Shafts of light amidst the darkness of The Troubles

Pick of the best new fiction and non-fiction releases

FICTION

THE SLOWWORM’S SONG Andrew Miller

Sceptre, £18.99 (ebook £9.99)

Stephen, an ex-soldier and recovering alcoholic, has just found the daughter he never knew – but fears losing her when he is summoned to an inquiry about his involvement in an incident during The Troubles in Ireland. Unable to face telling her, he writes to her. The result is partly a love letter: for her, for his life at the time she was born, for the country, for life itself – and part confession of his own role in something he struggles to forgive himself for. Andrew Miller’s gentle, beautifully crafted sentences belie the often brutal truths behind the narrative. Memories of lost colleagues and Stephen’s own childhood sit alongside a darker past. The image of the slowworm, silent and sinister, finding its way into the precious earth, is set against a song of light and life that won’t be silenced.

9/10 (Review by Victoria Barry)

TWELVE SECRETS Robert Gold

Sphere, £12.99 (ebook £6.99)

Who doesn’t love a tightly-plotted thriller? If the still-flourishing success of Harlan Coben and his peers is anything to go by, twisty but lean whodunnits remain precious commodities to modern readers. Robert Gold – launching his debut Twelve Secrets after spending years as a book buyer

feverishly absorbing the product – delivers an intriguing tale of a shocking teenage tragedy that continues to torture investigative journalist Ben Harper, and send shockwaves through the generations of families who live in the fictional village of Haddley. Clever twists surprise, but never take liberties – and believable dialogue creates wellcrafted characters in a community reminiscent of ITV’s Broadchurch. Gold’s maiden novel is hard to put down, and full of promise for further murder mysteries to come.

8/10 (Review by James Cann)

CAREERING Daisy Buchanan Sphere, £14.99 (ebook £8.49)

Careering follows two women in different stages of their careers, who have both been betrayed by the industry they once

loved: Harri, who has dedicated her life to Panache magazine but is snubbed for the editor role, and Imogen, the intern she hires to write for a new feminist site. Careering is about modern womanhood, giving a funny and honest take on what it’s like when a dream job turns sour – and what happens when you reach the other side of a toxic relationship with your career. Daisy Buchanan’s writing is hilarious, and doesn’t hold back about the realities of being a young woman climbing the career ladder. If you’ve ever come to the realisation your ‘dream job’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, then this is the book for you.

8/10 (Review by Rikki Loftus)

NON-FICTION

A LINE ABOVE THE SKY: ON MOUNTAINS AND MOTHERHOOD

Helen Mort

Ebury Press, £16.99 (ebook £9.99)

Poet Helen Mort offers a candid and moving exploration of early motherhood and mountaineering. She examines the physicality and instinct involved in both, and how having a child can change perceptions of the self, the body and danger. This is contrasted with the cerebral process of writing. You will learn about the author’s hero, climbing legend Alison Hargreaves, whose story is woven into her own. The writing is beautifully lyrical, inviting you to underline many passages. The descriptions of landscapes are at times dreamlike and haunting, and Mort’s love for them is contagious, tempting you to put on your hiking boots and head to the Highlands. The narrative is interspersed with second-person vignettes of a climb – you may question their purpose at first, but their significance becomes clear later.

8/10 (Review by Sophie Wingate)

CHILDREN’S BOOK THE LOST WHALE

Hannah Gold

HarperCollins £12.99 (ebook £7.99)

The follow-up to the acclaimed The Last Bear, The Lost Whale is another eco cry from the heart of Hannah Gold. Rio has been sent to stay with a grandmother he barely knows in California, while his mum is in hospital. A little forlorn and lost, Rio makes friends with Marina on the beach, and finds a drawing of a whale his mum had done as a child and feels an instant connection. This grows when he encounters a whale on a boat trip – until the whale goes missing. Rio’s complex feelings about his mum and looking after her runs next to his growing understanding of the dangers whales face thanks to human greed and thoughtlessness. Filled with big emotions and the need to face your fears, not to mention beautiful illustrations from Levi Pinfold, this is perfect for sensitive eco-warriors aged 8+.

8/10 (Review by Bridie Pritchard)

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (PG)

The turbo-charged blue hedgehog from the Sega video game franchise lives to spin another day in a rambunctious sequel, helmed by returning director Jeff Fowler, which delivers comparable thrills and spills to its 2020 predecessor.

Calibrated to appeal to young audiences with breathless action sequences, broad physical humour and the rubber-faced tomfoolery of Jim Carrey as deranged archvillain Dr Ivo Robotnik, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 follows the Marvel Cinematic Universe template with the introduction of the shadowy Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.), which protects Earth from extraterrestrial threats, and a big reveal nestled in the end credits.

A third film is already in development along with a spinoff feature for Knuckles, the red

Poet Helen Mort shares her experiences of motherhood and mountaineering