Ultimate escapism
Billy Summers Stephen King Hodder, £8.99
Billy Summers is a professional hitman with a heart: he only targets people who thoroughly deserve to die. But can he trust his latest employer?
This begins as one of King’s more relaxed and ruminative novels but the second half is packed with violent action.
Razorblade Tears
SA Cosby Headline, £8.99
When a gay couple are murdered, their estranged, homophobic fathers – one black, one white – team up on a guilt-fuelled quest for vengeance while learning life lessons about racism and homophobia.
This unusual road-trip revenge thriller is both gut-churningly violent and heartbreakingly moving.
A Slow Fire Burning Paula Hawkins Penguin, £8.99
Exactly what you want from a whodunnit: a juicy murder – a young man knifed aboard his houseboat on a London canal – and a gaggle of richly characterised suspects. A deeper and more satisfying book than Hawkins’s bestseller The Girl On The Train.
Winter Counts David Heska Wanbli Weiden Simon & Schuster, £14.99
Anyone who’s ever wondered how Native Americans live their lives today will find the answers in this tale of a Lakota tribesman who takes on the heroin gangs who plague his reservation and his own nephew.
Gritty, gripping and informative.
Silverview John le Carré Penguin, £8.99
In the final novel from the late, great master of spy fiction, a bookseller in a quiet corner of East Anglia is asked by Security Services to catch a traitor.
It’s beautifully written and a wickedly funny jab at the shortcomings of British Intelligence.
Magpie Elizabeth Day Fourth Estate, £8.99
Marisa and Jake move in after a whirlwind romance but, with money tight, they take in a lodger called Kate.
But Marisa feels growing unease at the way Kate looks at Jake and her constant questions about the baby they’re trying for.
This tightly written thriller has an ingenious plot twist that you won’t see coming.
The Hunt And The Kill Holly Watt Raven, £8.99
Investigative journalist Casey Benedict goes up against Big Pharma as she tries to find out why people involved in the development of a powerful new antibiotic are being bumped off.
An insightful read as well as a gloriously exciting one.
BY JAKE KERRIDGE
How To Kidnap The Rich Rahul Raina Abacus, £8.99
A young Indian man is targeted by kidnappers and, when he easily outwits them, decides he could make a better job of this kidnapping lark himself. A riotous comic thriller and a pungent commentary on modern India.
BY EMMA LEE-POTTER
The Right Sort Of Girl Anita Rani Blink, £9.99
This first book from the BBC broadcaster is a beautifully pitched coming-of-age story told with verve and charm.
She charts her life journey as a second-generation British Indian woman who is also immensely proud of her Yorkshire heritage.
The Devil You Know
Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne Faber, £9.99
Forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist Adshead has worked at Broadmoor Hospital with some of the most vilified offenders in our society. She profiles 11 men and women, from a refugee who stabbed a stranger to a young woman who repeatedly starts fires, and reminds us that these were once ordinary people with whom we continue to share common ground.
Belonging Owen Eastwood
Quercus, £9.99
New Zealander Eastwood is one of the world’s most in-demand performance coaches.
At the heart of his first book is the Maori concept of whakapapa, a metaphor for our universal human need to belong, and its approach to finding common purpose that has implications for sport, business, and life in general.
Taste Stanley Tucci
Fig Tree, £9.99
The celebrated actor, director and producer, who grew up around the table of his Italian-American family, has written a delicious foodie memoir.
It’s an intimate reflection on the intersection between food and life, filled with anecdotes about his childhood, his roles in foodie films Julie & Julia and Big Night, and the conversationstarting meals he and his wife make for their children.
And Away… Bob Mortimer Gallery, £8.99
In 2015,
Mortimer was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to take stock of his life so far. The result is this delightful and heartfelt memoir which takes us from his Middlesbrough childhood to TV success in Gone Fishing, netting plenty of laughs along the way.
This Much Is True
Miriam Margolyes John Murray, £9.99
Now in her 80s, the award-winning actor who’s played memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, tells her riotous story.
From posing nude for Augustus John to swearing on University Challenge and being told off by the Queen, it’s as outrageously entertaining as you’d expect.
Hope Not Fear Hassan Akkad Bluebird, £9.99
Filmmaker and activist Akkad fled Syria in 2015 and arrived in London after a punishing 87-day journey across Europe. In this humane and uplifting memoir, he charts his journey to freedom, outlines his approach to activism, and reflects on his decision to take a job as an NHS hospital cleaner when the pandemic struck.
All In Billie Jean King
Penguin, £9.99
About much more than her 12 singles grand slam titles, this memoir by the tennis great takes in her equal rights activism, the anti-war protests of the 1960s, and the civil rights and LGBTQI+ movements.
Now in her late 70s, she offers insights and advice on leadership, business, activism, politics, marriage, parenting and much more.
The Storyteller: Tales Of Life And Music
Dave Grohl Simon & Schuster, £9.99
The irresistible Nirvana drummer and
Foo Fighters frontman tells a fascinating life story where stories of his formative years and family life are just as compelling as tales of rubbing shoulders with the stars.
But at the heart of his memoir is the roller coaster ride of life in two of the world’s biggest rock bands. A spirited, thoughtful read.
BY CAROLINE SANDERSON