Bookcase

By Sophie Herdman Book of the week Police by Jo Nesbo is published in hardback by Harvill Sacker, priced £18.99 (ebook £8.10). Available now.

Policeman Harry Hole is flawed in many ways, but he's all the more perfect because of it.

In his latest case, the most unusual of detectives is once again drawn into Oslo's seedier side, the Norwegian capital under attack from a serial killer. But this isn't your run-of-the-mill serial killer, this one likes killing policemen at the scenes of previous unsolved murders.

Jo Nesbo has been compared to other Scandinavian crime writers and is up there with the most successful, having sold 20 million books worldwide. But it is not just that Nesbo is also a musician, songwriter and economist that sets the prize-winning author apart. By creating a hero in the mould of Harry Hole, a man carrying around more mental baggage than our average psychiatric hospital, he does what very few authors can manage.

As Hole is drawn back into the search for a killer who appears to leave no evidence, he has to use his powers of detection, reserves of strength and unparalleled perception. To complicate matters Hole, who finds commitment in his life scarier than facing the most depraved of souls, must decide if he can live a normal existence. As the killings escalate and the net tightens around the killer Nesbo keeps Hole and his colleagues guessing over who it might be.

Right to the very end, it is unclear if the case has ended in triumph or tragedy. Nesbo keeps everything hanging in the balance, just the way his fans like it.

9/10 (Review by Roddy Brooks) New fiction The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks is published in hardback by Sphere, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.49). Available now.

Nicholas Sparks's latest novel has film adaptation written all over it.

A story of enduring love, struggle, wisdom and art; it is a wonderful read, and a great addition to the Sparks' oeuvre.

Retired haberdasher Ira Levinson, who lost his beloved wife Ruth nine years ago, has had a major car accident and wonders if he will survive the bitter North Carolina snow. College student Sophia Danko has just had a nasty altercation with her ex-boyfriend Brian, when Luke Collins, a bull-rider, comes to her aid.

The elegiac, gentle, surprising story of each couple is told and intertwined, back and forth, over a fifty-year period; you won't be leaving this page-turner. Sparks's knack in wrenching an emotional reaction from even the greatest of cynics is all here.

Prepare to weep, or maybe just wipe away a small tear, as The Longest Ride seeps long and hard into your soul.

8/10 (Review by Denise Bailey) Proxima by Stephen Baxter is published in hardback by Gollancz, priced £20 (ebook £6.49). Available September 19.

Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our Sun, and this uneven novel weaves its story around three rag-tag attempts to establish the first human presence on one of its planets.

The science is pretty rigorous and the deviations from what we currently know are plausible, but, for the work of a science fiction veteran, some socio-political details of Baxter's 22nd century seem oddly thrown-together. For instance, it's never explained why the UN send reluctant conscripts as colonists, when surely there would be many people happy to escape the damaged Earth he depicts, who'd make more productive pioneers.

The characters are well-drawn and varied, albeit often frustratingly lacking in their ability to think for themselves. Even at the book's close, many questions remain unanswered, presumably setting up a sequel - but not necessarily one most people will feel an urgent need to read.

6/10 (Review by Alex Sarll) Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye is published in hardback by Headline Review, priced £19.99 (ebook £6.99). Available now.

American author - and former actress - Lyndsay Faye, is an expert in the art of writing historical crime thrillers. Seven for a Secret is her sequel to Gods of Gotham, and the second book in the Timothy Wilde series.

Set in 1846, we pick up where Gods of Gotham left off; the New York Police Department is only six months old, and policeman Timothy Wilde is back in business. He is frustrated with his city. Immigrants from around the world are flooding into New York's harbour, and putting the already fragile city under enormous pressure. Escaped slaves from the South are also arriving, bringing with them more problems than Wilde could ever imagine. Then he stumbles across the deadly and dirty work of Blackbirders (slave catchers) - men who will stop at nothing to get their slaves back once again.

When Lucy Adams, a free slave, disappears, Wilde is determined to find her - concerned not only for her own safety, but also that if she's not found, her children will be sold into slavery.

Wilde and his older brother, Valentine, must work outside the law to ensure Lucy, and the other escaped slaves, get the justice they deserve. But when a missing person case turns into a homicide, Wilde must act quickly to stop the deadly Blackbirders, and put an end to the filthy corruption that engulfs his home city.

This is a brilliant read. Faye painstakingly researches the historical background to all of her books, and you can tell. It's impressive, and beautifully written. She gives her characters real depth, although her main protagonist Wilde is a little hard to like. Other than that, it's a fantastic historical adventure.

8/10 (Review by Emma Wilson) Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge is published in hardback by Century, priced £18.99 (ebook £8.55). Available now.

Detective Michael Bennett must use all his skills to defeat a ruthless drugs cartel boss out for revenge in James Patterson's latest addition to this thrilling series co-authored by Michael Ledwidge.

Manuel Perrine, a vicious Mexican crime lord, has only one goal - to kill Bennett and his family to pay the detective back for killing his wife and putting him behind bars, a feat never before achieved by a US official.

Perrine knows the only way to bring Bennett out of his self-exile is to begin a series of brutal assassinations of rival crime kingpins across America, forcing the detective's hand and bringing them face-to-face for the ultimate showdown.

The action is fast-paced and the story flows easily, making this book very hard to put down. Explosive story lines and graphic descriptions add to the overall tense atmosphere: another smash hit from Patterson and Ledwidge.

9/10 (Review by Philip Robinson) The Coincidence Authority by J. W. Ironmonger is published in hardback by Weidenfeld & Nicholson, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.49). Available now.

The life of Azalea Folley seems rife with unexplainable happenstance, and patterns have emerged which have caused her to call upon an expert in the field, Thomas Post. Together they attempt to untangle the countless events that have formed her life, questioning if it is all chance or if it's guided by some higher power.

Existential theories, mathematical models and thought experiments are mentioned but given little consideration as we are dragged through a slow and dreary mire of the Azalea's underwhelming (and certainly not impossible) tale.

The opening chapters are definitely intriguing, with a premise that beckons you to read on, however it soon loses pace and detours from any excitement. Predictability is something of a constant too, which is a shame given the originality of Ironmonger's debut novel, which also dealt with big, all-encompassing questions.

There are some brief moments that may cause you to question the mathematics of coincidences, but overall, an interesting concept falls victim to the dull story that overpowers it.

3/10 (Review by Wayne Walls) A Ghost at the Door by Michael Dobbs is published in hardback by Simon and Schuster, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.49). Available now.

Rt Hon Lord Dobbs, or author Michael Dobbs as he is in this case, is a former politician and novelist of such thrillers as House of Cards - which is now an award-winning US TV show starring Kevin Spacey - Old Enemies, and Winston's War.

Dobbs is back, and this time, he's brought Harry Jones with him in A Ghost at the Door. The ubiquitous anti-hero (who like his creator is a former politician) and ex-soldier, finds his life turned upside down after an inquisitive question about his father, Johnnie, from his fiancee Jemma.

Harry's father died 10 years ago on a yacht in Greece while in the throes of passion with a young woman. That's all Harry knows, and that's how he wants it to stay. However, gentle persuasion from Jemma pushes Harry into investigating... and the more he knows, the more he needs to know of what really happened to his father.

As members of his dad's old University croquet club start dropping like flies, Harry is more determined than ever to discover the truth - even when the truth ends with him being arrested for murder.

It's a very interesting read - full of twists, turns, and surprises. Sometimes, the language gets a little confusing, and it's difficult to really understand what Dobbs is trying to say. But it does keep you enthralled from start to finish, and its fast pace might leave you feeling exhausted.

8/10 (Review by Emma Wilson) Non fiction Catastrophe: Europe Goes To War 1914 by Max Hastings is published in hardback by Harper Collins, priced £30 (ebook £14.25). Available now.

Many books have been written on the subject of the First World War, and many have failed to fully explain the beginnings of the conflict and indeed how we as a nation became involved. Max Hastings achieves this and more in his new book Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914.

In this complete and well written book Max Hastings gives an unashamedly graphic account of the first few months of the outbreak of war and the horrors facing the men and women who were entering a conflict unlike any other.

The account of the heavy French losses in the early stages of war, more bloody than the well documented battles at Ypres, the foolhardy strategies of overzealous commanders and the gut-wrenching personal accounts of those involved paints a chilling tale of death and misplaced glory.

This is how books on war history should be written; shockingly truthful, detailed and emotional.

9/10 (Review by Phil Robinson) The Autobiography: Recipe For Life by Mary Berry is published in hardback by Michael Joseph, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available now.

Many celebrity autobiographies, particularly ones from fresh-faced rising stars, are criticised for being a little thin on the ground. There's no danger of that in celebrated home cook Mary Berry's life story, Recipe For Life.

Born in 1935, Berry who has had a recent renaissance as one half of The Great British Bake Off's judging panel, lived through WWII and recovered from a debilitating case of polio, which left the then 13-year-old alone in hospital for several months.

There are idyllic descriptions of her childhood, as well as flashes of the steely determination and matter of fact attitude that has kept 78-year-old Berry on top for so many years. But the real heart of the book is the chapters about Mary's family life and in particular, the heartbreaking death of her son William, aged just 19 when he died in a car crash.

At times, Berry's views on the world veer on the old-fashioned side but with a recipe per chapter and plenty of anecdotes from her family and friends, including Bake Off pal Paul Hollywood, there's plenty to keep you turning the pages.

6/10 (Review by Keeley Bolger) Faster Than Lightning: My Autobiography by Usain Bolt is published in harback by Harper Sport, priced £20 (ebook £7.99). Available now.

The autobiography by the triple-gold medal Olympian Usain Bolt charts his story from his humble beginnings in Sherwood Content, Trelawny through to becoming one of the most recognisable men in the sport.

In keeping with the personality many have seen at the trackside, Bolt's narration reflects his playful nature as he tells his journey to become the 'Fastest Man in the World'.

The book is an easy read that will have you laughing out loud in parts - particularly during his recollection of his childhood and teenage years, when he first entered the world stage. His triumphs on the track were matched by his personal victory of overcoming scoliosis - a spinal condition that could have ended his illustrious career before it had got out of the starting blocks. There are many other poignant moments on the way too, also covered with equal pathos.

Faster Than Lightning also gives an insight into what makes Bolt the 'Lightning Bolt', looking at his running style as a result of his stature and also the mental preparations he undertook - he runs first for himself, then his country. Despite being such a winner, the hunger to remain the best is present from beginning to end.

This book is a must-read for those with an interest in one of sport's most engaging personalities, or simply for those missing the warm glow of London in the summer of 2012.

8/10 (Review by Elaine Adu-Poku) A Very British Murder by Lucy Worsley is published in hardback by BBC Books, priced £20 (ebook £11.39). Available now.

Popular historian Lucy Worsley, she of head-girl looks and enthusiasm, has turned her attention to the British obsession with murder for her latest television series, and this is the accompanying book.

She argues that murder, particularly the grim and gruesome kind, has long been seen by the public as a source of deep fascination, even entertainment. From the public hangings of yesteryear, through salacious newspaper accounts of murder trials to detective novels and the love of small-screen crime dramas, Worsley seeks to trace a path through this apparent national pastime.

She is most successful, perhaps, when examining the murders of the 19th century that so captured the public imagination, like The Ratcliffe Highway murders and the case of The Red Barn - both with plots to rival those of any fictionalised account.

Quirky attention to detail captivates the reader, plus fascinating tangential asides on the role of the detective and on the issue of female killers of the past.

There is a little too much on the twentieth century fictionalised accounts of Agatha Christie et al, but Worsley's knack of telling a good tale, complete with solid historical context, means we can forgive that.

She also seems a little apologetic about the subject matter at times, but her genuine fascination for all she investigates within A Very British Murder means that Worsley truly brings history, in all its blood-curdling glory, to life.

8/10 (Review by Lauren Turner) Children's book of the week Treasure Hunters by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein is published in hardback by Cornerstone, priced £9.99 (ebook £7.59). Available now.

James Patterson, author of the highly popular Middle School series, has produced this new comedy Treasure Hunters... and it's hilarious.

The four Kidd kids (there's a lot of kidding in this book) find themselves alone on a damaged boat in the middle of the high seas. Their dad has vanished during a violent storm and they need to find an ancient artefact to pay off gangsters who've kidnapped their mum. Unfortunately, the evil "Nathan Collier Treasure Extractors", made up of pirates, karate girls and a dodgy dealer, are after the same artefact.

The plot is exciting and unpredictable and the writing is really funny - as are the pictures, supposedly by the 12-year-old character Beck Kidd. When Beck herself goes missing, her twin brother Bick takes over, scribbling stick men images under the warning: "Pictures below kindergarten art level".

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish and I'd recommend it to all children who like a laugh (which is most of us!) Rating 9/10 (Review by Ralph Ballard, aged 9) Best-sellers for the week ending September 14 Hardbacks 1 Save with Jamie: Shop Smart, Cook Clever, Waste Less, Jamie Oliver 2 Police, Jo Nesbo 3 Never Go Back, Lee Child 4 Catastrophe: Europe Goes To War, 1914, Sir Max Hastings 5 Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men, Derek Landy 6 Guiness Book Of Records 7 Black Friday: CHERUB, Robert Muchamore 8 Recipe For Life, Mary Berry 9 The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos, Patrick Leigh Fermor 10 The Fallen: The Enemy, Charlie Higson (Compiled by Waterstones) Paperbacks 1 The Little Coffee Book of Kabul, Deborah Rodriguez 2 The Casual Vacancy, J.K Rowling 3 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn 4 A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks 5 Instructions for a Heatwave, Maggie O'Farrell 6 Dominion, C.J Sansom 7 The Fault in Our Stars, John Green 8 Grimm Tales: For Young and Old, Philip Pullman 9 Stoner: A Novel, John L Williams 10 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson (Compiled by Waterstones) Ebooks 1 Split Second, Cath Staincliffe 2 The Casual Vacancy, J.K.Rowling 3 The Detective's Daughter, Lesley Thomson 4 The Husband's Secret, Liane Moriarty 5 My Sister's Keeper, Bill Benners 6 Dishonour, Jacqui Rose 7 How Not To Worry, Paul McGee 8 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn 9 Death of a Snob, M.C.Beaton 10 Never Go Back, Lee Child (Compiled by the Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk)