Bookcase

By Sophie Herdman

Book of the week

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch is published in hardback by Gollancz priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49). Available now

Formerly a screenwriter, Ben Aaronovitch has since made a new name for himself with his novels about DC Peter Grant, of which this is the fourth.

Peter's a fairly typical London cop - except for being the Met's first apprentice wizard in decades. Along with his mentor, DCI Nightingale, and colleague Lesley May, he's responsible for keeping an eye on London's supernatural side.

Much of the books' success comes from Aaronovitch's meticulous handling of tone; these are police procedurals which pay attention to real policing, not some Luther-style pantomime, and the demands of bureaucracy are a perfect counterpoint for the uncanny elements.

But the magic itself, as gradually becomes clear, also works to very precise rules, which one ignores at grave peril. Such a set-up could easily become constricting, particularly when the nature of the genre means mayhem and murder are mainstays.

But (unlike Aaronovitch's fellow Doctor Who alumnus Paul Cornell, who recently started a much more claustrophobic and outright horror series set in similar territory) the Peter Grant stories are fun reading, simply through his wry, long-suffering line in narration.

Wonderful as the world-building and characterisation have always been, the first two books had one weakness: the plotting. An alert reader of the first two books will work out what's going on hundreds of pages before Grant and Nightingale; which given their training, strains plausibility. Matters have since improved, and rather than jumping ahead, we're along for the ride here, as the team try to join the dots between an unidentifiable corpse, a stolen grimoire, and a profoundly peculiar south London housing estate whose architect may have practised magic.

The climax does leave some threads of the plot hanging presumably to be picked up in the next book - but it also provides enough of a resolution to satisfy.

8/10

(Review by Alex Sarll)

New fiction

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell is published in paperback by Century, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.29). Available now

Jewell's breakaway debut Ralph's Party back in 1999 earned her a devoted following of fans, who have been no doubt been looking forward to this, her eleventh, novel with some anticipation.

At first sight, Megan, Bethan, Rory and Rhys seem to have had an idyllic childhood. Growing up in a Bohemian country cottage with their kind, if slightly batty, mother, and understanding, if distant, father, life is a sun-dappled patchwork of finger painting, Easter-egg hunts and polka-dotted wellies. But even before the event that will tear them apart, there are signs that things aren't as perfect as they seem.

Told with frequent flashbacks to their early life, this book finds the children all grown up and struggling to come to terms with the past. Eschewing the predictable plotlines of most chick lit, Jewell creates a thought-provoking - and at times tear-jerking - tale, which her legion of fans will no-doubt enjoy.

7/10

(Review by Sarah Warwick)

The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler is published in hardback by Blue Door, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.49). Available now

At a home for disturbed girls, one of the inmates is savagely killed.

The dead girl's hands are placed over her eyes, as though she had been playing a game. The murder weapon is found under the pillow of another inmate, who has escaped. When a car with a four-year-old child in the back is stolen by a young girl, the hunt for the killer intensifies.

Detective Joona Linna must work out what the victim wasn't supposed to see. A woman repeatedly contacts the police tip line, claiming to have seen the murder weapon. But what has she really seen?

Kepler (a pseudonym for a Swedish crime writing husband and wife) brings into play a huge cast, each with their own emotional scars. But if at times the plot sags under the weight of numbers and slightly plodding procedural detail, the action gathers pace towards a clever and gripping denouement.

6/10

(Review by Clare Longrigg)

Indiscretion by Charles Dubow is published in hardback by HarperCollins, priced £12.99 (ebook £4.99). Available now

Founding editor of Forbes.com and editor at Businessweek.com, Charles Dubow makes his debut with the publishing of his first novel, Indiscretion.

Harry and Madeline Winslow are the perfect couple, they have money, a family, happiness, and most importantly, they have each other.

Claire is a fun-loving single woman in her twenties. After a summer romance turns sour, Claire finds herself in the company of the Winslows, and what starts out as an innocent friendship between them, soon turns into something more. None of their lives will ever be the same.

The novel starts out with everything a reader could ask for, the characters are interesting, and there's excitement and intrigue. However, towards the latter half of the novel, I found the pace slowing down, the long descriptions eventually taking away too much of the excitement, and a once-gripping plot pushing me to lose focus.

7/10

(Review by Laura Cox)

The Demolition of the Century by Duncan Sarkies is published in paperback by John Murray, priced £13.99 (ebook £6.99) Available now

The age-old rule is not to judge a book by its cover, but judging it by the blurb is different. It's job is to sell the book to the potential reader, tempting them to flick it open, read the first few lines and then hopefully take it up to the till.

So when reading that The Demolition of the Century, the latest offering from Duncan Sarkies, "appeals to fans of kooky, quirky humour similar to Flight of the Conchords" people would expect a book that will cheer them up.

However, the comedy seems to have gone awry in the novel's sentimental theme about two characters, Tom and Spud, who are both struggling with their lives. Unfortunately the voices become a little too entwined and it then becomes so perplexing that even the dramatic plot twist in the middle doesn't seem to balance it out.

Perhaps if it was read without any preconceptions it may be more enjoyable, but the rather confusing structure alongside the confusion of the lost humour means the narrative is left somewhat stranded.

5/10

(Review by Rebecca Flitton)

Wreaking by James Scudamore is published in hardback by Harvill Secker, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.35). Available now

There is a pervasive atmosphere of damp throughout James Scudamore's third novel, a kind of virulent mould that grows on the three damaged characters whose interwoven tale he tells.

A disused mental hospital that has fallen into ruin, the Wreaking of the title, is at the centre of it all. There, amidst the crumbling walls and out-dated medical supplies, sits Jasper Scriven. He endlessly rewrites its history, his dreams of redeveloping the dark sprawling buildings into a place of light and life turned to dust.

In fragments, we learn of his fractured, fraught relationship with his daughter Chloe and how her teenage years were smudged and eroded, turning her into the broken adult she is today. As readers we navigate the treacherous pathways between the two, not quite knowing whose version of events to believe.

Other characters who inhabited Wreaking haunt the novel too, not least in the form of an old friend of Chloe, now involved in the criminal underworld. Each has the past to contend with, and their own form of mental torture. In Jasper's case however, the future looming ahead is desperately short, his health in a perilous state.

There is no real resolution to be had but somehow, in a book with a non-linear plot, that matters little. Instead we are left with the characters in our heads for days, and the sense of unease that Scudamore cleverly conjured up.

7/10

(Review by Lauren Turner)

The Never List by Koethi Zan is published in hardback by Harvill Secker, priced £9.99 (ebook £2.99). Available August 1

We've all heard harrowing news stories of abducted young women imprisoned in basements for many years and The Never List has taken this topic as inspiration for a fictional tale.

There've been a few books like this recently but Koethi Zan's debut novel begins with a twist - best friends Sarah and Jessica have been obsessed with the probability of a disaster befalling them for most of their lives and have compiled a 'never list' to help them avoid crisis.

But when the friends head off to university they break one of their own rules one evening and end up being abducted to a cellar already prison to two other girls.

The story that follows looks at how the women cope after they're set free, with more details about their imprisonment emerging as the story unravels.

It can at times be a little too unrealistic as the characters turn detective to discover more about their kidnapper, and the crime seems to be more wide-reaching than they'd first realised - but basically, it's a huge page-turner.

This is the perfect beach read, absolutely gripping and with a pacey storyline that's guaranteed to see you racing to the final page within days.

8/10

(Review by Katie Archer)

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory is published in hardback by Simon and Schuster, priced £20 (ebook £7.60). Available August 1

The fifth instalment in Philippa Gregory's series The Cousins' War continues to explore the deception, betrayal, and brutal power struggles that took place within England's royal families in the 15th century.

The White Princess follows the story of Elizabeth of York, who is forced to marry Henry Tudor in an attempt to end the feud between the Houses of Lancaster and York.

Although he killed her first love - Richard III - and raped her before they were married, Elizabeth eventually warms to her husband. But with her Mother plotting against the Tudors, and her lost brother Richard rumoured to be emerging to take the throne, Elizabeth becomes torn between her new family and her loyalty to the Yorks.

Gregory's take on history is gripping and full of scandal, and you are instantly sympathetic towards the characters who suffer as a result of the ongoing battle for the throne.

If you've ever dreamed of being a princess; the cruel realities of life as a Royal may make you think again.

8/10

(Review by Harriet Shephard)

Deep Blue Sea by Tasmina Perry is published in paperback by Headline, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available now

After the phone hacking scandal broke out, Rachel Miller swapped her glamorous life in London for the pristine beaches of Thailand. Bidding farewell to her high-flying career as a Fleet Street editor, she moved to a Thai island to start afresh as a diving instructor.

But her idyllic life in the East is threatened by unexpected news - her businessman brother-in-law Julian Denver is dead.

Although it looks like suicide, her estranged sister Diana believes there's more to her husband's tragic death than meets the eye and begs Rachel to 'find the truth at all costs'.

In her attempt to find more about Julian's motive, Rachel begins to realise something sinister is at play and when her private investigator gets beaten up, she fears she's stumbled on a web of cover-ups and conspiracies.

After Perfect Strangers (2006) and Daddy's Girl (2012), Tasmina Perry's latest offering does not pack the punch of a crime novel, nor does it examine the psychology of the characters in great detail. But Deep Blue Sea is still light and entertaining with just enough suspense to keep you turning the pages."

6/10

(Review by Nilima Marshall)

Non fiction

The Cooked Seed by Anchee Min is published in hardback by Bloomsbury, priced £14.99 (ebook £8.54). Available now

In 1994, Anchee Min published Red Azalea, a memoir of growing up during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution. It became an international best-seller.

Her second novel, The Cooked Seed, provides the next chapter to her life, and talks of the author's journey from Shanghai to America.

The promise of a better future and a new life turns out not to be everything she expected, as in America she is poor, lonely and unable to speak any English, isolated from the world. Yet, she manages to pick herself up at every hurdle.

This is a very thorough and descriptive narrative that interests the reader from beginning to end. It provides a detailed account of the author's life, how she self-taught herself English, worked more than five job for a living and studied Art, all the while trying to achieve American citizenship.

Although this is heavy-reading at times, as it touches upon sensitive subjects such as rape and crime, it provides a great insight into her fight against all odds, and offers a truly inspiring story for its readers.

9/10

(Review by Laura Cox)

1913 - The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies is published in hardback by Clerkenwell priced £14.99 (ebook £4.49). Available now

This fascinating book presents vignettes, mainly about luminaries of the European intellectual and artistic world, in the last full year of peace before the Great War broke out in August 1914.

Vienna, Munich and Berlin are the main setting and German art journalist Florian Illies comes up with many interesting snippets about writers, artists and thinkers such as Kafka, Sigmund Freud, Proust, Klimt, Kokoschka and Thomas Mann.

Who would have guessed that, while still nonentities, Hitler, Stalin and Tito, the future Yugoslav dictator, were all in Vienna at the same time in 1913, although they never met?

In that same year the artistic and intellectual worlds were bubbling with new and challenging ideas about psychology, architecture, art, music, dreams and morality. Yet brothels, incest, tortured sex lives, alcoholism, drug addiction and madness periodically surface on these pages too, and the mental climate in some quarters begins to resemble the build-up to a thunderstorm.

Of course, this came the following year, with the cataclysm of the First World War.

8/10

(Review by Anthony Looch)

The Rules To Break: A Personal Guide To Sifting The Gold Dust From The Sawdust is published in paperback by Pearson, priced £10.99 (ebook £7.69). Available now

Busting a gut to get that dream job? If so you might be wasting your time, according to The Rules To Break.

If you've come across best-selling author Richard Templar before, you'll know he's the giver of life's secrets in books such as The Rules of Life. But this time he's turned all the rules on their head - and you might be surprised at what unnecessary, untrue or damaging beliefs he suggests we dump.

Common ideas in society say that to be happy, we should ignore bullies, get our chores over with before having fun, not make mistakes, be a friend to everyone and have a good, well-paying job. Here though, Templar rubbishes these pre-conceived beliefs and, with each rule break, he tells us the lesson we should replace it with.

His message is clear - follow your own path through life and don't conform to please other people. He explores why we accept that those in authority, such as parents and teachers, always know the best for our lives. While some rules he urges us to break could be sensitive and difficult to accept, or even quite personal, this well-written book is deep, bold, profound and accessible.

It will certainly change mindsets on a range of topics from family to jobs and attitudes towards others. It also gets messy people out of doing washing up - worth its weight in gold for that gem alone.

8/10

(Review by Caroline Davison)

Amy, 27 by Howard Sounes is published in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £20 (ebook £10.99). Available now

This tale of famous lives cut short at 27 - from Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and, of course, Amy Winehouse - is a depressing yet fascinating read, made all the more interesting by the author's efforts to point out links and similarities between the six tragic musicians.

The book moves back and forth from one star to another, documenting the club members' mutual problems: dysfunctional relationships with family and lovers, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, and disillusionment with their art and fame.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the book is the less than complimentary picture of Amy's father Mitch Winehouse painted by the author.

A central figure in the singer's life, Mitch was not interviewed for this book as he was contracted to write his own, the author said.

Sounes includes a claim from Amy's school friend that Mitch wasn't around until his daughter became famous. He also says the Amy Winehouse Foundation set up by Mitch after her death "gives him a good reason to remain in the public eye".

With frequent references to literature throughout, this book assumes a mythological quality which sits nicely with the notion that the 27 Club is more than just a coincidence.

7/10

(Review by Catherine Wylie)

Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A Year Of Things To See And Do In England by Tom Jones is published in hardback by Virgin Books priced £12.99 (ebook £8.51). Available now

He's known for his off the beaten track suggestions for things to do in London but in his latest book, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Tom Jones shines a light on the quirky days out to be had across the rest of England.

Jones, who runs the Tired Of London, Tired Of Life blog, has plenty of nifty tips on how to fill every day with fun. From visiting Europe's largest tree house in Northumberland, spotting puffins in North Yorkshire and watching the world hen-racing championships in Derbyshire, he certainly gives food for thought.

Handily, the book is split into months and gives details of the nearest train station. Better still, many of the picks are free.

With school holiday boredom in full swing, Mad Dogs & Englishmen is a zesty antidote to stale guide books and dull days out.

8/10

(Review by Keeley Bolger)

Children's book

Mysterium: The Black Dragon by Julian Sedgwick is published in paperback by Hodder Children's Books, priced £6.99 (ebook £3.32). Available now

This is the first of an exciting new trilogy. It features a 12-year-old hero and escape artist called Danny Woo. His parents were performers in the Mysterium circus until they were killed in a suspicious fire.

The book begins with Danny's school exploding! Soon after, he goes to Hong Kong with his aunt who is almost immediately kidnapped by The Black Dragon, a Chinese gang. Danny sets out with his godfather, a dwarf strongman, to find her - but on his quest he discovers a dangerous and terrifying secret.

The action is non-stop and there is a big surprise at the end that I didn't see coming. However, Danny escapes from so many tricky situations that I found it hard to believe. Because things happen so quickly, there is not much suspense and you don't get to know much of the characters' emotions.

Children who like fast plots would enjoy Mysterium.

I would buy the next book to see what Danny does next if I got loads of pocket money, but it wouldn't be my top choice.

6/10

(Review by Ralph Ballard, aged 9)

Bestsellers for the week ending July 27

Hardbacks

1 The Cuckoo's Calling, Robert Galbraith

2 Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch

3 The World According to Bob: The Further Adventures of One Man and His Streetwise Cat, James Bowen

4 Inferno, Dan Brown

5 The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism, Naoki Higashida

6 Rick Stein's India, Rick Stein

7 And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini

8 Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Third Wheel, Neil Gaiman

9 The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman

10 Dork Diaries: Holiday Heartbreak, Rachel Renee Russell

(Compiled by Waterstones)

Paperbacks

1 The Casual Vacancy, J.K Rowling

2 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

3 The Fault in our Stars, John Green

4 The Red House, Mark Haddon

5 The Little Coffee Book of Kabul, Deborah Rodriguez

6 The Racketeer, John Grisham

7 Stoner: A Novel, John L Williams

8 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson

9 Jo Nesbo, The Bat: The First Harry Hole

10 Sweet Tooth, Ian McEwan

(Compiled by Waterstones)

Ebooks

1 The Detective's Daughter, Lesley Thompson

2 Single Woman Seeks Revenge by Tracy Bloom

3 The Last Templar by Michael Jecks

4 The Cuckoo's Calling, Robert Galbraith

5 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

6 No-One Ever Has Sex On A Tuesday, Tracy Bloom

7 The Racketeer, John Grisham

8 The Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling

9 Nameless, Joe Conlan

10 Watch Over Me, Daniela Sacerdoti

(Compiled by the Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk)