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RRP £16.99 (Quercus)
Still mourning his mother, Johnny Voghel is going nowhere and not very fast, with a job in university admin (not as glamorous as it sounds) and a flatlining relationship. When his older half-brother, Lawrence, a charismatic human crisis, arrives from Chicago, Johnny plays it cool as he angles for Lawrence’s affections. Meanwhile, his house in Swiss Cottage fills up with a cast of brilliantly drawn characters.
Taking place over two weeks, against the background of the Olympics, this is a cracking debut from cultural journalist Robson, an exercise in sparkling repartee amid the North London summer doldrums.
RRP £9.99 (Eye Books)
School counsellor Jane, 41, advises troubled kids, while struggling with demons from her past. She knows the rule: you don’t get involved, right? But when a colleague, Kas, reveals how her childhood abuser has returned to torment her, Jane resolves to do the unthinkable.
An electrifying tale of revenge, by a psychotherapist author, and a warning of the damage wrought by the internet, Pandora’s box.
RRP £16.99 (Penguin Random House UK)
New England, summer 1989. When toddler Abi disappears on their hard-bitten late grandmother’s estate, and the parents are too busy drinking and bickering to notice, a bunch of cousins search all the outbuildings before venturing into the forest, where evil lurks.
A truly quirky debut, droll, smart, unsettling, capturing the surreal, fractured memories of childhood, by a poet author with a gift for simile.
RRP £20 (Penguin Random House UK)
Their septuagenarian artist father, Vic Kemp, has left for his Italian villa to marry 27-year-old Bella-Mae and produce his masterpiece. When they learn he has drowned, the deeply bonded four Kemp siblings, plagued by dark suspicions, set out to find the truth. But neither their stepmother nor any of their certainties will survive.
Fast-paced, savvy, emotionally driven, with shades of My Cousin Rachel.
RRP £16.99 (Elliott & Thompson Limited)
Swifts eat, sleep, mate on the wing, they hurtle 6,000 miles from Africa to nest right about now, heralds of summer, at grave risk of extinction. Bourne-Taylor walked, near naked, a thong-bird in painted plumage, to deliver a petition to Downing Street, now she wants us all to help.
A passionate, eloquent polemic from a conservationist so attuned to the natural world that is singing and dying all around us.
Every issue of Saga Magazine is packed with inspirational real-life stories, exclusive celebrity interviews, brain-teasing puzzles and travel inspiration. Plus, expert advice on everything from health and finance to home improvements, to help you enjoy life to the full.
The Bafta-winning actor had been so successful at losing weight, he had to fatten up with a strap-on false belly for his latest role.
The presenter on inspiring the next generation and how daughter Zoe is bouncing back after leaving Radio 2.
The Scottish actor on how he’s still asked to repeat Logan Roy’s most famous catchphrase.
The presenter reveals his surprise contestant and how Richard Osman ‘bullied’ him into writing his debut novel.
The TV adaptation of Rivals has has been judged a rip-roaring success. We caught up with the book's author.
The BBC Radio 4 Today presenter reveals the responsibility and privilege that goes with her job.
The presenter on being sacked by the BBC and why her views are 'career suicide'.
The best-selling author says Pilates has changed her relationship with her body.
Stop smoking, go for a walk and do puzzles, says the veteran newsreader.
