THE BEST NEW FICTION

Scrap Calla Henkel Sceptre €21.50

Dumped by her girlfriend, true- crime fan Esther, an artist and crafter, is unable to afford the mortgage on their house and accepts a job making scrapbooks for a wealthy woman from an extensive archive of family documents. When the woman dies, Esther becomes convinced her papers hold sinister clues about her death. This is an entertaining romp with a bracingly imperfect heroine, sharp observations about wealth and art and a plot that corkscrews off in surprising directions. Neil Armstrong

Stone Yard Devotional Charlotte Wood Sceptre €25

Despite its unruffled surface, Wood’s new novel roils with unresolved emotion. Spare prose and a lean plot reveal the thoughts of its unnamed narrator, an affirmed atheist who has sought refuge in a small convent, lulled by the ‘weird tranquillity’ of their contemplative life. But it proves no sanctuary for her, plagued as she is by memories of her dead mother, her past failings and the mice that promptly overrun the convent. Eithne Farry

The Museum Of Failures Thrity Umrigar Swift Press €22

Immigrant Remy Wadia is living the American Dream in Ohio. Desperate for a child, he returns to his native Mumbai to adopt a baby through a family connection and visit his estranged mother. There, a series of revelations about long-buried family secrets upends his world, causing him to re-evaluate the past and confront some uncomfortable truths. Despite occasionally clunky dialogue, this is a heart-warming tale told with compassion and skill. Simon Humphreys

The Kellerby Code Jonny Sweet Faber €18.50

This first novel from comedian Jonny Sweet is an elegant and entertaining mix of Highsmith and Wodehouse. Edward Jevons always wanted to be part of the aristocratic set he met at Cambridge, but over time, his envy has started to curdle and fester. And when his best friend asks for help dealing with a blackmailer, Edward’s darker side comes to the fore. A horribly compelling tale. John Williams