Alan Johnson: ‘John Betjeman was wrong about Slough’
The former health secretary and acclaimed memoirist on his rock’n’roll past, how the Litvinenko poisoning inspired his new thriller, and how he’d have handled Covid
Paula Hawkins: ‘I wasn’t interested in writing the same book again’
The latest novel by the author of The Girl on the Train is a return to form. She talks fame, persistence and remaining an outsider
Mrs March by Virginia Feito review – a brilliant psychological study
In this tense debut, essential reading for the social media era, the wife of a New York author becomes convinced her husband is writing about her
The new award from the Women’s prize should scrap its age limit
Literary prize culture favours young and marketable writers – and the new Futures scheme is simply adding to the problem
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
1979 by Val McDermid; A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris; The Turnout by Megan Abbott; Of Fangs and Talons by Nicolas Mathieu; 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard; and These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker review – bleak and impressive
In the sequel to her Iliad retelling The Silence of the Girls, told from the perspective of captured queen Briseis, Barker moves on from war to its aftermath
Empires by Nick Earls review – a novel plea to pay attention to chance and history
A soldier figurine unites characters across history and culture in this provocative if sometimes uneven new work of fiction from the prolific Brisbane writer
Blank Pages by Bernard MacLaverty – stories from the far end of life
A matchless observer of human details returns with tales of bereavement and endurance
Top 10 books about family life
From parents who meddle in their children’s relationships to ex-wives who loom over second marriages, families in fiction can be just as complicated as they are in real life
An Island by Karen Jennings review – compact allegory of postcolonialism
This Booker-longlisted fable about the turbulent history of an unnamed African country is small but powerful
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett – a life in books
A woman tests novels against first-hand experience in this risky, immersive narrative, which is absolutely faithful to its own raw spirit
Sarah Ferguson’s Mills & Boon novel edges on to UK bestsellers chart
Historical romance Her Heart for a Compass has made it to the official UK book chart – but it still lies well clear of Bridgerton’s success
I went looking for ordinary coincidence in the world, but what I found was extraordinary
How many everyday wonders do we miss because we’ve blinded ourselves to the inevitability of chance?
In brief: The Island of Missing Trees; Tunnel 29; Vesper Flights – review
A powerful novel with a Cypriot backdrop, the thrilling story of a cold war escape and astute essays from nature writer Helen Macdonald
Kitchen porter, commis chef, novelist: how working in restaurants shaped my new life
The author of the acclaimed debut novel Moth tells how hard graft in the kitchen prepared her for the world of literature