A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall review – a collision in closeup

The author’s meticulous reconstruction of a fatal accident in the West Bank allows us to see the region’s injustices afresh

Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop review – a colonial obsession

A gripping semi-historical imagining of the memories and experiences of a French naturalist in 18th-century Africa

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis review – falling for the antihero

The Moneyball author develops a misguided soft spot for fallen crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried

Palace of Shadows by Ray Celestin review – gothic nightmares

Bad things happen on the Yorkshire moors when an artist begins work on a haunted mansion

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench review – national treasures

A much-loved actor pays tribute to the Bard in this companionable but compelling memoir

Suitable Flesh review – eye-rolling Heather Graham in erotic body-swap horror thriller

Adapted from a 1937 HP Lovecraft story, this has some nice stylistic touches, even if the demonic possession, wafting sax and softcore silliness is a bit over the top

The Penguin Book of Elegy by Andrew Motion and Stephen Regan review – surprisingly uplifting

From Charlotte Brontë grieving Emily to Ted Hughes lamenting a lamb, this exceptional anthology of poems is full of scholarly discernment

Determined: Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky review – the hard science of decisions

The behavioural scientist engagingly lays out the reasons why our every action is predetermined – and why we shouldn’t despair about it

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears review – a pop star’s stinging rebuke

Throughout her life, narratives were constructed to disempower the singer. She finally has her say in this astute indictment of the system that exploited her

Holding the Note by David Remnick review – erudite portraits of musical greats

A collection of the New Yorker editor’s pieces on the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin displays enviable knowledge and scope

Toxic by Sarah Ditum review – a decade of misogyny, from Britney to Paris Hilton

These nine feminist essays about female celebrities of the 00s expose the casual sexism of the era and the way it shaped ordinary women’s lives

In brief: One Woman Show; Normal Women; Inciting Joy – reviews

A spry story of art’s interplay with power; Philippa Gregory charts 900 years of weavers, nuns and housewives; and Ross Gay waxes lyrical in a rambling collection of essays

Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop review – a journey into the slave trade

The Senegalese-French writer’s fictionalised account of a real 18th-century naturalist’s experiences in Senegal serves as a compelling critique of colonial violence

Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World review – Thomas Heatherwick’s simplistic critique of modern architecture

The designer is right to criticise boring buildings, but picks his targets poorly and shows no inclination to confront the forces that create such structures

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward review – a gruelling trek through the antebellum south

The two-time winner of the National Book award returns with the tale of an enslaved woman’s journey to Louisiana, rendered in relentless detail