The latest book reviews in one place

"an immediately convincing evocation of time and place..."

"an arresting piece of fiction..."

"Brilliantly disconcerting tales of the human psyche from the Argentinian author of Fever Dream..."

"extraordinarily taut and compelling..."

"As with the best pulp fiction, there’s serious existential heft to this dazzling debut about a pair of toughs marauding around 50s America..."

"a subtle, delicate evocation of modern life..."

" Dear Friend demonstrates how, in fiction, there is the potential to find freedom and escape from life..."

"This is an ebullient, irreverent and deeply serious novel in the noble tradition of Mark Twain..."

"cleverly blends nimble, sometimes slapstic humour with an affecting commentary on the corrosive legacy of violence..."

"...this sense of the fugitive, the restless characters and their obsessions, that both buoys the narrative and ultimately lets it down..."

"revels in its own complexity, blending humour and tragedy..."

"a great success: richly observed, lovingly drawn and determinedly clear-eyed to the last..."

"It’s savagely political, disturbing and fiercely optimistic, the deeply felt work of a writer who refuses to stop asking the hardest questions..."

"quietly revelatory..."

"brief, dark and wonderfully atmospheric..."

"Nunez’s prose is illuminated by a wit, warmth and wisdom all of her own..."

"a meanderingly precise, lugubriously comic and at times transcendent rendering of the workings of thought..."

"perfectly pitched..."

"nothing feels quite anchored or finished – and it's that stylish resistance to resolution, in the end, that impresses most...."

"As with the best pulp fiction, there’s serious existential heft to this dazzling debut about a pair of toughs marauding around 50s America..."

"Once again James Lee Burke has created a phantasmagoric fable..."

"French offers a masterclass in unreliability..."

"(a) remarkable debut novel..."

"a tension-charged debut novel..."

"this is a story to savour..."

"a proper whodunit, which deftly cranks up the tension..."

"Total Scandi vibes..."

"all the elements of a classic crime page turner are here..."

"a joyous stab against the patriarchy, as well as a suspenseful thriller..."

"an exuberant mash-up of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery and time-travelling, body-swap science fiction..."

"her refusal to allow us to look away is thrilling..."

"A scintillating thriller that breathes life into every word..."

"One of the years most gripping thrillers..."

"French offers a masterclass in unreliability..."

"Total Scandi vibes..."

"a tension-charged debut novel..."

"a proper whodunit, which deftly cranks up the tension..."

"beautifully unresolved..."

"all the elements of a classic crime page turner are here..."

"a joyous stab against the patriarchy, as well as a suspenseful thriller..."

"This is a deeply enjoyable espionage thriller with plenty of juicy details about modern spycraft..."

"compelling character, plotting and landscape description..."

"(its) willingness to cast moral judgment on its characters seems to revive the intrusive narrator of 19th-century fiction..."

"A scintillating thriller that breathes life into every word..."

"an arresting piece of fiction..."

"smart genre-bending ideas..."

"this is a story to savour..."

"Katalin Street’s effect on me was so extraordinary that at first I couldn’t decide what was most extraordinary about it..."

"Hermes Gowar tells her tale of mismatched lovers with great panache and energy,..."

"(its) willingness to cast moral judgment on its characters seems to revive the intrusive narrator of 19th-century fiction..."

"her refusal to allow us to look away is thrilling..."

"Carey’s story is cinematic in scope, fairy tale-like in its attention to coincidence, and to the fateful cycle of pride and fall. ..."

"Will dazzle and delight..."

"vivid, illuminating and unbearably tense..."

"the vigour of her execution, will ensure that this novel is read for generations to come..."

"a zingy romp that is also a hard-won account of how it feels to change gender ..."

"a mesmerising portrait of a family unravelling..."

"superb debut..."

"a wonderful portrait of an extraordinary woman...."

"a gripping psychological thriller..."

"a dark, intelligent treat..."

"The Black Prince is a brutal historical tale of chivalry, religious belief, obsession, siege and bloody warfare...."

"one of the more formidable literary undertakings of our time..."

"subtlety and an intellectual curiosity..."

"poems of lasting power..."

"a wonderful alternative history of modern poetry..."

"Tennant’s precise Englishness requires something bolder to offset its simplicity: you miss fellow Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe’s neon-lit synthesiser..."

"the frisson of watching history unfold, moment by moment..."

"A series of poems on the life of St Francis of Assisi is scarce on facts but rich in imagination..."

"What Reid’s sequel soft-pedals is the thing that Eliot, the American who took British citizenship, was fascinated by: class..."

"This is a reminder of the poet Kate Tempest is – able, whenever she chooses, to soar above the conversational...."

" 'a pioneering exercise in merging image and text'..."

"Some of his best poetry was in his journalism, and some of his best journalism is in this poem...."

"Intriguing and thought-provoking, the poems turn conventional thinking on its head with brilliant economy..."

"It always excites the poetry-lover to discover a new voice — and this first collection by a novelist and literary journalist is distinguished by a true lyrical gift...."

"If I had read only The Republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry, I’d still have been grateful for the annual Forward collection...."

"a masterly work of art, exciting, colourful (and) fast-paced..."

"I seriously doubt I will read a more significant book of poetry this year...."

"beautifully unresolved..."

"an exuberant mash-up of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery and time-travelling, body-swap science fiction..."

"Charlotte Mandell’s clear, fluid translation recounts the relationships and tensions that develop from here between Michelangelo, Mesihi and the stranger..."

"Raymond Chandler meets William Gibson..."

"brimful of its author’s trademark invention, charm and humanity..."

"A near-future story about a tech geek and a member of the Chinese elite takes in everything from quantum theory and revolution to shyness..."

"It’s devastating. Poignant and personal and almost impossibly powerful......"

"a frantic narrative...with in-jokes, pop-culture references and some pertinent observations about diversity and gender politics..."

"This debut is festooned with cunning punnery, sharp turns of phrase, and jokes about emojis and the internet...."

"enthralling adventure from a science-fiction great..."

"captivating... brilliant..."

"This is a shocking and imaginative story of slavery and suffering..."

"Katalin Street’s effect on me was so extraordinary that at first I couldn’t decide what was most extraordinary about it..."

"every sentence is a joy..."

"vivid, illuminating and unbearably tense..."

"Readers keen to find out more about the mythology...might find themselves disappointed..."

"brimful of its author’s trademark invention, charm and humanity..."

"superb debut..."

"Fforde keeps the puns and neologisms coming thick and fast..."

"recounts eloquently the history of the Royal British Legion..."

"clear-sighted view of a divided America ..."

"A perfect little book about war, grief and peace that packs a mighty punch...."

"Oswald Mosley, anti-Semitism, sisterhood and a spell in Holloway prison are all elements in Connolly’s chilling, thought-provoking new novel..."

"nothing feels quite anchored or finished – and it's that stylish resistance to resolution, in the end, that impresses most...."

"an entertaining if ultimately insignificant read..."

"Rooney’s style is pure poetry, sparse and heartbreaking, and writing this three months after I finished it I find my chest still aches..."

"an intriguing and tender read about friendship and hope..."

"...revel in a writer at the height of her powers...."

"Intensely enjoyable historical caper steeped in the pungent, febrile atmosphere of fin de siècle Europe..."

"an astutely observed skewering of aspirational anxieties and the wellness industry..."

"Gavin & Stacey co-creator’s debut is a soggy squib..."

"Brilliantly disconcerting tales of the human psyche from the Argentinian author of Fever Dream..."

"Roupenian herself, with her transgressive collection, gets the last laugh on an audience that dissected her and underestimated her..."

"the master of horror gets cuddly..."

"In its crafty structure and unhurried layering of dread, this addition to the canon is a brilliantly entertaining read, and offers a chilling response...."

"Purcell has thrown explicit Gothic elements at this by the coachload..."

"a novel which few can rival for complexity, cunning and horror. ..."

"smart genre-bending ideas..."

"Readers keen to find out more about the mythology...might find themselves disappointed..."

"Fforde keeps the puns and neologisms coming thick and fast..."

"It’s devastating. Poignant and personal and almost impossibly powerful......"

"a frantic narrative...with in-jokes, pop-culture references and some pertinent observations about diversity and gender politics..."

"it certainly is a wild ride..."

"devilishly good..."

"there’s an enviable clarity and forthrightness to Slimani’s writing..."