BOOK OF THE WEEK

The American Lover by Rose Tremain is published in hardback by Chatto & Windus, priced £16.99 (ebook £5.69). Available now

English author Rose Tremain, writer of the award-winning The Road Home and Music & Silence, returns with a book of short stories titled The American Lover. Heartbreak, loss and sexual awakenings seem to be the themes running through this brilliantly written, yet rather depressing collection.

In opening story The American Lover, a woman admits that she has never been able to get over an affair she had with an older man when she was 19, while Captive follows with the disturbing tale of how a man's plan to run an ethical kennels goes horribly wrong.

Saddest of all is probably A View Of Lake Superior In The Fall, which sees a couple move to a lake house in Canada in a misguided attempt to find happiness. Tremain also writes about other famous writers, The Jester Of Astapovo details the last few days of Tolstoy's life and The Housekeeper sees Daphne du Maurier embark on an affair with a housekeeper.

Tremain proves she is incredibly skilled at making the reader become attached to characters within just a few pages; her acute observations of human behaviour make these highly interesting and thought-provoking reads.

9/10

(Review by Harriet Shephard)

FICTION

Flesh And Blood by Patricia Cornwell is published in hardback by Harper Collins, priced £20 (ebook £6.65). Available now

Kay Scarpetta never does anything by half measures and when the medical examiner becomes the subject of a killer's interest, the outcome can't be a pleasant one. What she has to do here is prevent those closest to her or even the famous doctor herself from becoming the latest passenger to take a one-way ride on a stretcher. What she can't factor in is those closest to her - Marino, Lucy and Benton - keeping her in the dark, mistakenly trying to protect her by starving her of the oxygen that is access to all available information. When the finger of suspicion points at Lucy, it is all Scarpetta can do to keep her niece safe as a series of deaths reveal dark forces from the past are at work. Random victims turn out to be specific targets, as the killer's intentions slowly become clear and Scarpetta needs her skills and instincts to be at their sharpest as she tries to avoid a violent conclusion. Patricia Cornwell has built a reputation as lauded as that of her protagonist with the meticulous research and graphic storytelling which have made her a go-to author for those who love a dash of crime scene science with their latest dish of death. Flesh And Blood serves Scarpetta fans with more than enough evidence to sate their autopsy appetites.

9/10

(Review by Roddy Brooks)

The Very Hungover Caterpillar: A Parody by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees is published in hardback by Constable, priced £9.99 (ebook £5.99). Available now

Anyone who read We're Going On A Bar Hunt - Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees' parody of classic children's story We're Going On A Bear Hunt - will not be disappointed by their latest release. The husband and wife writing team have just published, on a very similar theme, The Very Hungover Caterpillar. Reworking Eric Carle's classic story into a humorous tale about a hungover daddy, who eats his way through house and home until he has a massive stomach ache. Now, he isn't just a hungover caterpillar anymore. He's a bloated, smelly, hungover caterpillar. After cocooning himself in his duvet for more than 12 hours, he stretches, pushes his way out and can finally transform like a butterfly. Anyone who has children and has read the original version of this story (no doubt several thousand times) will relate to this book and find it funny. It's the perfect stocking filler for any mum or dad this Christmas.

9/10

(Review by Claire Spreadbury)

The David Foster Wallace Reader by David Foster Wallace is published in trade paperback by Hamish Hamilton, priced £25 (ebook £6.99). Available now

A great thick hunk of wood and ink weighing in at 962g (a shade heavier than DFW's best known work Infinite Jest), comprises a selection of the late writer's greatest hits, including short stories, novel excerpts, essays, and teaching materials, and showcases his vast range, phenomenal grammatical skill and devastating beauty with language. Seemingly an expert in everything, the American's work encompasses many dark themes and is difficult to compartmentalise into any specific genre. An undercurrent of psychology and philosophy riddles every sentence, some of which, particularly in his novels, can traverse paragraphs and pages. I like to imagine the full stop key on his typewriter as being the only one not worn down to anonymity. And so this book is now the best book I own. It contains the funniest, saddest, most intelligent things I have ever read and will probably ever read. How can a man who detested a luxury cruise to the point of despair make me want to go on one?

9/10

(Review by Wayne Walls)

Let Me Be Frank With You by Richard Ford is published in hardback by Bloomsbury, priced £18.99 (ebook £4.68). Available now

Let Me Be Frank With You is a pensive contemplation of life, death and the human condition by Pulitzer prize-winning author Richard Ford. As with his previous novels, it's an examination of the zeitgeist of the American Dream through the eyes of the dryly-funny, real estate salesman Frank Bascombe. But now, nearly 25 years on, in the fourth of the hugely acclaimed series, Frank is retired and living a quiet, largely uneventful life in the suburbs. Despite a fair few grumbles about his advancing age and deteriorating body, Frank has largely found peace in his later years. A fairly short read, the book is divided into four self-contained but related chapters, each dealing in turn with Frank's attitudes towards ageing, race, marriage, death, politics and the post-recession economy. While his latest work might not be a high-tempo page turner, Let Me Be Frank With You is incredibly thought-provoking, witty and beautifully constructed. Fans of Richard Ford will not be disappointed.

7/10

(Review by Alison Potter)

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans is published in hardback by Doubleday, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.49). Available now

Lissa Evans offers here a fictional glimpse into the world of childhood evacuation in 1940's Britain that sees an assortment of characters bring heart and humour to an otherwise dire situation. Having lived most of his life with his Godmother, 10-year-old Noel is left out of sorts when he loses his ageing carer to dementia and is evacuated on the second wave with his classmates from London to St Albans, finding himself landed with a morally compromised Vee, who is forever trying to make a fast buck; her self-involved son and her mute letter-writing mother. Noel, brought up and educated by a sharp minded former suffragette, seems to be the only thing that has the potential to bring order to Vee's life and she may be the best thing for a slightly socially inept, yet fiercely intelligent, young boy. Watching them get to know one another through the scrapes in and out of London is a pleasure and Evans offers a wonderful selection of phrases to paint the picture of their lives that left me feeling attached to the characters and a little saddened that there wasn't more story to be had.

8/10

(Review by Sarah Scoffin)

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly is published in hardback by Orion Books, priced £19.99 (ebook £6.99). Available now.

Harry Bosch is counting down the days to his retirement. But like any self-respecting policeman, the Los Angeles detective has not one but two cases to close before he finally hangs up his badge and gun. Working for the Open-Unsolved Unit means every day is spent sifting through old evidence to try to spot a clue overlooked by colleagues. When a man left paralysed by an apparently motiveless shooting dies 10 years later, Bosch and his new partner Lucia Soto find themselves assigned to the case and under the public and political microscope. Bosch finding out Soto is trying to solve an unsolved child murder, one to which they are not assigned, ramps up the pressure. Particularly when he discovers Soto has more than just a detective's interest in solving the crime. What the pair unearth might not lead to justice being served, but at least it allows Bosch the chance to walk out of the police department with his head held high, if he chooses to do so. Michael Connelly has forged a worldwide reputation for gripping police drama and Bosch has become a watchword for justice for the oppressed. If Connelly has chosen this as Bosch's farewell, it is a fitting send-off.

8/10

(Review by Roddy Brooks)

NON-FICTION

Where I'm Reading From: The Changing World Of Books by Tim Parks is published in hardback by Harvill Secker, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.02). Available now

In a series of articles, originally written for the New York Review of books, Tim Parks writes about the place of literature in the world - and the purpose of reading and writing. He asks and discusses questions such as: Do we need stories? Does money make us write better stories? He is quite happy to overturn perceived wisdom - such as the value of the Nobel Prize is in recognizing great literature and why copyright matters to authors and to the rest of us. As an Englishman living and working in Italy (as a literature professor and a translator of novels), he has a very interesting position about global literature - suggesting that the growing sales around translated literature can mean that some writers are eyeing the market and adapting their writing to make it more international and translatable, rather than telling truer stories about their own culture. One particularly interesting essay is about how family dynamics and values can affect what you are reading. For avid readers, this book makes you think about what and how you read, what influences you to choose what you read and how you relate to it. You'll also come away with a long list of authors and books you now want to add to your list.

7/10

(Review by Bridie Pritchard)

Predator by Paul Goldstein amd Kyriakos Kaziras is published in hardback by Vilo, priced £40 from www.edigroup-publishing.com (including shipping to the UK)

In cinematic terms, predators are the blockbusters of the wildlife world: thrilling, dynamic and guaranteed big hitters. Be it polar bears in the high Arctic or frustratingly elusive caracals in the African bush, their behavior has captivated wildlife enthusiasts for decades.

This coffee table collection from two critically acclaimed wildlife photographers, shot over the course of their respective careers, celebrates the skill and majesty of some of the world's greatest hunters while simultaneously highlighting their fragility in an ever-evolving and ever-shrinking natural world.

A slow panned shot of a cheetah and wildebeest in the Masai Mara Conservancies evokes all the thrill of the chase, while a polar bear hunting for guillemot eggs in the Alkefjellet cliffs of Svalbard captures the sheer desperation of a marine mammal whose shrinking sea ice habitat could lead to its very extinction.

Action-packed, tender and tear jerking, this collection has all the elements of a box office hit.

10/10

(Review by Sarah Marshall)

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK

Sparky! by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans is published in hardback by Orion Children's Books, priced £10.99. Available now

Sparky is a sloth belonging to a little girl who desperately wants a pet and holds her mum to the promise she can have anything as long as it doesn't need to be "walked or bathed or fed". Sparky fits the bill perfectly, but doesn't do a lot. When her schoolfriend Mary Potts comes to visit and boasts that her cat can dance and her parrot can say 20 words, the girl decides to put on a show of Sparky's talents. He's excellent at playing dead and statues... LA-based Chris Appelhans, who has illustrated films such as The Princess And The Frog and Coraline, makes his first foray into children's book illustrations with these delightful, muted watercolours, while New Yorker Offill, whose books include 17 Things I'm Not Allowed To Do Any More, astutely captures the girl's voice in this heart-warming and funny tale.

7/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

BESTSELLERS FOR WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 15

HARDBACKS

1. Girl Online, Zoe Sugg

2. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, Jeff Kinney

3. Awful Auntie, David Walliams

4. Guinness World Records 2015

5. The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History, Boris Johnson

6. Lamentation: The Shardlake Series, C J Samson

7. The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of the World of A Game of Thrones, George R. R Marting and Linda Antonsson

8. The Second Half, Roy Keane and Roddy Doyle

9. Revolution, Russell Brand

10. The Sunrise, Victoria Hislop

(Compiled by Waterstones)

PAPERBACKS

1. Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story: British Library Crime Classic, J Jefferson Farjeon

2. The Wolf Princess, Cathryn Constable

3. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide

4. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler

5. Test Your Cat: The Cat IQ Test, EM Bard

6. Test Your Dog:Is Your Dog an Undiscovered Genius?, Rachel Federman

7. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

8. The Pointless Book: Started by Alfie Deyes, Finished by You, Alfie Deyes

9. Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film, the Imitation, Andrew Hodges

10. Captivated by You: A Crossfire Novel, Sylvia Day

(Compiled by Waterstones)

EBOOKS

1. The Letter, Kathryn Hughes

2. The Photographer's Wife, Nick Alexander

3. Captivated by You: A Crossfire Novel, Sylvia Day

4. Abducted, T.R. Ragan

5. Prophecy, S. J. Parris

6. Look Behind You, Sibel Hodge

7. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

8. Coming Home For Christmas, Julia Williams

9. Heresy, S. J. Parris

10. Thicker Than Water, Kerry Wilkinson

(Compiled by amazon.co.uk)