The Newcomer by Laura Elizabeth Woollett review – murder in a Pacific island paradise

New novel from the author of Beautiful Revolutionary takes aim at far more than the ‘dead girl’ crime genre trope

China’s Leaders by David Shambaugh review – from Mao to now

Respected, feared, revered – 100 years of China’s Communist party told through its leaders

Laura Fairrie’s family-sanctioned film praises the author’s personal courage, work ethic and feminism-lite but doesn’t delve very deep

The first adaptation of teen horror author RL Stine’s set of supernatural books makes for a marvelously entertaining throwback slasher

Stunning visual details, from blooming flowers to morning dew, illustrate our troubled hero’s growth in this bittersweet sequel

George Galloway as a cat, Jamie Oliver’s war on Turkey Twizzlers … a clever look back at the recent past

An unlikely adventure in the Himalayan foothills is full of rare wisdom and spirituality

As well as books tackling big issues, there’s a good dose of sharp laughter in the latest clutch of titles for teens

Despite lacking the vitality of the best oral histories, Sheldon Pearce’s book illuminates the turning points in a life cut painfully short

The director’s pulpy novelisation of his most recent film is entirely outrageous and addictively readable

The novelist rails against everything from Agatha Christie to the US Capitol attack – and, above all, men – in her joyously eclectic essay collection

This 1945 novel, republished as a Penguin Classic, is rooted in its author’s short, intense life

First published in 1976, this memoir by one of Britain’s first black headteachers is a vital story of survival doused in fury, humour and love

A graduate is haunted by the voice of her grandmother, Jonathan Coe examines fame through a film director, and Kate Mikhail wants to send us to sleep

A young Tamil ponders the death of his grandmother’s carer in a hypnotic novel about ageing, longing and the aftermath of war