THE BEST PAPERBACKS

NON-FICTION M: Maxwell Knight, MI5’s Greatest Spymaster Henry Hemming Arrow €13.99

This is the story of one of the most intriguing figures in the history of espionage, a man who stumbled into the spying game by accident and who also became, somewhat bizarrely, a respected naturalist and BBC broadcaster – as well as a model for Ian Fleming’s ‘M’.

NON-FICTION Border Kapka Kassabova Granta €13.99

The inspiration for this fascinating journey through the south-eastern corner of Europe was the author’s memories of growing up in communist-era Bulgaria and of desperate attempts to escape to the West. Sometimes you could be shot for trying to cross the border, and sometimes for not crossing it. It’s a region riven by ancient feuds and mysteries.

FICTION Idaho Emily Ruskovich Vintage €12.59

This powerful debut novel begins with a woman who lives alone with her husband in the sparsely populated state of Idaho. We learn that she is his second wife, and that the first is in prison for a shocking act of violence that destroyed her young family. Ruskovich switches deftly between different times and viewpoints as she unravels the mystery.

FICTION Exit West Mohsin Hamid Penguin €15.75

Saeed and Nadia meet and fall for each other in an unnamed city that’s filling up with refugees and is teetering on the edge of violent breakdown. They cling to the familiar until it’s too late and they are forced to abandon everything and join the fleeing refugees. A tense and gripping novel that couldn’t be more relevant to our times.