Age of discovery

Carrie Soto Is Back **** by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Hutchinson Heinemann, £16.99) Carrie Soto is the world’s greatest female tennis star and she retired five years ago with more Grand Slams to her name than any player to date.

Now it’s 1994 and, aged 37, Carrie watches as Nicki Chan equals her record at the US Open. The thought of someone else taking her crown makes Carrie feel like a failure. So she emerges from retirement, planning to take another Grand Slam title and remain Queen of the Court.

Nicknamed ‘The Battle Axe’ by the media, fans and fellow players, Carrie had a reputation for being ruthless, both professionally and in her private life.

But she is also lonely and vulnerable. The only people she trusts are her agent Gwen and her father and coach Jav. She’s afraid to love or to be loved.

Here, the author of bestsellers Daisy Jones And The Six and The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo rewinds to the beginning of Carrie’s career. We learn about her gruelling training programme, her determination, and all the highs and lows.

Returning to the game aged 37 is not easy. Some of her younger rivals are scornful of this relatively old player and her desperation to prove herself.

Despite a lot of technical detail about tennis, this raw and powerful read shows Carrie growing and learning, about herself as much as others. Though she’s an abrasive character, readers will cheer her on every step of the way.

Anne Cater

The Change **** by Kirsten Miller (HQ, £14.99)

It’s fair to say that the menopause hasn’t been a hugely popular theme in fiction. But readers will be familiar with the narrative trope of the under-appreciated middle-aged woman who, with the help of her friends, finds the courage to fight back. And maybe gets a makeover along the way. Technically speaking, The Change is one of those stories, but Kirsten Miller blasts through the clichés and delivers a walloping, bloody punch.

For Miller’s three heroines, “the change” brings with it dangerous powers. There is no sense of loss – when these women gain their powers, they become their full selves.

Discarded advertising executive Harriet – once a force in the boardroom – loses herself to the natural world and discovers an affinity for poisonous plants. Gym owner Jo finds that her rage gives her deadly strength. And Nessa inherits a family trait for hearing the voices of the dead.

When Nessa’s gift leads her to three murdered girls in their community, she enlists the help of her friends to lay the girls to rest. In their hunt for justice, they must infiltrate the club of powerful men who run their town and decide how far their vengeance should go.

Miller doesn’t hold back from gory details and doesn’t skimp on motives for the women. Their rage is justified, their losses and injustices real and tragic in this powerful and surprising read.