January review – Pinteresque winter’s tale in wolf-filled Bulgarian badlands

Andrey Paounov’s opaque but arresting feature turns on mysterious disappearances and wolfish arrivals in a deep dark forest

In brief: Elizabeth & Philip; Now She Is Witch; Butler to the World – book reviews

An all-round portrait of the Queen’s courtship and marriage; a spellbinding example of ‘witch lit’; and a gripping study of dirty money in the UK

For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie – review

The fictionalised account of the meeting between medieval anchoress Julian of Norwich and Christian mystic Margery Kempe is a vibrant portrait of female courage

I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be by Colin Grant review – sharp and nuanced memoir

The writer and former BBC producer offers absorbing portraits of his Windrush generation family, and reflects on the legacy of trauma

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes review – a deep dive into sea and space

Travelling from the ocean’s depths to the edge of the solar system, this subtle novel uses the tropes of sci-fi to remind us that there’s no place like our home planet

Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan review – straight from the horse trainer’s mouth

Despite its minimalist style, the American writer’s experimental novel tracking the life of a would-be jockey in the midwest is brimming with life

And Then What? by Catherine Ashton review – colourful insider account of European diplomacy

The first and presumably last Briton ever to lead European foreign policy gives us a glimpse of a collaborative approach now sadly lost

Charlie Higson: ‘I hope to be so unwound I can just lie on the sofa’

The comedian and author on gorging on granola, long lie-ins, Zen housework and feeling totally relaxed

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Wheel of Doll by Jonathan Ames; Stay Buried by Kate Webb; Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah; The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante audiobook review – faith and deceit

Marisa Tomei narrates this sensational coming-of-age tale set in Naples, in which a young girl unravels her family’s secrets

Toy Fights: A Boyhood by Don Paterson review – God, brawls and jazz

The poet tells the story of his early life in Dundee in vivid prose, complete with hyperbole, swearing and grumpy asides

Hotel Milano by Tim Parks review – a pandemic reckoning

Parks evokes the terror of Covid’s early days in a novel that reminds us to be kind while we can

In Good Hands by Alice Farnham review – notes from the podium

A leading female conductor tells her story and offers tips for aspiring ‘arm-flappers’

In Ascension by Martin MacInnes review – cosmic wonder

From the ocean floor to outer space, an astonishing novel examines our place in the universe

The Problem of Democracy by Shadi Hamid review – democracy and its discontents

Should US foreign policy demand liberalism, as well as free elections?