David Berridge worked as a prison officer at Parkhurst and its sister site Albany for 28 years between 1992 and 2019. This book, based on notes that he took as part of his job, paints a bleak picture of a tough job dealing with violent and manipulative men but also men who are suicidal. While strong on the job, I wanted to know more about Berridge, who he is, what drives him, and how the service can be improved to give it a human aspect.

The 5th in Richard Osman‘s THURSDAY MURDER CLUB is a welcome return for Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. I particularly enjoyed seeing more of Ron‘s character and his relationship with his children and also Joyce‘s uneasy relationship with Joanna with new son-in-law Paul proving an interesting addition to the cast. However the mystery itself was underpowered and the way Osman pulls the various strands together was a little hand wavy at the end.

Serhii Plokhy is Professor of History at Harvard University and a leading authority on Eastern Europe. Published in 2021, this gripping book draws on then recently released KGB files to analyse the Cuban Missile Crisis from both the US and Russian perspective, drawing out how badly Kruschev and Kennedy misread and misunderstood each others positions and how nuclear war was averted by fear and accident more than negotiation and decision.

There are no big surprises in Kevin Van Whye‘s YA gay romance, which hits all the beats you‘d expect in a friends-to-lovers tale. It‘s sweet without being cloying and I believed in Nate and Jai‘s attraction but there are missed opportunities here, from the homophobia of some members of Nate‘s family and their wealth disparity to the battle of the bands competition and Nate‘s relationship with Tommy, which lacks resolution.

Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé‘s debut YA thriller is billed as GET OUT meets GOSSIP GIRL for good reason. It‘s a searing high concept novel where racism meets conspiracy to create an intense choking claustrophobia as Aces racks up their campaign against Von and Chiamaka. That said, it doesn‘t nail the final quarter and there are holes in the conspiracy if you think about it too closely but it has pace, it makes you think and it still feels of the moment.

David Markovits is Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for the Study of Private Law. This interesting but infuriating book convincingly argues that the USA‘s middle classes are locked out of opportunities to advance to the professions and elite education and the elite are forming a self-perpetuating clique but relies on such a narrow view of meritocracy that I was unconvinced by the propose solutions

The 9th in Mick Herron‘s SLOUGH HOUSE spy thriller series is a game changer for the slow horses as they take casualties (including a fatality) and scores are settled. It has the sharp wit, savage violence, and political skewering of the previous books but some of the writing isn‘t as clear as it could be, and some of the slow horses remain underdeveloped. That said it still held my attention and the stunning ending makes me impatient for book 10.

Nikita Lalwani‘s literary novel about prisons, personal morality and the manipulative techniques of documentary film-makers has some interesting ideas but hinges on a main character who is simply too naive and weak to be believable or one who I could empathise with. At the same time, I was uncomfortable with how two-dimensional the Indian characters all are - including Nandini - while the open ending felt like a tacked on cop-out.

Simon Philip‘s lovely picture book about not putting pressure on yourself by trying to be perfect all the time and instead just focus on enjoying yourself, features delightful illustrations by Ella Okstad that convey a real sense of energy and movement. Young readers will enjoy the colours and the mischievous sense of humour and adults will enjoy the book‘s central message.

Alex Latimer‘s self-illustrated picture books is a charming little delight that‘s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others. Frank is a great central character and I really enjoyed the little chat bubbles and Latimer‘s use of colour. Young readers will love this and there‘s plenty here for adult readers to find fun too.

Sita Brahmachari‘s contemporary novella for readers aged 11+ is part of a collection specifically aimed at readers with dyslexia and those lacking in confidence. It‘s a very sensitive, empathic look at friendship, what it means to be a refugee and the terrible experiences that those who have been displaced endure in their journey to the UK that is all the more important given the current political climate.

F Vera-Gray has worked for the Rape Crisis movement and is currently Deputy Director at the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University. This very readable and unfortunately highly relatable book looks at the steps that women take to avoid sexual violence in their day-to-day lives, drawing on interviews with 50 women from different age groups and backgrounds and showing how it permeates through the generations.

Sue Tingey‘s debut romantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) was sadly not my cup of tea. Hampered by a passive main character who repeatedly makes stupid decisions for the purposes of advancing the plot, an insipid potential love triangle (the main love interest being grotesquely manipulative) and a lazy, cod medieval demon world that offers little new. At best it was dull and at worst it really irritated me such that I will not be reading on.

The second in Clare Harlow‘s fantasy trilogy for readers aged 9+ (featuring Kristina Kister‘s evocative illustrations) is a clever and gripping adventure about friendship and family set against the sinister Marsh Queen‘s court. Ista remains interesting and resourceful and although I wish that there had been more between her, Nat and Ruby, the friendship that develops with Tamlin is believable. I am very much looking forward to the final book.

Paul O‘Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure.The last of his autobiography quartet picks up shortly after the death of his mother and tracks his career transition from drag queen host of the Vauxhall Tavern to TV presenter and national treasure set against a back drop of personal tragedy as the AIDS crisis strikes close to home. Told with his wit and warmth, it‘s a bittersweet testimony to the man.

Madeline Claire Franklin‘s debut YA novel maintains a satisfying ambiguity between its contemporary and fantasy elements in a way that‘s mature without feeling like a cop out. Character-driven, it deals sensitively with the difficult topic of abuse (trigger warning for cannibalism) and combines it with themes of found family and survivorship. This is one of the strongest YA debuts I‘ve read and I look forward to reading Franklin‘s next book.

If you‘re planning a holiday in Italy and want to get more of a sense of its history, geography, food, social life, design and culture then this book is a handy introduction. Broad in scope, it‘s full of photographic illustrations and nuggets of information that extend to locations outside the normal tourist zones but it is slightly spoilt by some typographical errors within the text, which is not acceptable for a book with a £20 cover price.

The second book in this comic fantasy series by Pip Bird (a pseudonym for a collection of writers) for readers aged 6+ is an amusing affair with a lot of bum and fat jokes. David O‘Connell‘s illustrations add to the humour (I particularly liked how he gets across Wanda‘s character) and I enjoyed the antics of the zombicorns. That said there are a lot of characters and I got some mixed up so a character list at the start would be helpful.

Monique Turner‘s debut YA thriller is a clunky polemic about influencing culture and how celebrity is a trap. It‘s an interesting high concept - especially given how pervasive influencing is - but the execution left me cold, particularly the inconsistencies in Harper‘s character and her relationship with Belle - while the influencer contest is flat, not helped by the cardboard characterisation of the influencers, which makes them interchangeable.

Richard Waters is an award-winning travel and sports writer. This very personal book is part memoir, part self-help guidance that looks at how cold water swimming and a stoic attitude helped him to come to terms with two life-changing events. Unfortunately it lacks the self-reflectiveness and raw honesty to succeed as a memoir and lacks the general life advice to work as self-help, which is a shame as the descriptions of nature are excellent.

Den Patrick‘s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has interesting world-building that incorporates Norse and Russian history and tries to subvert the tropes of normal ‘young people discover magical powers‘ fiction. Unfortunately the pacing is slack, the storytelling doesn‘t stand on its logic and the characterisation - particularly of the antagonists - is rarely above the superficial, meaning I won‘t be reading on.

Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani‘s picture book is a colourful, joyous exploration of the social, family and spiritual meaning of Eid that aims to show young readers that the celebration is not just about receiving gifts. I liked the fact that it‘s aimed at Muslim readers but it does miss a trick by not giving a bit more context or explanations for non-Muslims who may want to know more about it.

Kathy Weeks‘s debut humorous novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a trilogy) has a good narrative voice and builds its funny scenes well while Aleksei Bitskoff‘s energetic illustrations bring out the absurdity of Harper‘s family and the situations that she finds herself in. My biggest criticism is that the family‘s attitude to arriving on time for things triggered my anxiety and I would have liked a bit more normality to make it feel grounded.

Oona Hathaway is Professor of International Law and Political Science at Yale and Scott Shapiro is Professor of Law and Philosophy at Yale. This is a thorough and engaging look at the legal framework underpinning war as a means of dispute resolution and how the Grotius view of “might is right” was overturned with the 1928 Paris Peace Pact, which changed attitudes to the legitimacy of war and formed the basis of the modern international order.

Ilaria Tuti‘s debut thriller (the first in a trilogy and translated from Italian by Ekin Oklap) draws on an actual event as the basis for this uneven story of child cruelty and village secrets. Battaglia held my interest with her health issues, the hints at previous spousal abuse and her attempts to deal with the onset of Alzheimer‘s but the profiling feels very old-fashioned and her relationship with the under-developed Marini doesn‘t convince.

David Wright is a baker, writer and presenter. This thought-provoking book examines bread and its role in society and the economy, its impact on health and the environment and industry challenges (which is particularly strong and draws on Wright‘s own experiences with his family bakery). I wanted more on how gluten intolerance decreases when “proper” bread is eaten and Wright constantly repeats his credentials but it definitely held my interest.

If you‘re familiar with FERRIS BUELLER‘S DAY OFF then there‘s a huge amount to enjoy in K. L. Walther‘s YA frothy romantic comedy, which couples a lot of Easter egg references with wry narrative voices and is as much about friendship as romance. There are some fun moments to be had but I did find it difficult to keep the various families straight in my head and I worry that there‘s more here for readers aged 35+ than there are for target teens.

Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political & Social Science at the New School for Social Research and Rahel Jaeggi is professor of practical and social philosophy at the Humboldt University, Berlin. This highly academic book, framed as a conversation between the authors uses (and assumes that the reader is grounded in) critical theory to explore what capitalism is, how it‘s been viewed in history, how it can be capitalised and how it can be defeated.

This entertaining puzzle book for readers aged 8+ works imagines that the reader is a secret agent who has to complete their training at Spy HQ before they go out in the field. It has a good mix of logic and graphic puzzles - certainly something for everyone - and is a good way of introducing young readers to puzzle solving techniques but the black and white illustrations prevent some of the visual puzzles from working quite as well as they should

Emma Newman‘s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is a sapphic romp featuring vampires, werewolves and pirates but while there‘s fun to be had with Morgane‘s ignorance of social mores and colourful swearing, Morgane is one of those annoying characters who doesn‘t ask questions and rushes into things without thinking. The plot is uneven, the antagonist two-dimensional and Lisette an insipid love interest whose introduction comes too late.

Katherine Ormerod is a fashion journalist, social media influencer and a fashion beauty and lifestyle brand consultancy. Published in 2018 this readable book aimed at young women is ripe for an update, mixing academic research and anecdotes from influencers to explain why social media is so bad for your well being but it downplays the role of the mass media in feeding into trends and is quiet on solutions to abuse within the fashion industry.

Gary Stevenson is a former Citibank trader turned YouTuber and anti-inequality activist. This is an absorbing memoir of his life as a top trader at Citibank but the sections setting out how he rose from a working class upbringing in Ilford, Essex to become a top trader making millions of pounds in bonuses are more convincing than the final section, which charts how he became disillusioned with his job and its role in fuelling societal inequality.

National Geographic‘s activity book for readers aged 5+ (part of a series) mixes facts about the solar system with plenty of fun activities to keep young readers busy, including maze puzzles, dot-to-dot pictures and pictures to colour. If you have a young reader who‘s interested in space then this will definitely keep them entertained but I would have liked more facts than are given and more cohesion (e.g. there is nothing on the ice planets).

The conclusion to Ann Sei Lin‘s YA fantasy trilogy delves deeper into the mythology of her Japanese-inspired world and focuses on themes of grief, loss and guilt. However there‘s too much plot here for the length of the book, which means that some storylines unfurl in too perfunctory a way and don‘t have the room they need to give the emotional punch Lin wants readers to experience, which is a real shame in the case of one character death.

Justin Lewis is an editor and writer specialising in music. This hugely entertaining compendium of pop music facts comprises a number of facts for each day of the year including song releases or the birth/death of people involved in pop music (writers, artists, producers etc). The entries cover events from 1894 up to 2023 and it‘s filled with fascinating nuggets that make it perfect for music aficionados and dilettantes alike.

Ivor Baddiel and Kathryn Selbert‘s picture book (part of a series on faith/ethnic holidays) explains what Hanukkah involves and why it‘s celebrated and Selbert‘s colourful illustrations bring the family bond to life. My only criticism is that I didn‘t quite understand why Leora was so intent on lighting the candle and why it was important to her but otherwise it‘s a solid way of introducing the holiday to young readers who are unfamiliar with it.

Philip Reeve‘s standalone adventure set in his MORTAL ENGINES universe for readers aged 12+ is a thrilling story of friendship, belonging and what it means to be a hero. Although Tamzin and Miss Torpenhow are the main characters, this is very much an ensemble piece that explores the geography of the Traction Cities‘ world at a breakneck pace. Although this is a standalone story, there is scope here for a sequel, which I would definitely read.

Lavanya Lakshminarayan‘s SF novel (the first in a duology) is an exuberant celebration of food and community that also contains themes of prejudice, colonialism and the irresponsibility of technology companies. If the characterisation is sometimes a little two-dimensional and the inevitable romance unearned, then the enthusiasm and scale of imagination carries you through to the extent that I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel.

This board book features delightfully energetic illustrations by Darshika Varma and sets out the different elements that go to make up the Holi festival. Varma‘s illustrations show different generations and use lots of bright colours. However the use of the flaps is a little underwhelming and they‘re quite flimsy and susceptible to tearing in small hands, which is a shame because I think this is a nice introduction to the festival.

Clare Harlow‘s debut fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series and beautifully illustrated by James Mountford) is a vividly imagined, enjoyable story with solid characterisation, a great sense of place and an interesting plot. Itsa is a well drawn and driven protagonist uncomfortable with having to trust Nat and Ruby. The fantasy elements are thought-through and the cliff hanger ending ensures I‘ll read the sequel.

Dr Amanda Brown is a GP who has previously worked in a youth detention centre and Wormwood Scrubs and currently works at Bronzefield. This compassionate sequel to THE PRISON DOCTOR focuses on her work at Bronzefield and provides an interesting insight into what drives some women to crime and the role of homelessness but the tone of the anecdotes never quite rings true and you never find out what happens to the women after their diagnoses.

Michael Nayak‘s debut SF thriller mixes 28 DAYS LATER and THE THING, drawing on his experience of working at the South Pole to lend authenticity. Unfortunately there are too many characters and many are basically names on the page so the deaths have no emotional impact while the relationships lack the development to make you care. Aside from this it‘s a solid debut with some interesting ideas and the set-up for a sequel means that I would read on.

I struggled to buy into the premise of Marisha Pessl‘s standalone YA thriller as very little about it actually makes sense. It‘s further hampered by one-dimensional characterisation (I struggled to remember who was who in the Veda Seven), a rote love triangle between two equally blah male characters. What really threw me out was how little research Pessl had done on English law or geography, which irritated me throughout the whole book.

Saifedean Ammous is Professor of Economics at the Lebanese American University. This book has useful summaries of the history of money and the development of Bitcoin but his arguments as to how Bitcoin meets the definition of money are unconvincing - no matter how many times he repeats his points - and his Austrian school economic arguments about Bitcoin‘s superiority for settlement smacks of wishful thinking over the real world practicalities.

Sam K Horton‘s debut dark historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) is richly written with well drawn main characters and detailed world building. Horton handles the book‘s main themes about faith, tradition and finding your own identity in an intelligent way and although I have some nitpicks (there are a couple of historical anachronisms and at times the writing too much), the ending has a neat set up for a sequel that I‘d definitely read.

Rana Foroohar is global business columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times and CNN‘s global economic analyst. Published in 2019 it‘s an absorbing and frightening look at how Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google hoard data and intellectual property to maintain market dominance, influence politics and maintain their value and a prescient warning given how the companies are now jostling to influence the incoming Trump presidency.

Andrew Reid‘s debut action thriller is an assured affair with solid pacing and interesting main characters in the form of Cameron King and Ray Perada (who I was pleased did not succumb to a predictable romance). However the storyline between Cameron and Nate falls apart in the final quarter with revelations that suspend credulity, which is a shame because there‘s some solid writing here and the premise is perfect beach reading.

Robert Goddard‘s crime thriller is intricately constructed and Wada is a fascinating main character with the action taking place in Japan, the UK, the US and Iceland. The pacing works well and a dual storyline of Nick Miller also being contacted by Caldwell fleshes out the backstory. A sequel was published in 2024, which I will definitely check out and am otherwise I am keen to read Goddard‘s other work.

The second in Sarah Bowie‘s self-illustrated humorous graphic novel for readers aged 9+ is a well-constructed, fun affair filled with verbal and visual jokes. There‘s a useful summary at the front if you haven‘t read book 1 and Nina is such a well drawn character that you root for her, especially against the awful Megan. Certainly there‘s more than enough here for me to want to read book 1 and I look forward to seeing what Bowie does next.

Sarah Langford is a practising barrister specialising in criminal and family law. This absorbing and thought-provoking memoir looks at 11 of her cases (details anonymised for privacy reasons) to set out the limitations of the justice system together with how it changed the respective defendants lives and the lessons that Langford took from them and in the increasingly crowded legal market stands out for looking at the English Family Court.