The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman; The Diver and the Lover by Jeremy Vine – review
A retirement village in Kent and 50s Catalonia provide the backdrops for two popular TV hosts’ very different debut novels
Not the Booker: Akin by Emma Donoghue – daft premise, good writing
The story of an elderly man who takes on the care of his young great-nephew has some lovely moments but strains the reader’s credulity Not the Booker 2020 shortlist: read along with us!
Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain review – a rich, world-straddling saga
Set between Bath and Borneo, this 14th novel skilfully explores familiar themes of desire, frustration and the quest for meaning
Rage by Bob Woodward review – Trump unleashed
In Bob Woodward’s interviews, this self-obsessed blabbermouth of a president blows the whistle on himself
Us review – divorce drama offers warmth and wanderlust
Based on the novel by David Nicholls, this gentle series about a family embarking on one last holiday proves especially poignant with travel largely off-limits
In brief: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous; Mind Games; Savage Kiss – reviews
Ocean Vuong explores family trauma, ex-goalkeeper Neville Southall reveals all and Robert Saviano goes back to the mob
V2 by Robert Harris review – fears of a rocket man
The Nazis’ V2 rocket programme is seen through the eyes of a conflicted German and a female air force office in a familiar but absorbing thriller
Adrift: How the World Lost Its Way by Amin Maalouf – review
The Lebanese-French historian plots a course through the political upheavals and turning points of the postwar era in this personal, insightful analysis
Reluctant European by Stephen Wall; Brexitland by Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford – review
Two authoritative books offer insightful accounts of why Britain’s always troubled relationship with Europe culminated in Brexit
Compromised review: Peter Strzok on Trump, Russia and the FBI
The former agent’s tell-all doesn’t quite tell all, fascinating on collusion but frustratingly coy on his own travails
Inside Story by Martin Amis review – a curious mashup of fiction and memoir
The novelist’s musings on his life, art and loved ones are humorous, grumpy and utterly compelling on grief
Dancing With the Octopus by Debora Harding review – kidnapped at 14
What mother doesn’t believe her daughter’s story of being tied up by a masked attacker? A brave, compelling memoir
Life of a Klansman review: Edward Ball’s discomforting history of hate
Students at Tulane University who protested this book missed the point: it lifts Black voices as it exposes white
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Afterland by Lauren Beukes; The March Fallen by Volker Kutscher; Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen; V2 by Robert Harris and Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
Just Like You by Nick Hornby review – ladlit meets mumlit
The Brexit backdrop is surplus to requirements in this funny, age-gap love story with genuinely likable protagonists