Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie audiobook review – women driven apart

The close friendship between two women from Karachi who are high flyers in London is put to the test when a figure from their past reappears

Listen up: how to access audiobooks for less – or even for free

We review 15 services and look at options if you want to avoid the Amazon-owned market leader, Audible

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes audiobook review – a smart changing-places tale

Daisy Ridley narrates this clever novel about the converging fates of two women from opposite sides of the tracks

One Day I Shall Astonish the World by Nina Stibbe audiobook review – friendship in little England

Stibbe evokes the interior thoughts of female friends in a portrait of a small town enlivened by Joanna Scanlan’s narration

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney audiobook review – a tender memoir about the death of a child

The comedian narrates his book about the gruelling treatment of his young son and the love and grief that enveloped his family

Unable to read, I listened – and found out what an imperfect reader I am

Whole episodes I’d forgotten were revealed to me. The main character became a whole new person

People Person by Candice Carty-Williams audiobook review – sibling bonds and absent fathers

Four half-siblings rally round their sister when she makes a grim discovery in this wise and funny tale from the author of Queenie

Illuminations by Alan Moore audiobook review – mind-bending tales

The creator of From Hell’s first short story collection is marked by tales of revenge, a visit from the Messiah, and a swipe at the comics industry

A Private Spy audiobook review – the letters of John le Carré

David Harewood and Florence Pugh narrate this incisive collection, edited by the author’s son

Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo review – how she became a Booker winner

The writer’s no-nonsense delivery adds extra bite to her guide to turning a creative passion into a profession

Talking posh still pays – that’s why Boris Johnson is rolling in it

The former PM’s high earnings have been partly attributed to the way he speaks. But I’ll take Bill Paterson or Maya Angelou’s sonorous tones over the voice of privilege any day, writes Emma Beddington

Mother’s Boy by Patrick Gale review – imagining Charles Causley’s life

This fictionalised biography of the Cornish poet covers his tender bond with his mother, and the effects of losing a friend during war

Free Love by Tessa Hadley audiobook review – female self-discovery

Actor Abigail Thaw narrates this intimate and gripping story of political and sexual awakening in middle-class suburbia

Marple: Twelve New Stories by various authors audiobook review – the sleuth reimagined

A dozen acclaimed authors, including Val McDermid and Naomi Alderman, create new mysteries for Agatha Christie’s detective to solve

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper audiobook review – a starry midwinter’s tale

Toby Jones, Simon McBurney and Noah Alexander are among the cast in this atmospheric telling of Susan Cooper’s fantasy novel