Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce review – self-discovery in the South Pacific
The “up lit” novelist does more than warm our hearts in this 1950-set tale of one woman’s journey from mediocrity to adventure
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell review – endless prog rock noodling
The acclaimed author of Cloud Atlas hits a bum note with this hackneyed story of a band in the late 1960s
The Other Madisons review: an astonishing story of a president’s black family
In extraordinary times, as statues fall, Bettye Kearse has written an extraordinary book. It contains lessons for all Americans
Remain in Love by Chris Frantz review – once in a lifetime with Talking Heads
The band’s drummer describes his glory years with the post-punk art-rockers, his bass-playing wife, Tina, and the enigma that is David Byrne
Shadow State by Luke Harding review – an impassioned indictment of the Kremlin
Moscow as Mordor ... a detailed and compelling account of the Russian regime’s ‘unofficial war’ against the west
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg; The Divine Boys by Laura Restrepo; The Sandpit by Nicholas Shakespeare; Brixton Hill by Lottie Moggach; One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie
From Bob Dylan to Viv Albertine: 10 of the best music biographies
Addiction, poetry, flirting with Scientology: these candid memoirs and biographies reveal the inner lives of musicians
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue review – fighting the 1918 flu pandemic
Fear and female camaraderie combine in this tale of three Dublin medics’ experiences from the author of Room
The Australian book you should read next: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
A rare and powerful voice of a woman who has been poor and rich, with a lived understanding of the fickleness of each
Why We Drive by Matthew Crawford review – a high-speed reverse into nostalgia
A macho speed merchant provides some terrific moments but fails in his general defence of cars and motorbikes against new technologies
The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana by Maryse Condé review – a scurrilous picaresque
The route to radicalisation is explored in a sharply satirical tale by the winner of the Alternative Nobel
The Number Bias by Sanne Blauw review – how numbers can mislead us
From Covid-19 to the tobacco industry to the climate crisis ... a punchy, amusing history of the deliberate misuse of statistics
Two Tribes by Chris Beckett review – 250 years after Brexit
Hungry, flooded and under surveillance, Britain in 2266 feels the impact of civil war and a climate catastrophe
Remain in Love by Chris Frantz review – the Talking Heads drummer speaks out
The trouble with David Byrne ... A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
Double-dealing in the murky world of espionage, the hunt for an environmental terrorist, creepy neighbours and the return of an old friend