The Predicament by William Boyd (Viking, £20) A second adventure for amateur spy Gabriel Dax, first seen in Boyd’s 2024 novel Gabriel’s Moon. It’s early 1963, and Dax, a travel writer, is... Read more »
48Kg by Batool Abu Akleen, translated by the poet, with Graham Liddel, Wiam El-Tamami, Cristina Viti and Yasmin Zaher (Tenement, £17.50) This remarkable debut by a 20-year-old Palestinian, born and raised in... Read more »
A Totally Big Umbrella by Sarah Crossan, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, Walker, £12.99Rain ruins all Tallulah’s favourite things until she finds a really huge umbrella – but it’s so big it holds... Read more »
Put Your Shoes On by Polly Dunbar, Walker, £12.99Late for a party, Mummy really wants Josh to put his shoes on – but he’s too lost in his imagination to hear until... Read more »
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Michael Joseph, £20)The bestselling YA author’s first novel for adults has an intriguing premise: thanks to the combination of a blow to the head by... Read more »
I’m Going to Make a Friend by Darren Chetty, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, Little Tiger, £12.99When a child moves home, it can be hard to meet potential new pals. Perhaps it’s best... Read more »
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates (4th Estate, £18.99)In this hefty, immersive study of gullibility, complicity and betrayal, English teacher Francis Fox is a predator, all the more dangerous for being charming enough... Read more »
Midden Witch by Fiona Benson (Jonathan Cape, £13)In her fourth collection Benson turns her fierce attention to the individuals hounded as witches. Her language is rich with “a broth of sweat” that... Read more »
Fair Play by Louise Hegarty (Picador, £16.99)Award-winning short-story writer Hegarty’s debut opens with guests arriving at an Irish Airbnb country house for a murder mystery-themed birthday party. Abigail has organised the celebration... Read more »