5 new books to read this week

This week’s top book transports the reader back to 1976 Mumbai…

Fiction

1. What Will People Think? by Vedashree Khambete-Sharma is published in hardback by Atlantic Books, priced £17.99 (ebook £5.99). Available November 7

What Will People Think? is an insightful tale about family, societal expectations and feminism. Set in 1976 amongst the hustle and bustle of the Vile Parle district of Mumbai, Ila Bendre’s dream of independence goes against her community’s treasured traditions and threatens to ruin her family’s reputation. Determined to go against her meddling mother’s plans of marrying the first subpar man who overlooks her lack of dowry, Ila speaks her mind and desperately looks for a job so she can escape home and make her own way in the world. Khambete-Sharma’s paints a colourful picture of Maharashtrian middle-class life in the Seventies, and her insightful footnotes provide extra details that help the reader fully immerse themselves into Ila’s world. This novel is full of unforgettable characters and many twists and turns which makes it hard to put down.

8/10

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2. She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark is published in paperback by Faber & Faber, priced £9.99 (ebook £7.99). Available November 7

Eliza Clark, author of Boy Parts and Penance, has written a new collection of dark comedic horror stories. If Halloween has wet your whistle for unsettling stories, these are the perfect companion as the dark nights of autumn stretch into winter. Starting with a story that could be about any woman of a certain age at a diet club, it quickly turns into twisted business opportunity. The titular tale is a classic body horror set in a fishing community, that has both heart and gore. The sounds written on the page leap off with an overwhelming internal reaction as bones crumble, skin is flayed, and awkward pauses in conversation bring you into the world even closer. While some novels are hundreds of pages overdone, these short stories are fully fleshed-out fiction nasties – but in the best way and not a word too long.

8/10

(Review by Rachel Howdle)

3. The Proof Of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe is published in hardback by Viking, priced £20 (ebook £10.99). Available November 7

The Proof Of My Innocence starts promisingly, like the reader is in store for a modern murder mystery. Phyl is back home after university, bored and unsure what to do with her life – until a family friend comes to visit, with a left-leaning blog and a mission to unearth the shadowy forces pushing Britain’s government further to the extreme right. He attends a nearby conservative conference, but things take a dark turn – and Phyl and the police are left to figure out what happens. Unfortunately, with different timelines, narrators and way too many characters, the storyline becomes bogged down with detail and loses any fast-paced excitement it had at the start. It reaches a convoluted denouement, but once you get there you’re left wondering: was it all worth it?

6/10

(Review by Lily Rose)

Non-fiction

4. The Position Of Spoons: And Other Intimacies by Deborah Levy is published in hardback by Hamish Hamilton, priced £20 (ebook £10.99). Available November 7

Booker-shortlisted Deborah Levy sifts through her memories and artistic influences in The Position Of Spoons. It reads like a series of diary entries and provides a great catalogue of female writers: Ann Quin, Violette Leduc, Hope Mirrlees. Subjects are looked at through the lens of their biographies and Levy’s own. The chapter on J. G. Ballard (1930-2009) stands out, interlacing his writing on technology, sex, consumerism and architecture with contemporary images of suburbia. Ballard’s motifs, and Levy’s responses to them, reappear in subsequent studies. However, her focus can be sporadic and without an overarching theme beyond her own recollection. Frameworks used early in the book peter out. Her own analysis is at times cursory, scarcely going further than ‘here is another artist I like’, plus a brief background.

6/10

(Review by Pol Allingham)

Children’s book of the week

5. Murdle Junior: Curious Crimes for Curious Minds by G.T. Karber is published in paperback by Souvenir Press, priced £8.99 (no ebook). Available now

As a parent of three, finding books that captivate my kids (especially my reluctant 10-year-old), can be challenging. Enter Murdle Junior by G.T. Karber, part of the Sunday Times bestselling Murdle series. This new edition targets younger readers and features more than 40 puzzles across four detective cases, encouraging readers to decode secret messages, solve puzzles, and use logic to crack each case. It’s perfect for kids who enjoy piecing together clues and working out mysteries. My 10-year-old, who usually hesitates to pick up a book, was so absorbed in solving crimes that he forgot he was even reading! If you’re looking for a book that both entertains and challenges young minds, Murdle Junior is an excellent choice.

9/10

(Review by Jacqueline Ling)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 2

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. In Too Deep by Lee Child & Andrew Child

2. Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

3. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

4. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

5. Spectacular by Stephanie Garber

6. Murder Under The Mistletoe by Reverend Richard Coles

7. Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway & John le Carré

8. The Party by Tessa Hadley

9. Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin

10. Gliff by Ali Smith

(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. Deep Blue by Steve Backshall

2. Unleashed by Boris Johnson

3. Guinness World Records 2025

4. Diddly Squat by Jeremy Clarkson

5. Simply Jamie by Jamie Oliver

6. I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart

7. Patriot by Alexei Navalny

8. Private Eye Annual 2024 by Ian Hislop

9. Want by Gillian Anderson

10. Last Boy Of ’66 by Sir Geoff Hurst

(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

2. I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart

3. In Too Deep by Lee Child & Andrew Child

4. Lights Out by Navessa Allen

5. Odyssey by Stephen Fry

6. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

7. Sweetpea by C. J. Skuse

8. Atomic Habits by James Clear

9. Unleashed by Boris Johnson

10. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

(Compiled by Audible)