The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Keeper by Tana French; The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman; Mrs Shim Is a Killer by Kang Jiyoung; A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad; The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary
The Dog’s Gaze by Thomas Laqueur review – the art of the canine, from Velázquez to Picasso
A clever and beautiful survey of dogs in painting, with a brilliant interpretation of their role at its heart
Griefdogg by Michael Winkler review – a cryptic, beguiling tale about a man who turns into a dog
Winkler’s latest novel is ambitious, compelling and bleakly comic; it scratches a metaphysical itch you didn’t realise you had
The Possibility of Tenderness by Jason Allen-Paisant audiobook review – meditations on nature and belonging
The poet reconnects with the landscape of the May Day Mountains in Jamaica where he grew up in a personal story of migration, race and rural life
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke review – the downfall of an all‑American tradwife
The premise – Instagram influencer is confronted by pioneer reality – is genius. But does this high-concept debut live up to the hype?
Communion by Jon Doyle review – a charged debut about sin and solace
A man who meant to be a priest is faced with a moral crossroads in this ambitious and affecting first novel
The Fallen by Louise Brangan review – an enraging account of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries
The horrifying story of the Catholic-run institutions that incarcerated thousands of women and girls
On Memoir by Blake Morrison review – lessons in life writing from a master
Don’t be fooled by the A-Z treatment – this thoroughgoing guide asks deep questions about the art of autobiography
All Them Dogs by Djamel White review – murderous desires in the badlands of Dublin
Sparks fly in this homoerotic dance of desire and betrayal, from a powerful new voice in Irish literature
My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy review – wonderfully entertaining
Biography mingles with fiction as Levy explores the avant-garde writer through the story of three female friends in Paris
Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh review – a climate-crisis novel let down by its prose
A reincarnation mystery drives this exploration of spiritual interconnectedness in a globalised world
Walking Shadow by Greg Doran review – Shakespeare’s healing power
After the death of his husband, Antony Sher, the former RSC director embarks on a quest to see every First Folio
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup
Loss Protocol by Paul McAuley; Night Babies by Lucie McKnight Hardy; Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell; Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
Go Gentle by Maria Semple review – a joyfully clever New York romcom
A Stoic philosopher navigates midlife in this madcap comedy from the author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Circle of Wonders by Kathryn Heyman review – solace and healing in an acid-etched portrait of a dysfunctional family
Heyman’s story about women struggling to put aside their hurts and do right by one another is all about rage, vulnerability, forgiveness and a bit of woo-woo