The Way it is Now by Garry Disher review – provocative whodunnit interrogates small-town misogyny
Disher’s story of a burnt-out cop investigating his mother’s disappearance asks complex questions of its male characters
Five of the best crime and thrillers of 2021
Final novels from John le Carré and Andrea Camilleri, dark psychological debut Girl A and more
Debut novel by ‘Russian Proust’ to be published in English for the first time
The translation of Deceit by ‘groundbreaking’ author Yuri Felsen, who died in Auschwitz in 1943, is set to come out next May
Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi review – talk is cheap
The poet’s powerful first novel follows a British Indian girl’s journey into silence
Top 10 novels about novelists
From Louisa May Alcott to Philip Roth and Michael Chabon, writers of fiction have long been fascinated by the dramas of their own trade
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
A post-Covid murder mystery, a puzzle in the mountains of India and a fictional take on the spy cops scandal are among this month’s crop
The Falling Thread by Adam O’Riordan review – stately family saga
This poised, Jamesian debut novel about a Manchester family in the lead up to the first world war is a masterclass in detail and atmosphere
In brief: 1922: Scenes from a Turbulent Year; The Retreat; Greenlights – reviews
A breakneck account of events a century past, a thriller set in an artists’ retreat, and actor Matthew McConaughey’s winning memoir
A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa review – incandescent treasures
In this dazzling prose debut, the poet presents a reimagining of 18th-century life entwined with her own existence
Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins; Medusa: The Girl Behind the Myth by Jessie Burton – review
Weaving women and goddesses burst into life in two compelling new versions of the Greek myths
Lydia Davis: ‘I write it the way I want to write it’
The author on flash fiction, translation as a route to creativity, and why we need to prioritise the climate crisis over ‘business as usual with writing’
Cain’s Jawbone: how crime novel’s puzzling plot still keeps us guessing
In 87 years, only four readers have solved the fiendish murder mystery devised by former Observer crossword setter Edward Powys Mathers
Seesaw by Timothy Ogene review – adventures in cultural expectations
This satire on stereotyping explores US academia through the eyes of a visiting Nigerian scholar
‘It was a call to arms’: Jodi Picoult and Karin Slaughter on writing Covid-19 into novels
The authors reflect on their experiences of including the pandemic in their novels Wish You Were Here and False Witness
Inside story: the first pandemic novels have arrived, but are we ready for them?
Ali Smith, Sally Rooney, Roddy Doyle … is there anything can we learn from the first Covid-19 books?