5 new books to read this week

Irish novelist John Boyne has released his debut picture book…

Fiction

1. I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £14.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Rebecca Watson’s sophomore novel I Will Crash asks how we grieve the people who have hurt us the most. Written in the style of an inner monologue, Rosa is told her brother has been killed in a crash. However, the news comes as no surprise to the woman who spent her childhood being tormented by him. Complicating matters, her brother turned up unannounced at her doorstep just weeks before, but she turned him away before discovering the reason for his visit. Rosa, and the reader, is left wondering what could have been. Although the novel is written more like poetry than prose, Watson is a gifted storyteller who has turned a work about grief, sibling violence and memory into a gripping page turner. I Will Crash establishes her as one of the most exciting novelists working today.

9/10

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(Review by Luke O’Reilly)

2. Pity Party by Daisy Buchanan is published in hardback by Sphere, priced £18.99 (ebook £10.99). Available now

Daisy Buchanan excels in bringing complex women to life, and she’s outdone herself in the heartbreakingly beautiful Pity Party. The novel focuses on widower Katherine, whose sassy comments pepper the pages, bringing relief from the raw sadness. It also takes aim at the wellness industry after our heroine enters a treatment centre at the urging of her mother-in-law and best friend, and takes a sharp look at the thorny issue of her own grief, which she has tried to push out of her mind. The book will have you glued to every page, as Katherine does not meet what she expects as she finally faces herself and figures out challenging truths. Buchanan’s other work has dealt with similar themes of self-discovery, but Pity Party enthuses with more humanity and poignant moments.

9/10

(Review by Charlotte McLaughlin)

3. A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp is published in hardback by Bantam, priced £16.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now

This reimagining of the life of the 17th century Italian poisoner Giulia Tofana is a dark tale set against a backdrop of terrifying Papal power, pestilence and patriarchy. Here, freedom is in short supply for the desperate wives and lovers of abusive men who see Giulia’s deadly potion as the only way out. There is no charge for her blend of arsenic, belladonna and lead – but the ultimate price of this clandestine business is high. With seemingly healthy men dropping like flies, it is with a sense of inevitability and dread, that authorities in Rome start to sit up and take notice. Kemp has brought Giulia back to life through rich layers of detail in her first foray into a historical novel. This gruesome story is not for the faint-hearted. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Giulia’s mission, it leaves a grim legacy and the question of how far society has come – and far it has yet to go.

7/10

(Review by Emily Pennink)

Non-fiction

4. How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive by Marcel Dirsus is published in hardback by John Murray, priced £22 (ebook £12.99). Available July 18

From glinting golden statues to personalised Concorde landing strips, the hubris of some of the world’s most despotic dictators knows no bounds – and has been documented with almost voyeuristic zeal. In How Tyrants Fall, Marcel Dirsus takes a different tack, focusing instead on the paranoia and vulnerabilities inherent in those who seek to dominate their respective nations, and showing why there can be no such thing as absolute power. Dirsus shows how even the most ascendent autocrat must strike a series of fragile balances, be it the decision to empower or banish potential rivals, or to maintain a military that is both ill-equipped for a coup, but enough of a deterrent to outside aggression. How Tyrants Fall is a welcome and certainly more thought-provoking addition to the burgeoning genre of dictator-lit. At its heart lies a somewhat comforting notion than even the despots in their glittering palaces are struggling to sleep at night.

8/10

(Review by Mark Staniforth)

Children’s book of the week

5. The Dog Who Danced On The Moon by John Boyne, illustrated by Ashling Lindsay, is published paperback by Puffin, priced £7.99 (ebook £5.99). Available now

Irish novelist John Boyne – bestselling author of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – presents his picture book debut, The Dog Who Danced On The Moon, an inspirational ode to following your dreams in spite of naysayers. When all the world tells Jeremy Grace that he will never be the astronaut he dreams of, he doubles down with determination and – along with his pirouetteing puppy companion – applies for a job at NASA. As they travel through the galaxy, the pair find their unique skills come in handy when Earth needs saving. While a little flabby in the middle and without as much dog dancing as you’d assume from the title, this joyous and uplifting read will have kids and parents giggling along throughout.

7/10

(Holly Cowell)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 13

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

2. You Are Here by David Nicholls

3. Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

4. Resolution by Irvine Welsh

5. Long Island by Colm Tóibín

6. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

7. Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

8. The Ministry Of Time by Kaliane Bradley

9. Babylonia by Costanza Casati

10. Meet Me At Rainbow Corner by Celia Imrie

(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. Pinch Of Nom Air Fryer by Kay & Kate Allinson

2. Keir Starmer by Tom Baldwin

3. Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

4. Failed State by Sam Freedman

5. Wimbledon by Sue Barker

6. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

7. How To Eat 30 Plants A Week by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

8. Cloudspotting For Beginners by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

9. The House Of Beckham by Tom Bower

10. Great Britain? by Torsten Bell

(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

2. The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

3. Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

5. Berserker! by Adrian Edmondson

6. The Suspect by Rob Rinder

7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

8. Unruly by David Mitchell

9. None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

10. Politics On The Edge by Rory Stewart

(Compiled by Audible)