Matrix by Lauren Groff review – a brilliant nun’s tale
Visionary leader, queer lover, 12th-century writer … the life of Marie de France is triumphantly reimagined in an assertively modern novel about female ambition and creativity
My Body Keeps Your Secrets by Lucia Osborne-Crowley review – on women’s health and trauma
Merging memoir, academic prose and reportage, the I Choose Elena author has laudable intentions but at times overlooks the full story
Wonderworks by Angus Fletcher review – the power of invention
A close analysis of the science of stories reveals literature’s ability to change its readers, and the world
On Freedom by Maggie Nelson review – intellectually stringent, freely diverse
A bold new project reimagines freedom in the areas of art, drugs, sex and climate, forging a collective conversation about how to make freedom work for all
The Man Who Died Twice By Richard Osman review – relax and enjoy
The Thursday Murder Club foursome return in a comic crime sequel alert to the realities of old age
Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel review – a remarkable talent
An outsider perspective on the TV industry exposes its sexism, racism and complacency
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
This month’s crop of crime and suspense fiction includes an engaging tale of government secrets by Robert Peston and a nail-biting new series from Val McDermid
Index, A History of the by Dennis Duncan review – scholarly anarchy
This adventurous trawl through back pages down the ages reveals an arena for settling scores, and the seeds of Google
Happening review – sex and abortion on the new frontline in 60s France
Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s novel, this drama about a student agonising over an illegal termination plays out as a tense, gripping thriller
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden review – how the son of a brickie became the leader of al-Qaida
Peter Bergen’s thoroughly researched biography of the notorious Islamist reveals his strikingly mundane, human side
Islander review – change and contradictions on Robinson Crusoe island
Stéphane Goël’s documentary merges the past and present of this small island off the coast of Chile
Tenderness by Alison MacLeod review – polite society’s rude awakening
Lady Chatterley’s Lover and US politics collide in an enjoyable widescreen novel comprising real and fictional characters over half a century
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead review – a zinging wiseguy noir thriller
A small-time crook in 1960s Harlem becomes embroiled in a heist as the double Pulitzer prize-winner confounds expectations once more
In brief: Human Frontiers; Interviews With an Ape; Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time – review
Why we might have reached the peak of human progress, a gorilla has a lesson for us all and why work isn’t working
Mrs March by Virginia Feito review – super woman’s world unravels
An author’s wife sinks into paranoid fantasy after a social slight in an accomplished comedy-horror too arch for its own good