In brief: Sandwich; How to Love Your Daughter; Mapmatics – review
Mothers struggle in novels by Catherine Newman and Hila Blum, while Paulina Rowinska explores the history of maps
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne review – a Hollywood insider with an outsider’s eye
The actor’s star-studded memoir-cum-account of his sister’s murder could have been a clunky read, but his self-awareness, honesty and humour make the nephew of Joan Didion and son of Dominick Dunne an engaging narrator
The Architecture of Modern Empire by Arundhati Roy review – two decades of fire
Arundhati Roy is as stringent in her criticism of India’s social injustices as she is of the self-absorbed west in this wide-ranging collection of interviews
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller review – Jodie Comer narrates with charisma and firepower
The star of the original award-winning play about sexual assault brings emotional complexity to this novel adaptation
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley; Death in the Air by Ram Murali; The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal; French Windows by Antoine Laurain; The Man in Black & Other Stories by Elly Griffiths
Hungry for What by María Bastarós review – darkly compelling tales from Spain
A sense of dread hangs over this gripping short-story collection, the author’s first collection in English
Hurdy Gurdy by Jenny Ackland review – a toothless abortion tale
If novels like this one are feminist – and that’s a slippery question – then it feels like a masochistic kind of empowerment
Systemic by Layal Liverpool review – the price of prejudice
A bracing and informative exploration of the myriad ways that racism and inequality hurt people
Freud’s Last Session review – what-if meeting of minds with Anthony Hopkins as the master analyst
Hopkins’ Sigmund Freud locks horns with Matthew Goode’s CS Lewis in an imaginary encounter that is watchable but not terribly profound
Cecilia by K-Ming Chang review – teenage kicks
The acclaimed American-Taiwanese author explores sexual awakening in a visceral novella of disgust and queer desire
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne review – Hollywood tales
A fond but frank memoir of an eccentric showbiz family shaped by tragedy
Treasure review – Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry uneasy in well-intentioned Holocaust drama
Wonky-toned story follows Dunham as a journalist visiting Poland, and Fry as her cuddly European dad, both trying to get to grips with family history
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry review – a wild western
Tragedy and farce collide in this dazzling tale of lovers on the run in Montana
Scattered by Aamna Mohdin review – the road to survival
A journalist’s exploration of her family’s chaotic journey from Somalia is startling in its intimacy and honesty
Sandwich by Catherine Newman review – emotional crisis and comedy in Cape Cod
Midlife loss and anxiety are keenly felt on a family holiday, in this brilliant follow-up to We All Want Impossible Things