The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey, Jonathan Cape, £16.99
When the richest man in Oakham – a vividly imagined, late 15th century Somerset village – is swept away in the river, it falls to priest John Reve to investigate his disappearance. Harvey pours a modern style into her God-fearing tale of guilt and suspicion, which sees Reve conduct most of his sleuthing from the discomfort of a rudimentary confessional.