THE BEST NEW FICTION

The Paris Apartment Lucy Foley

HarperCollins €21 The success of Foley’s last novel, The Guest List, helped power the current revival of Agatha Christiestyle whodunnits. The Paris Apartment begins in the same vein, as innocent abroad Jess goes to visit her brother in Montmartre, only to find him missing and a very peculiar bunch of characters occupying the rest of his luxury block. Gradually, though, this set-up develops into something more surprising: a dark and immersive family psychodrama.

John Williams

Lessons In Chemistry Bonnie Garmus

Doubleday €21 Elizabeth Zott is the smart, fierce star of Garmus’s witty debut. Zott has a troubled family history, a zeal for science and a hard time accepting the status quo of sexist 1960s America. Fired from her lab and left as a single parent, she’s persuaded to take a job hosting a TV cookery show, and is soon serving a nation of under-appreciated women a generous helping of self-worth alongside her meticulous recipes, while forging her own unconventional path in a world of grudge-holders and no-good bosses. Brilliant.

Eithne Farry

Your Show Ashley Hickson-Lovence Faber €18

Uriah Rennie was the first black referee to officiate in the Premier League, an iconic figure who overcame enormous prejudice to join the elite of his profession, and who continues to serve his community with distinction to this day. In this highly accomplished novel, Hickson-Lovence reimagines Rennie’s life and voice, capturing the mind of a focused trailblazer match by match, red card by red card. Though he occasionally strains for effect, this is a gripping, thought-provoking and important read.

Simon Humphreys

Pod Laline Paull Corsair €19.50

Playwright Paull’s debut novel, The Bees, depicted life in a hive. A UK Women’s Prize finalist, it matched imaginative verve with some occasionally cumbersome dystopian didacticism. Her latest bills itself as a cetacean epic, presenting a dolphin’s-eye view of love and sacrifice. How you respond to it depends a lot on your tolerance for literature that casts animals as avatars for human anxieties, but keep an open mind and you’ll find a pacy, provocative tale of survival in a fastchanging marine landscape.

Hephzibah Anderson