Whistle in the Dark review – a satire on every parent’s nightmare

Emma Healey’s story about a teenager’s disappearance struggles with tone, but remains emotionally compelling

Connect by Julian Gough review – on the run from Dad and his drones

This stimulating tale of a coder and his mum is a hyper-digital thriller with hints of Fifty Shades of Grey

The Neighbourhood by Mario Vargas Llosa review – a steamy page-turner

The Peruvian jetset seek respite from tyranny in sex, until scandal pits them against the regime

Modernists & Mavericks: Bacon, Freud, Hockney and the London Painters by Martin Gayford – review

A superb biography of the postwar painters whose fresh techniques and ideas energised art captures their resolve – and the bond between them

Michael Chabon: ‘Parent properly and you’re doing yourself out of a job’

The Pulitzer prize-winner on combining writing with raising kids, his freakozoid tendencies and the authors he returns to

Book clinic: what constitutes ‘well read’?

No two people’s lists are the same, but the Anglo-American greats and the ancient Greeks and Romans are all required reading

Chasing Hillary by Amy Chozick review – my role in Clinton’s failure to become president

A reporter’s memoir details how the team surrounding the Democratic candidate treated journalists contemptuously and fell out with the liberal media

Whistler’s Mother review – a painting that’s not what it seems

A meticulous study of Anna Whistler, by Daniel E Sutherland and Georgia Toutziari, is a treasure trove of odd information

The Valley at the Centre of the World by Malachy Tallack review – a vivid closeup of island life

From breakup to crofting … this restrained debut captures the emotional journey of a man who returns home to remote Shetland and the viewpoints of the people who live there

The Restless Wave review: John McCain on Trump, duty and Putin’s ‘evil’

The Arizona senator and former presidential candidate is dying. His last book is a call for old-fashioned Republican values

Pure Hollywood by Christine Schutt – stories to take you out of your comfort zone

Words crash together musically and dialogue seems to take even the characters by surprise in this daring collection

Sleep Demons by Bill Hayes review – an insomniac’s memoir

Reissued with a new preface, this intimate and beautifully written book brings scientific research alive in a heartfelt and deeply personal narrative

A Tokyo Romance by Ian Buruma review – shaped by Japan

An evocative account of 1970s cultural life in the Japanese capital

How Britain Really Works by Stig Abell review – the facts about a muddle of a country

Education, media, politics ... this pithy primer on what makes the country tick is a vital guide for the fake news era

The Lifters by Dave Eggers review – a strong first children’s book

The plot may not be very original, but Dave Eggers can’t write a boring sentence - kids will love this tale of dark underground forces