5 new books to read this week

Women’s Prize-winning author Barbara Kingsolver has released her sweeping latest novel…

Fiction

1. The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves is published in hardback by Macmillan, priced £22 (ebook £11.99). Available now

The murder of two young women in a holiday home owned by a well-known politician is more than enough to keep Detective Matthew Venn and his team busy. But their search for the killer is hampered by a local community in North Devon not always welcoming to outsiders. An American couple staying nearby add more intrigue, especially when they suddenly disappear after Venn discovers they have a link to the dead women. There are plenty of suspects in the mix – with Venn wondering if certain characters were after retribution. The Dying Light is Ann Cleeves’ 40th novel in 40 years, and the fourth in the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Venn. It’s another fine murder mystery which leaves the reader guessing until the final, surprising twist when the killer is revealed.
8/10
(Review by Alan Jones)

2. Partita by Barbara Kingsolver is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £20 (ebook £14.99). Available now

Like her Women’s Prize for Fiction-winning novel Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s latest offering, Partita, is a bildungsroman of sorts. But instead of a chronological look at one person’s life, it jumps around – deftly telling the story of Livia, who in her mid-50s – a rural piano teacher in a stable marriage, living on a farm near where she grew up – is looking back at her life. Amidst losing her brother to suicide and vicious fights with her mother, Livia found her passion (and a lot of skill) in playing the piano. She predominantly reflects on a love affair that overtook one summer during university, where she had a piano scholarship, and how it changed her life forever. Kingsolver deals with deep trauma and unresolved anguish with her signature pathos, and builds a gripping and complex character in Livia – caught between her country background, her piano future, and her student love for union organiser Sigurd. However, the tension seems to come to a head two-thirds the way through the novel, with Kingsolver revealing what really happened to Livia that summer and how it changed the course of her life – meaning the final part fizzles into a somewhat unsatisfactory ending.
7/10
(Review by Prudence Wade)

3. Ruthless by Danielle Steel is published in hardback by Macmillan, priced £22 (ebook £10.99). Available now

Bestselling author Danielle Steel’s new novel Ruthless follows Vanity Fair senior editor Charlotte Ramsay, as she is asked to profile two of America’s wealthiest men: high-tech billionaire Ben Sharpe and shipping boss John Williams. While the writer ultimately grows fond of Sharpe, having spent a few days with him on a yacht in St Barths, her investigation into Williams leads her to uncover some sinister truths which threaten his already tainted reputation. The novel’s storyline is somewhat predictable and the characters sudden changes of heart can feel abrupt and unrealistic. However, the plot is easily digestible and at around 300 pages, Ruthless is a quick and easy read.
6/10
(Review by Georgia Bates)

Non-fiction

4. The American Way Of Killing: The Invention Of An Epidemic by Malcolm Gladwell is published in hardback by Abacus, priced £25 (ebook £14.99). Available now

Malcolm Gladwell’s The American Way Of Killing is a highly readable account of the gun violence that is gripping America, and the dishonesty that he believes exists on both sides of the argument. Gladwell travels around the States, visiting lobbyists legal scholars, surgeons and sociologists, seeking answers and stressing the ways in which both arguments are being wrongly framed. The problem is the answers continue to elude him. Gladwell shows how the campaign to ban semi-automatic rifles is flawed – they account for a tiny proportion of mass shootings – but is unable to propose an alternative. Gladwell’s research and intricate knowledge is excellent, and his approach refreshingly even-handed. His book comes into its own when it exposes the entrenched opinions on both sides of the gun control argument. But the difficulty comes in connecting those opinions with the means to curtailing future mass shootings, especially when to a majority non-US readership, the answer has always seemed so simple and self-evident.
7/10
(Review by Mark Staniforth)

Children’s book of the week

5. The Little Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak is published in hardback by Puffin, priced £7.99 (ebook £3.99). Available October 22

When you open The Little Book With No Pictures, you might expect a quiet, simple story. Instead, you find that words can be just as lively as illustrations. From writer and The Office star B.J. Novak, readers are encouraged to make ridiculous noises, perform silly actions, and join in the fun. The changing colours, sizes and shapes of the words help you understand how each line should sound. You may find some parts repetitive, but that repetition makes the book especially entertaining when you read it aloud with someone else. By the end, you realise that a book does not need pictures to hold your attention.
9/10
(Review by Josh Sparke)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 17

HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. The Heights by Ian Rankin
2. Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros
3. In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak
4. Adam And Eve by Jeffrey Archer
5. As You Wake, Break The Shell by Becky Chambers
6. Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus
7. The Book Of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole
8. Tales From The Territory by Travis Baldree
9. We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman
10. Alchemised by SenLinYu
(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. Devil On My Shoulder by Alice Cooper
2. Games Of My Life by Alex Ferguson & Michael Moritz
3. Things I Took From The Dark by Reece Shearsmith
4. I’ll Believe In Anything by Jacob Tierney
5. Mary All In One by Mary Berry
6. Joe Marler Vs The World by Joe Marler
7. My Rangers by Graeme Souness
8. 20 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver
9. Guinness World Records 2027
10. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
1. The Witch by Freida McFadden
2. We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman
3. Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Bram Stoker
4. Adam And Eve by Jeffrey Archer
5. Threshing Day [Dramatized Adaptation] by Rebecca Yarros
6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
7. Threshing Day [Wing And Claw Collection] by Rebecca Yarros
8. The Steps by Sylvester Stallone
9. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
10. Verity by Colleen Hoover
(Compiled by Audible)