson review – chilling tales for Halloween

There are shades of The Shining and Shirley Jackson in these atmospheric short stories set around a haunted hotel in the Fens

Shattered by Hanif Kureishi review – picking up the pieces

The Buddha of Suburbia author’s wildly inspiring memoir of illness and defiance

Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer review – a thrilling coda to an otherworldly trilogy

This follow-up to the Southern Reach series again explores the mysteries of Area X

Breakthrough by William Pao review – the drugs do work

From sickle cell to Covid antivirals – the stories behind medical innovations that have transformed lives

Crime and thrillers of the month – review

Agatha Christie meets Saw in rural Essex, dark secrets of the wellbeing industry uncovered and a gripping tale of revenge on the privileged

Sylvia Plath’s Tomato Soup Cake review – a writer’s place is not in the kitchen

A fun but often unpalatable collection of recipes by authors including Robert Graves, Norman Mailer and Beryl Bainbridge should come with a trigger warning. Anyone for Instant Mince or Dutch Onion Crisps?

Highways and Byways by Jimmy Barnes review – compassionate collection from a master yarnsmith

Reflective memories and short stories from the Cold Chisel singer show he has lost none of his raconteur’s flair

The Hotel by Daisy Johnson review – eerie and elegant gothic tales

This striking short story collection, set in a spooky hotel in the Fens, offers a fierce interrogation of women’s roles in the folk horror world

Shattered by Hanif Kureishi review – broken, bedbound, but unbowed

The author’s memoir recounts his life since the accident that left him paralysed and mixes typically forthright takes on sex and scatology with ruthless candour about his physical state

Letters by Oliver Sacks review – valuable insight into a curious mind

From loving letters to his parents expressing early anxieties to later exchanges with scientific heavyweights, this collection of correspondence only cements Sacks’s legacy as a man of great compassion

We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me by Elliot Mintz review – life as a confidant, fixer… and flunky

Mintz’s account of his friendship with the endlessly compelling celebrity couple offers a fascinating insight into their psychodramas but is blunted by his obvious adoration of the pair

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz review – witty, tightly plotted follow-up

The sequel to bestselling thriller The Plot takes the wife of the first novel’s protagonist and throws her into a satisfyingly twisty, literary satire

In brief: Jeremy Catto; Haunted Tales; A Ballet of Lepers – review

An affectionate biography of an old-school Oxford don; an atmospheric collection of spooky stories; and a darkly humorous reminder of Leonard Cohen’s early literary gifts