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THE PATRIOTS by Sana Krasikov (Granta Books, hardback £12.99, ebook £8.04) FLORENCE FEIN is a New Yorker, an idealist who turns her back on capitalist America and sets sail in 1934 for Stalin’s Soviet Union, seduced by its classless society, gender equality, and for love. But by the time Moscow starts to chip at Florence’s perceived idyll, it’s too late to leave.

Sana Krasikov, who grew up in the Republic of Georgia and is a resident of the US, has done her history homework: The Patriots is both detailed and sweeping in its storytelling. It weaves between Florence and her son, Julian (who provides a second thread in Putin’s modern-day Russia) to expose the consequences of the mother’s actions on her child.

This multi-generational political thriller journeys through the terror and espionage of Stalin’s purges to the gulags of the Cold War. But it is the nitty-gritty of life in Moscow that shows how well researched and written The Patriots is.

In fact, it is a masterclass in historical fiction.

A SIMPLE FAVOUR by Darcey Bell (Macmillan, hardback £12.99, ebook £1.89) HOT on the heels of thrillers like Gone Girl, The Girl On The Train and Lie With Me, comes another domestic thriller with unreliable narrators.

This debut, written by Chicago pre-school teacher Darcey Bell, is based around the story of two best friends – widow and stay-at-home mum blogger Stephanie and successful PR executive Emily – whose five-year-old sons are also best friends. When Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school, she agrees but she doesn’t come back and Emily knows she would never leave her son.

While this thriller is fast-moving, readable and packed with betrayal, secrets and plenty of twists and turns, the plot feels forced and too far-fetched. With so many brilliant thrillers on the market at the moment, this was disappointing.