Score pending
1 review
The debut novel from Charlotte Philby, whose grandfather, Kim, was the communist double agent who eventually defected to the Soviet Union. So, who better to write a genre-busting spy novel that amps up the tension and will leave you trusting no one?
She Would Be King
Wayetu Moore
"a tour de force that crescendoes to its conclusion, reimagining the birth of Liberia in a way that is tender, humane and suffused with lyricism..."
— The Guardian
3.8 out of 5
3 reviews
The Capital
Robert Menasse, Jamie Bulloch
"I was largely immune to its charms..."
— The New York Times
3.5 out of 5
6 reviews
Dancer from the Dance
Andrew Holleran
"The more one reads the novel, we realise that what Holleran has given us is our very own queer (queerer?) Great Gatsby..."
10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in This Strange World
Elif Shafak
"sensual but frustrating..."
— The Observer
3.73 out of 5
5 reviews
This Brutal House
Niven Govinden
"Niven Govinden’s novel shows the complexity of drag balls and queer life..."
— Irish Times
2 reviews
Vivian
Christina Hesselholdt, Paul Russell Garrett
"playful but unfocused..."
Homeland
Walter Kempowski, Charlotte Collins
"Homeland isn’t in the same league as All for Nothing; few novels are...."
— London Review of Books
4 out of 5
The Body Lies
Jo Baker
"who adroitly mashes up psychological thriller and satirical campus novel..."
— The Sunday Times
3.78 out of 5
The Carrier
Mattias Berg
"relatively gripping..."
Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver
"feels chillingly relevant in the age of Trump..."
14 reviews
Gun Island
Amitav Ghosh
"Miracles, myths and a mystical tour round India..."
3.64 out of 5
The Fire Starters
Jan Carson
"chilling..."
3.4 out of 5
This Storm
James Ellroy
"rewards the attentive..."
3.92 out of 5
7 reviews
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong
"It would be no surprise to see his name on the Booker longlist..."
3.75 out of 5
An American Marriage
Tayari Jones
"The beautiful, sad story of a racist miscarriage of justice..."
— The Times
4.73 out of 5
Shadowplay
Joseph O'Connor
"hugely entertaining..."
3.93 out of 5
8 reviews
Diary of a Somebody
Brian Bilston
"the great procrastinator has finally produced a brilliant comic novel..."
— The Spectator
3.88 out of 5
4 reviews
Rock, Paper, Scissors, And Other Stories
Alexandra Fleming, Anne Marie Jackson, Boris Dralyuk, Maxim Osipov
"shine[s] with a dark Chekhovian comedy..."
The Paper Wasp
Lauren Acampora
"Laura Acampora’s debut novel, set in the Holywood bubble, is gripping and nuanced..."
The Book of Science and Antiquities
Thomas Keneally
"It would be a crime to give away anything more, but the end of this beautiful novel made me cry. Jones writes with intelligence and a lively wit, but there’s more — a warmth that forces you to care about these people as if you had met them...."
3 out of 5
Throw Me to the Wolves
Patrick McGuinness
"An eccentric boarding school teacher becomes a media hate figure in a novel that sidesteps conventional thrills..."
— Financial Times
Lord of All the Dead
Javier Cercas, Anne McLean
"A Homeric meditation on the Spanish civil war examines how decent men were drawn to fascism..."
4.14 out of 5
Salt Slow
Julia Armfield
"a savage, blackly thrilling debut..."
— The Daily Telegraph
4.17 out of 5
The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone
Felicity McLean
"readers who enjoy something haunting, atmospheric and genuinely mysterious have a treat in store..."
The Whisper Man
Alex North
"a true skin-crawler..."
Your Truth or Mine?
Trisha Sakhlecha
"a fascinating British Asian spin on domestic noir..."
Those People
Louise Candlish
"carefully crafted..."
Joe Country
Mick Herron
"Mick Herron is fast becoming the go-to author for British espionage..."
The Winker
Andrew Martin
"immersive and highly enjoyable..."
The Rapture
Claire McGlasson
"Claire McGlasson’s debut novel maps out the intriguing world of the Panacea Society..."
3.86 out of 5
Frankissstein
Jeanette Winterson
"playful and inventive novel..."
— Times Literary Supplement
3.45 out of 5
13 reviews
Big Sky
Kate Atkinson
"an exuberant, entertaining read..."
— The Independent
4.41 out of 5
Machines Like Me
Ian McEwan
"a fictional mathematical discovery is placed in the past and its ripple effects are carried forward..."
3.77 out of 5
15 reviews
I Who Have Never Known Men
Jacqueline Harpman
"The survival of hope through ingenuity..."
