THIS WEEK’S BEST BOOKS

The island swimmer

by Lorraine Kelly (Orion, £20) Mystery clouds the sudden departure of Evie from Orkney over an incident shrouded in secrecy. Leaving frays the bond with her father that her sister Liv is so bitterly jealous of.

When her father becomes ill, Evie returns home to face her past.

As the story switches between present and past Orkney and Evie’s failed attempt at a new London life, it can be difficult at times for the reader to keep up but the ending delivers a sense of closure and great satisfaction. Christopher Henry-Reeve

Nuclear Family by Kate

Davies (Borough Press, £16.99) Lena buys DNA tests for her father and twin sister Alison for Christmas, with no idea of the shock that lies ahead. Her roots pulled up, she searches for answers. Alison, who is trying for a baby with wife Suria, remains calm but starts to question how their child might feel about being created with a donor’s sperm. Kate Davies’ enjoyable and thought-provoking second novel considers nature versus nurture and whether honesty is the best policy. Beverly Rouse

red side story by Jasper

Fforde (Hodder & Stoughton, £20) Fans have waited a long time for the follow-up to Jasper Fforde’s acclaimed 2009 novel Shades Of Grey about a dystopian-future Britain in which people are rigidly classified by which colours they are able to see.

Eddie Russett, who boasts a high perception of red, and Jane Grey – on the lowest rung thanks to her monochromatic view of the world – face execution following the events of the first book.

They must clear their names in a Terry Pratchettlike comic fantasy. James Cann

empireworld by Sathnam Sanghera (Viking, £20)

This is more than just an absorbing history of colonialism. For Empireworld and its award-winning predecessor Empireland, Sathnam Sanghera spent a lot of his time absorbed in studying racism. He recalls how his attempt to have a holiday in the resort-filled Caribbean pulled him back into looking at how Britain shaped Barbados – a running theme as he journeys around the world. He shows that empire is something we need to acknowledge and understand. Charlotte McLaughlin