Kurdish kitchens, baked bean alaska and Mexican soul: the best spring cookbooks for 2026 – review
These are the new titles for your kitchen shelf – plus a classic to dust off
Black Bag by Luke Kennard review – a campus comedy for our end times
Drawing on a real-life 1960s experiment, this story of an out-of-work actor paid to cover himself in a black leather bag fizzes with wit and invention
Enough Said by Alan Bennett review – a man for all seasons
Nostalgia, shame and gossip from Alan Bennett in the fourth instalment of his diaries
The News from Dublin by Colm Tóibín review – subtle short stories about being far from home
Grief, betrayal and moral complications are explored across nine tales of quiet power that take us from Argentina to County Wexford
Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor review – portrait of a working-class artist in New York
This novel is stacked with ideas about Black art and aesthetics – but its language is too clumsy and academic to bring them to life
We Know You Can Pay a Million by Anja Shortland review – the terrifying new world of ransomware
Criminals extorting money online have created huge businesses, complete with branding and HR
Under Milk Wood review – dark fairytales swirl around Dylan Thomas’s evergreen village
Director Kate Wasserberg emphasises the fantasy and supernatural elements of the poet’s ‘play for voices’ in an entertaining and inclusive production
Small Island review – Windrush epic speaks to our era with startling clarity
Featuring stellar performances across the cast, Matthew Xia’s production breathes new life into Andrea Levy’s sprawling family saga
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Whidbey by T Kira Madden; Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan; Killing Me Softly by Christie Watson; The Dangerous Stranger by Simon Mason; Astronaut! by Oana Aristide
Chain of Ideas by Ibram X Kendi review – anatomy of a conspiracy theory
This careful analysis of so-called ‘great replacement theory’ offers a lens through which to view our broken politics
The Barbecue at No 9 by Jennie Godfrey audiobook review – secrets and lies in suburbia
Gemma Whelan and Stephen Mangan are among the cast in this multi-voiced tale of family tensions and trauma, set during the 1985 Live Aid charity concert
The Minstrels by Eva Hornung review – an audacious, confronting epic
The award-winning Australian author is at her most ambitious with this sweeping rural drama, tackling difficult topics with dazzling prose
Midwinter Break review – sad, spiky and brilliantly acted portrait of rupture and rapture
Polly Findlay’s barnstorming drama about interpersonal and religious tumult in late middle age is a triumph, swerving any sense of sentimentalism
A Queer Inheritance by Michael Hall review – the National Trust’s LGBTQ history revealed
It’s recently been accused of turning ‘woke’ – but the institution has been gay since the beginning, argues this deeply researched book
Mare by Emily Haworth-Booth review – profound story of a woman’s love for a horse
Where does it come from, this passion for an animal that isn’t even hers? An astonishing debut delves into deep truths about love, motherhood and care