BOOKS OF THE WEEK

The Island Swimmer by Lorraine Kelly

Orion, £20 (ebook, £9.99)

Review by Christopher Henry-Reeve

Orkney is brought to life with idyllic imagination in Lorraine Kelly’s The Island Swimmer. Mystery clouds the sudden departure of Evie from the islands over an incident shrouded in secrecy, which frays the bond she had with her father – something her elder sister Liv is bitterly jealous of. When her father becomes ill, Evie returns home to face her past. Switching between present and past Orkney, and Evie’s failed attempt at a new London life, this shift of time builds a rich and layered picture of its characters. At times difficult to keep track of some of the sub-plots, it is the final quarter where Kelly builds suspense, leading up to the reveal of what happened to make Evie leave.

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde

Hodder & Stoughton, £20 (ebook, £10.99) Review by James Cann

Jasper Fforde fans have waited a long time for the follow-up to his acclaimed 2009 novel Shades of Grey, which used a rich literary palette and lashings of humour to illustrate a dystopian future version of 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, are facing potential execution following the events of the first book. They must negotiate the conflicting rules of their rigid society to clear their names, with Fforde painting a flamboyant and Terry Pratchett-esque picture laced with laughter throughout.

Nuclear Family by Kate Davies The Borough Press, £16.99 (ebook, £8.99) Review by Beverly Rouse

When, on a whim, Lena buys DNA tests for her father and twin sister Alison as a quirky Christmas gift, she has no idea of the shock which lies ahead. Lena feels cast adrift and searches for answers after her roots are pulled up, while 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’ thought-provoking second novel considers nature versus nurture, what it means to be a parent and whether honesty is the best policy. The pace could be quickened in places, and the characters could be a little more fleshed out, but it’s an interesting and enjoyable read.

Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe by Sathnam Sanghera

Viking, £20 (ebook, £9.99) Review by Charlotte McLaughlin

Empireworld is more than just an absorbing factfilled history of colonialism and its many repercussions in the modern world – it’s much more personal for author Sathnam Sanghera. This and his last book, Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain means he has spent a lot of his time absorbed in studying racism. Sanghera recalls how his attempt to have a holiday in the resort-filled Caribbean pulls him back in to looking at how Britain shaped Barbados. He looks at imperialism throughout the globe, showing that empire is something we need to acknowledge and understand to have a real future.