Fiction Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld Sittenfeld has imagined the lives and loves of both Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton in bestselling novels. This time her subject is Sally Milz, a self-deprecating scriptwriter on a Saturday Night Live-style TV show. When Sally meets Noah, a pop star she assumes to be out of her league, the ensuing romcom is lifted by Sittenfeld’s sharp writing and eye for amusing detail. A perfect beach companion. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray From the author of Skippy Dies, this epic, many-layered tragicomedy of an Irish family in crisis is as pleasurable to read as it is emotionally devastating. We enter into the mind of each family member in turn as long-held secrets, repressed desires and the bad choices of the past detonate in the present. A House for Alice by Diana Evans A sequel to Evans’s 2018 novel Ordinary People, A House for Alice opens on the night of the Grenfell fire, then follows Alice – longing to return to her native Nigeria – and her three daughters as they reckon with a city and a country in crisis. You don’t need to have read the earlier novel to enjoy this tender yet political tale, though one of its pleasures is reconnecting with Melissa and Michael several years on. The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan The follow-up to Exciting Times is a sharp sendup of modern romance. Two spiky protagonists, head-in-the-clouds pianist Celine and commitment-phobe Luke, stumble into an engagement. Both are bisexual – and have double the doubts. As the wedding draws closer and friends and ex-lovers complicate things further, Dolan plays with narrative form and expectations in a deliciously tart comedy studded with one-liners. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin A chunky high-concept mystery from the author of vampire blockbuster The Passage. On the isolated island of Prospera, the elite live out charmed lives, rebooted when they become old and weary. But the servant class are getting restive, and one day a cryptic message appears: “The world is not the world.” A page-turning inquiry into what makes a good life, with twists aplenty and cinematic action sequences. August Blue by Deborah Levy Levy’s elegantly ludic investigation into selfhood, mother love and meaning plays out across Europe, from Parisian cafes to Greek islands to the streets of London. A concert pianist who can no longer play spots her doppelganger in an Athens flea market: all that she has repressed begins to return, as she riddles over the mysteries of her origins and desires. Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward Ward has carved out a unique gothic space where the fantasy, thriller and horror genres meet, and this tale of ardent friendships, grisly crimes and literary rivalry is her best yet. Horrific discoveries on the New England coast blighted a teenager’s coming of age; those events, and their repercussions, are constructed both as memoir and fiction in a twisty psychodrama of denial and desire. The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman The Suede bassist’s madcap adventures of the rebels, dreamers and reprobates who make up a young theatre troupe in Elizabethan England are written with wit, invention and a luxuriantly gorgeous prose style. This is historical fiction that’s larger than life and twice as much fun. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Set to become an HBO series starring Jodie Comer, this sexy, madcap novel follows Greta, whose transcribing job for a therapist leads her into an obsession with one of his clients. What unfolds seems initially predictable, albeit in an eccentric, entertaining way. But as Beagin brings her characters and their pasts into clearer focus, the novel reveals a surprising, heart-wrenching core. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton Catton’s follow-up to the Booker-winning The Luminaries pits a group of young guerrilla gardeners against a billionaire with secret plans for a New Zealand national park. Ecological peril, political expediency, personal ambition and the generational divide are thrillingly debated in a novel of both action and ideas. Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks This scorching, lyrical debut, soaked in dub reggae, draws on the author’s life as a music-loving young woman in the late 70s and was shortlisted for the Women’s prize. Against a backdrop of racism and police brutality, we follow Yamaye from London to Bristol to Jamaica, through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage. The World and All That It Holds by Aleksandar Hemon Beginning with the arrival of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, this globe-trotting, century-spanning epic is a story of love and war, intimacy and history, as two men – a Bosnian soldier and a Sephardic Jewish pharmacist – find each other in the world’s tumult. Hemon revels in languages and storytelling, in a tour de force of narrative exuberance. Penance by Eliza Clark Out at the beginning of July, the second novel from the author of Boy Parts is a fiendishly nasty investigation into online fandoms, broken Britain, the depravity of teenage girls and the voyeuristic appetite for true crime. A 16-year-old was murdered by her peers on the eve of the Brexit vote. Now a washed-up journalist lays out the “truth” at the heart of the story – but has a hunger for content led to a moral vacuum? Chilling, clever and unputdownable. In Ascension by Martin MacInnes An impossibly deep trench is discovered in the Atlantic ocean, shedding light on the beginnings of life on Earth; a marine biologist with a difficult family background is caught up in the quest to know more. This beautifully composed novel of human frailty and cosmic wonder travels into deep space as well as to the ocean depths, through human connections and profound solitude, finding enlightenment and new mysteries on the journey. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff Everyone thinks that Geeta killed her no-good husband. They ought to shun her, but they have no-good husbands they’d like to be rid of too. Longlisted for the Women’s prize, this witty feminist revenge thriller exuberantly melds black comedy and zippy dialogue with the grim realities of rural life for Indian women. The New Life by Tom Crewe Based on the lives of 19th-century thinkers who sought to change medical and public opinion about homosexuality and women’s rights, this incredibly assured debut spins intimate dramas from the fight for autonomy in life and love. A fresh take on the historical novel, with desire at its heart, written with a charged certainty that the personal is political. Victory City by Salman Rushdie Rushdie’s 15th novel, completed before he was attacked in New York last summer, is a joyfully extravagant alternative Mahabharata: the story of the rise and fall of a medieval Indian empire told by a semi-divine heroine who lives for hundreds of years. It’s a mashup of myth and fairytale, comedy and melodrama, celebrating women’s agency and the enduring power of storytelling. Kala by Colin Walsh In an Irish seaside village with a dark underbelly, a group of friends reunites, 15 years after one of them disappeared. Then a body is found ... Tana French fans will relish the stylish prose and slowburn menace of this impressive debut. The Short End of the Sonnenallee by Thomas Brussig, translated by Jonathan Franzen and Jenny Watson Michael and his friends live in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, so close they can hear western conversations from the observation platform. Newly translated into English, this is a charming comedy of mid-80s East Germany; funny and tender, it damns totalitarianism through its warm focus on ordinary, riotous teenage life. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis The book Ellis was born to write? An autofictional journey into the dark heart of both the author and modern society, first published as a serial podcast, it takes us back to 80s LA, where Bret and frenemies are finishing high school. A serial killer is on the loose, and closeted desire makes the world a shifting, treacherous place. This is an atmospheric investigation into our shadow selves. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue Sometimes the most passionate love stories are platonic. As sharply witty as it is warm-hearted and wise, this coming-of-age story about an Irish graduate and her gay best friend captures the intensity of friendship, the brittle craziness of youth and the desperation of gunning for an arts job in a recession. Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin In this clear-eyed, moving debut, inspired by Pin’s mother’s experiences as a refugee after the Vietnam war, a family flee their village by boat – but only the three teenage siblings make it through various camps and on to London. A tender and illuminating portrait of displacement, endurance and family love, this is history told from the inside. Tomás Nevinson by Javier Marías, translated by Margaret Jull Costa In the final novel from the late, great Spanish author, a spy is coaxed out of retirement and on to the trails of three women, one of whom may be an IRA terrorist working for Basque separatists. A meditation on thought and consciousness, identity and disguise, the gloriously rolling sentences offer the deep pleasures of a brilliant mind apprehending the world in real time. For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie A tiny novel that contains multitudes, this is the story of two medieval mystics, the rambunctious Margery Kempe and the anchorite Julian of Norwich, and what happens when these two extraordinary women cross paths. Lightly done but intensely felt, it’s mind-expanding stuff. Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood Fifteen stories from the inimitable Atwood, jumping from ageing to aliens to apocalypse with her trademark spry wit. At the centre is a sequence exploring the long marriage between Tig and Nell, and the widowhood that follows. Bracing, darkly funny and cheerfully unsentimental. Time Come by Linton Kwesi Johnson Indelible in the minds of many for his performance of Inglan Is a Bitch on The Old Grey Whistle Test, the resonant Jamaican-British poet has also written essays, articles and speeches. This collection charts his career in prose. Quantum Supremacy by Michio Kaku Will a new generation of computers designed to harness the power of subatomic particles be able to cure cancer, unlock the secrets of fusion power and stop ageing? Physicist Michio Kaku thinks so, and sets out his stall in this resolutely upbeat book. God Is an Octopus by Ben Goldsmith When his teenage daughter was killed in an accident on his farm, the conservationist Ben Goldsmith was poleaxed by grief. This is his moving account of how reconnecting with nature helped him rebuild a capacity for joy. The Power of Trees by Peter Wohlleben The German forester became an unlikely celebrity with 2015’s bestselling Hidden Life of Trees. Here he shows us that the way to help forests thrive is to leave them alone – and in doing so, reap the climate benefits these natural carbon sinks provide. Radical: A Life of My Own by Xiaolu Guo In Chinese writing, the “radical” is the part of the character that lends it meaning; Guo charts her own quest for meaning and purpose in this kaleidoscopic memoir that follows her from London to New York and back again. Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder by Dacher Keltner Twenty years of research has convinced this psychology professor that a little awe goes a long way. Here he sets out the various types, from “moral beauty” to “collective effervescence”, and offers tips for finding it, not just on mountaintops, but in everyday life. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a forensically researchedn historical yarn that mixes Mutiny on the Bounty with Lord of the Flies. In 1740, a ship leaves Britain on a secret mission against Spain and is wrecked off the coast of Patagonia. Two years later, separate groups of survivors wash up, with contradictory stories of terrible crimes. Packed with literary references from Coleridge to Melville, this is a thrilling account of adventure, endurance and the ravages of imperialism. An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals by Polly Toynbee Is there a conflict between personal privilege and progressive politics? In an attempt to answer that question, the Guardian columnist subjects her illustrious family and herself to an unsparing analysis, spiced with anecdote and humour. The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery by Adam Gopnik What does it take to become a master magician, a great painter, a brilliant baker or just someone who can drive? The New Yorker critic embarks on a study of craft – from the celebrated to the unsung. End Times by Peter Turchin From the man who predicted the rise of Trump – or someone very like him – a remarkably clear, data-driven explanation of why societies fall into crisis, and how to engineer a soft landing. Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg In the early 2000s so-called British bubblegum swept all before it, with bands such as S Club 7, Boyzone and Blue shifting millions of units. This oral history fizzes with gossip and insight into the surprisingly hard grind of being a jobbing pop star. Is This OK?: One Woman’s Search for Connection Online by Harriet Gibsone What is it like to come of age with the internet? And can relationships conducted online ever compare to the real thing? Journalist Gibsone’s candid memoir is comic and dark by turns. The Earth Transformed: An Untold History by Peter Frankopan In this follow-up to the magisterial Silk Roads, the Oxford historian seeks to show the environment’s inescapable influence on history – from the volcanos whose ash clouds caused crop failures in antiquity to the climate challenges of the present day. Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks by Scott Shapiro Matthew Broderick’s teen hacker in the 80s movie WarGames is an odd starting point for a new era in world affairs, but that’s what first turned the US government’s attention to the increasingly urgent problem of cybersecurity. In a series of vivid case studies, Yale professor Scott Shapiro surveys the strange new landscape of hacking and its unlikely practitioners. Foreign Bodies: A History of Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations by Simon Schama As we enter an age of zoonosis – with more viruses jumping from animal to human than ever before – the historian takes us on an erudite tour of past responses to pandemics, offering plenty of lessons for the next one. To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music and Mystery of Connie Converse by Howard Fishman The distinctive voice of Connie Converse, an obscure 50s folk singer who disappeared in the 1970s, captivated writer Howard Fishman when he first heard one of her records at a party. He attempts to trace her story, and find out what really happened to her. The Great White Bard by Farah Karim-Cooper Should we consign pale, male, stale Shakespeare to the scrapheap? Absolutely not, argues Farah Karim-Cooper, who believes a race-conscious reading of his work enriches it and restores his status as a playwright for all. In Her Nature: How Women Break Boundaries in the Great Outdoors: A Past, Present and Personal Story by Rachel Hewitt Hewitt, an avid runner, charts the neglected history of female sporting pioneers including the Edwardian mountaineer Lizzie le Blond. In doing so she tells a story of barriers and belittlement, the legacy of which continues to this day. Transitional by Munroe Bergdorf The model and trans activist on growing up, getting famous, being vilified and carrying on despite it all. Life, she argues, is a process of continual transition – no matter what your gender identity. Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer What to do with artistic heroes like Pablo Picasso, Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, whose personal lives and crimes seem to stand in such contradiction to their sublime art? Dederer’s exploration offers up no easy answers, but the journey is never less than illuminating. Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet by Alice Robb Once a student at America’s top ballet school, now a journalist, Alice Robb looks back at the demanding, obsessional world that captured her childhood dreams, and the charismatic figures who shaped it. Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict by Elizabeth Day The host of blockbuster podcast How to Fail explores the joys and pitfalls of friendship – including the stresses of trying to maintain as many as possible. Could a modest address-book cull be the socially responsible way to start your summer? Johnson at 10 by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell If you can bear to revisit a period of misrule still painfully raw in the collective memory, Seldon and Newell’s meticulous book offers eye-opening insights into the workings of the Johnson administration from the people who witnessed it first hand. Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken What happens if you eat a diet made up of 80% ultra-processed food – pre-packaged snacks and meals with long chemical names among the ingredients – for a whole month? Having done just that and seen the results, public health doctor van Tulleken explains the toll these products are having on our collective health. One Midsummer’s Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth by Mark Cocker The humble swift is the lens through which nature writer Mark Cocker presents the natural world in all its dazzling interconnectedness. Or perhaps not so humble – these are the birds, after all, that think nothing of nipping over to Germany in a single insect-hunting trip, and have been reported at heights of 4,400 metres. A natural wonder indeed. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver A triumph of voice: this Women’s prize-winning reboot of David Copperfield, set amid the poverty and opioid addiction of Appalachia, features an unforgettable young hero battling to survive. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Precocious coders and best friends Samson and Sadie get into the video game-making business – but will their relationship ever move beyond creative collaboration? A hugely enjoyable novel about lives and loves mediated by technology. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a multi award-winning debut about a dangerous affair across the political and religious divide. Bad Actors by Mick Herron The latest in the Slough House series about inept MI5 secret agents sees Herron on top form, slashing through Westminster shenanigans and Russian thuggery with elegance and wit. Send Nudes by Saba Sams Funny, sly and surprising tales of young womanhood from the BBC National short story award winner – perfect poolside reading. Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries All you could ask for in terms of juicy titbits from the length and breadth of the beloved actor’s career; brickbats and bouquets for fellow performers, snippets of Labour politics and the filming of Harry Potter. Constructing a Nervous System by Margo Jefferson The Baillie Gifford prize winner splices memoir with sharply observed cultural criticism in this unique meditation on ageing, art and personhood. Landlines by Raynor Winn In a follow up to the bestselling Salt Path and Wild Silence, much-loved wild walkers Raynor and her husband Moth undertake their toughest challenge yet – the Cape Wrath Trail – in the face of Moth’s deteriorating health. The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole Who knew Britain had rainforests? There may not be parrots, but a rich and precious heritage of ancient woodlands replete with mistletoe, fern and moss clings on, fed by our damp Atlantic climate. This book is a call to see the exotic in our own isles, and cherish it. Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex This eye-popping memoir lays bare Prince Harry’s childhood trauma, his grudges and his gripes – as well as a rather intimate bout of frostbite. Too much information? Not for eager readers, who have made it the bestselling book of the year so far. Art Makes People Powerful by Bob and Roberta Smith A thick, satisfying art activity book that invites children of 6+ to discover their own powers of creation, painting fierce placards or drawing their own feelings and visions of a better world. The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City by Katya Balen, illustrated by Rachael Dean When Clem finds a mysterious object and triggers some seriously strange weather, she and her mudlarking buddies must go on an underwater adventure to return it. A delightful illustrated quest story for 7+, from a Carnegie-winning author. The Case of the Lighthouse Intruder by Kereen Getten, illustrated by Leah Jacobs-Gordon Fayson doesn’t like her wealthy cousins, but when she’s sent to their Jamaican island for the summer, she might just get the chance to realise her dream of becoming a detective. Like Enid Blyton with a social conscience, this marks the start of an addictive new series for 8+. The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell At birth, each Swift is given a definition from their ancestral dictionary, and must grow up to embody their name – except Shenanigan Swift, who doesn’t believe in destiny. When Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude is and outrageously witty attacked at a family reunion, will Shenanigan succeed in finding the culprit? Fabulously illustrated, this clever, comic debut is perfect for 9+ Lemony Snicket fans. Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson, illustrated by Lisa Paganelli When Daisy Thistledown’s mother goes missing, Daisy obeys her mum’s last order and escapes into Greenworld, an eco-paradise she must fight to defend. This magical fantasy breathes new life into classic tropes while offering 9+ readers a cornucopia of wonder, peril and time travel. Friends and Traitors by Helen Peters Sidney’s school has just been evacuated to a rural stately home, where clever Nancy is working as a housemaid. Then the girls discover that the earl is hiding something sinister in the stables. Concealed passages and fiendish plots abound in this second world war mystery, perfect for 9+ Robin Stevens readers. Cupid’s Revenge by Wibke Brueggemann Tilly can’t stand living in a houseful of “creative types”, and now she’s worried about her grandad, who has Alzheimer’s, moving in. Love is not on the agenda – until she meets gorgeous Katherine Cooper-Bunting, her best friend Teddy’s crush, and winds up in the same amdram production. This sweet, believable queer romance for 14+ is frank, funny and poignant. This Summer’s Secrets by Emily Barr Long ago, grim secrets were hidden at Cliff House. Now, as teenage Senara finds herself drawn into the house’s affluent world – and, possibly, a first romance – those secrets begin to work their way into the light. A sun-splashed Cornish thriller with a dark heart, ideal for YA fans of E Lockhart. The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar Bengali-Irish baker Shireen is thrilled to be in the Junior Irish Baking Show – but less so to find her ex-girlfriend Chris is too. Can Shireen give her parents’ bakery a boost while working with Chris at close quarters – and what about the charismatic Niamh? Jaigirdar’s fourth novel is a sugar-dusted YA treat with a sharp spice of realism. You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron Charity Curtis loves her summer job as “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake, where guests pay to be terrified in a cult horror re-enactment. But when her co‑workers start disappearing, Charity will have to put her skills to work for real in this pulse-pounding horror, best suited to slasher flick aficionados of 14+.