LATEST TITLES

A LADDER TO THE SKY by John Boyne, Doubleday, £16.99 (ebook £9.99)

★★★★★

“AND you’ve heard the old proverb about ambition, haven’t you?” He shook his head. “That it’s like setting a ladder to the sky.”

Maurice Swift has ambition aplenty. It’s the ideas he’s lacking.

But there are other people for that, and he finds that his charismatic good looks can give him exactly what he needs to succeed.

John Boyne’s psychological drama is told over Swift’s career lifetime, his soul aim to achieve the literary acclaim he craves.

Through three narrators, we see the way Swift expertly manipulates and betrays the people who love him; elderly novelist Erich Ackermann, American writer Dash Hardy, Swift’s talented wife Edith and even his son Daniel.

Boyne’s narrative arc delivers a perfect balance of pace and detail to keep you gripped from beginning to end.

EARLY RISER by Jasper Fforde, Hodder & Stoughton, £20 (ebook £13.99)

★★★★★

EARLY Riser sees the master of the alternate universe Jasper Fforde return after what he describes as a “creative hiatus”. His first standalone novel, it is set in a world gripped by icy winters that most people hibernate through.

They leave just the Winter Consuls to run affairs in the lawless world that’s left. Consul novice Charlie Worthing must learn fast how to navigate winter, while investigating a viral dream haunting a remote region of Wales.

The highly-inventive story comes to a swifter conclusion than you might like. But along the way, there are enough twists and turns and sinister corporate interests – not to mention dead bazouki players, aristocratic outlaws and an elusive murderous apparition with a love of Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes – to keep any Fforde fan happy.