For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie review – a pocket epic
This electrifying debut compares the spiritual adventures of Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich
The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup
Mr Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll; Cold People by Tom Rob Smith; Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo; The House at the End of the World by Dean Koontz; Collision: Stories from the Science of Cern, edited by Rob Appleby and Connie Potter
White Riot by Joe Thomas review – racial tensions in Thatcher’s Britain
Drawing on archive material, this propulsive crime novel explores police violence and unsolved killings in a fracturing nation
The Year of the Cat by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett review – reflections on the feline
An affecting memoir that uses cats and our attitudes towards them to explore PTSD, separation, love and family
The Detention Detectives by Lis Jardine review – top-grade misbehaviour
Pupils investigate a murder at school in this entertaining noir lite for young readers
Sensational: A New Story of Our Senses by Ashley Ward review
A vivid exploration of the science behind sight, hearing, touch and smell that shows us we should take nothing for granted
Avalon by Nell Zink review – the misfit’s tale
A young woman journeys from criminal family to the artistic precariat, in the latest novel from one of America’s most exciting writers
Pegasus by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud review – spyware hiding in plain sight
The story of how investigative journalists exposed the frightening abuse of software that can infect your phone
A Mountain to the North… by László Krasznahorkai review – a tribute act to modernism
This short novel is probably the most accessible entry point for a newcomer – but that’s not saying much
The Written World and the Unwritten World by Italo Calvino review – exquisite flights of imagination
Calvino ponders life, literature and the mysterious spaces in between in this rich collection of essays, reviews, interviews and more
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin review – life lessons from the bearded beat master
The co-founder of Def Jam Records and the man behind countless hits, from the Beastie Boys and Jay-Z to Neil Young, offers artistic wisdom that is both gnomic and pertinent
Spare by Prince Harry review – a flawed attempt to reclaim the narrative
By turns sympathetic and absurd, this is a memoir that deals in the tropes of tabloid storytelling even as it lambasts them
Tough Guy: The Life of Norman Mailer by Richard Bradford review – a literary sucker punch
The Naked and the Dead author was a brash and infuriating personality, but he deserves better than this dismissive biography, published to mark the centenary of his birth
In brief: A Writer’s Diary; The Race Against Time; Price Wars – reviews
A clever, moving lockdown journal, an inspirational hymn to older runners and an insightful analysis of our volatile consumer economy
Cold People by Tom Rob Smith review – a chilling vision of a new society
An alien invasion forces humanity to reinvent itself in an ambitious, cinematic thriller that tackles the weightiest issues of our age