Melting Point by Rachel Cockerell review – the hunt for a homeland

A fabulous family history expands into an account of the origins of Zionism and the extraordinary project to bring thousands of Russian Jews to Texas

Slum Boy: A Portrait by Juano Diaz review – moving memoir that recalls Shuggie Bain

The artist and photographer’s first book is a powerful and beautifully written account of his difficult formative years in 1980s Scotland

Find Me the Votes review: Fani Willis of Georgia, the woman who could still take down Trump

Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman’s book came out before the DA’s troubles began. It makes a persuasive case for her work

Maurice and Maralyn: A Whale, a Shipwreck, a Love Story by Sophie Elmhirst review – how to keep a marriage afloat

This extraordinary true story of a couple lost at sea for 117 days in the 1970s is beautifully retold as an account of the rituals that sustain relationships

Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh review – sublime coming-of-age tale

A young man learns how to love in a hostile world in this debut from Nigeria

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim; The Trials of Lila Dalton by LJ Shepherd; The Winter Visitor by James Henry; Butter by Asako Yuzuki; Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin

Dylan Thomas: The BBC Radio Collection audiobook review – a spellbinding homage

Richard Burton’s reading of Under Milk Wood is the centrepiece of a collection of works written about and by the ‘rock star author’

The Rejects by Jamie Collinson review – almost famous

From Pete Best to Florence Ballard and the guy who managed to get fired from both Nirvana and Soundgarden, a history of rock and pop’s also-rans

My Brilliant Sister by Amy Brown review – Stella Miles Franklin-inspired novel about women and art

Split between three narrators – Franklin’s sister, and two women in the present day – Brown’s debut is a thoughtful reflection on creative fulfilment and domestic life

The Price Is Wrong by Brett Christophers review – why capitalism can’t save the planet

A clear-eyed look at the economics of energy, and why state power, not free enterprise, is the solution to the climate crisis

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey review – girl turns detective

In 1979, tween best friends in Yorkshire investigate the identity of the Ripper while navigating their own journeys into teenagedom

American Mother by Colum McCann with Diane Foley review – steeliness and sorrow

A mother’s account of the life and death of James Foley, the journalist murdered by Islamic State

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi review – a wild ride through Prague

Stories within a story tease readers and characters alike in Oyeyemi’s shape‑shifting hen weekend tale

Interview With the Vampire review – Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt’s brilliant bloodsucking bromance

Neil Jordan’s horror-comedy features Cruise in scene-chewing form in a film that outrageously explores the vampire’s actually rather complex lived experience

Vladivostok Circus by Elisa Shua Dusapin review – friends, high flyers and fallout

A trio of circus performers navigate differences of class, culture and age as they prepare a dangerous routine