Feebleminded by Ariana Harwicz review – dangerously addictive

This intense observation of a disturbing mother-daughter relationship mingles desire, loneliness and frustration

She-Merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen review – the women of the Raj

Katie Hickman’s study recounts stories with sympathy, clarity and verve, but raises the question of British misapprehensions about the empire

Ferrante Fever review – enticing portrait of a literary sensation

Elizabeth Strout, Jonathan Franzen and others on mysterious author Elena Ferrante’s work and persona

An Impeccable Spy by Owen Matthews review – Stalin’s master agent

Espionage at its most effective: the tale of Richard Sorge, the brilliant chancer who lived intensely and was betrayed by the USSR

Now You’re Talking by Trevor Cox review – conversation, from the Neanderthals to AI

A fascinating examination of how language and speech are key to our humanity by a professor of acoustic engineering

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris review – Hannibal Lecter’s creator returns

The shocking truth about this Miami-set thriller, featuring an avocado-eating hitman and a woman with a Dark Past, is how dull it is

Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich review – the tale of the Winklevoss twins

Coders, cocktails and a bank heist in reverse – the brothers who sued Mark Zuckerberg and hit bitcoin boom time

The Victorians by Jacob Rees-Mogg review – history as manifesto

Confidence and moral purpose made Britain great, argues this poorly written book, designed to reflect the rightwinger back to himself at twice the size

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones review – a marvellous feat of storytelling

A wrongful conviction powers this Women’s prize-shortlisted novel of the black American middle-class experience

Lost Property by Laura Beatty review – a European odyssey

A novelist escapes Brexit Britain for a luminous, time-travelling journey through the culture and history of Europe

Outrages by Naomi Wolf review – sex and censorship

Repressive laws overshadowing the bedroom and the bookshop ... a study of gay Victorians and ‘obscenity’

Girlhood by Julia Copus review – phenomenal mind games

The British poet’s technical dexterity and way of seeing the past afresh reap rich dividends

The Second Mountain by David Brooks review – a self-help guide to escaping the self

Brooks’s best book yet argues that we won’t find midlife satisfaction until we commit to a cause or community

Tom Gates Live on Stage! review – songs and sketches from the schoolboy doodler

Liz Pichon brings the young hero of her witty books to life in an adaptation that explodes with animations

The Porpoise by Mark Haddon review – a transcendent, transporting experience

Adrenaline-fuelled adventure meets Shakespeare in a serious contender for novel of the year