Universality by Natasha Brown review – clever satire of identity politics

Slyly investigating language and bias in media culture, this follow-up to Assembly confirms Brown as one of the most intelligent voices writing today

In the Lost Lands review – not much to find in pointless science-fantasy

George RR Martin story flabbily retold in a dreary postapocalypse where Milla Jovovich has few spells to cast as a witch for hire

Maternity Service by Emma Barnett review – baby steps

An energetic attempt to reimagine maternity leave swerves hard thinking about social reform

Once the Deed Is Done by Rachel Seiffert review – mystery in the aftermath of the Third Reich

This fine novel investigates the fate of displaced people in the hazardous, dirty backwash of the second world war

The Rule of Jenny Pen review – John Lithgow pulls the strings in care home horror

Geoffrey Rush’s retired judge is terrorised by Lithgow’s therapy puppet-wielding fellow resident in this claustrophobic tale of elder-on-elder abuse

The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan review – do no harm

A doctor’s brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis, from ADHD to long Covid

A Touch of Love review – Margaret Drabble’s single-mother drama is a vivid 60s time capsule

This Drabble adaptation about a PhD student who gets pregnant is kitchen-sinky but without humour or even awareness. It’s an interesting curio

The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits review – a triumphant twist on the great American road novel

Fleeing a failing marriage and culture war battles, a man drives away from the wreckage of his past

Carrion Crow by Heather Parry review – a stomach-clenching contender for awards

A woman is confined to the attic by her mother in a thrillingly told novel that revels in squalor

Cry When the Baby Cries by Becky Barnicoat review – the black and white truth about motherhood

Barnicoat’s memoir of early parenthood is funny, unflinching and a welcome corrective to the ceaseless pressures new mums face from social media

The North Pole: The History of an Obsession by Erling Kagge review – an adventure that can’t be topped

The Norwegian explorer – who in 1990 became the first to reach 90 degrees north without the help of machine nor beast – journeys into the past to uncover the myths, politics and pure joy of the northernmost point on Earth

Is This Working? by Charlie Colenutt review – labours of love in unexpected places

The author’s study of UK workers and their feelings about their jobs uncovers mushrooming red tape and an enduring sense of fatigue, but also a sense of pride

A Town Without Time by Gay Talese review – New York by an old master

The colour and detail in this collection of nonfiction by the grandfather of New Journalism brings the city to gripping, dazzling life

The Mouthless Dead by Anthony Quinn review – murder most unsolvable

The author’s haunting and highly readable fictionalisation of a high-profile killing in prewar Liverpool is rich in legal and procedural detail

A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland review – a striking story of concealed love

This unforgettable tale of two men in late-80s Wales deals with the emotions and repercussions of their intimacy – and is one of the best debut novels in years