Publish and be damned

WHO IS MAUD DIXON? Alexandra Andrews

(Tinder Press, £18.99)

A storming debut by Alexandra Andrews, Who Is Maud Dixon? is razor-sharp and unputdownable. Exploring the duality of female relationships, this psychological thriller shows a different side to the cut-throat world of publishing. Neurotic and self-destructive Florence becomes assistant to mysterious and anonymous bestselling novelist Maud Dixon, but behind the veiled

XXseXcXreXcXy Xlies a much darker truth. Florence is as desperate to escape the shroud of anonymity as Maud is to exploit it – and this leads to violent clashes. The storyline lurches between whoever has the upper hand, with Andrews’s cleverly warped psychology leaving you guessing until the end.

REBECCA WILCOCK

KING OF RABBITS Karla Neblett

(William Heinemann, £14.99)

You won’t be able to predict this novel’s outcome. Told through the eyes of Kai, a mixed-race kid who grows up on a rural Somerset council estate where he and his three sisters have three different dads, he searches for solace in nature and the wild rabbits he finds there. But with his on and off again parents falling deeper into crack addiction, it seems his optimism and energy for life might not be enough to escape the limitations of poverty. This powerful, tragic read makes a profound statement about how important access to opportunities can be, and how childhood and background can impact on your future. As the novel flips between the protagonist as a young boy and as a teenager, you are able to map the significant moments that fundamentally alter his course. It’s a brilliantly crafted story about class and race, and the failure of society to catch children who fall through the cracks.