Listmania!
Highlights of recent fiction
The Book ThiefThe Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Buy new: £3.95 / Used from: £1.96
Original and creepy take on the Holocaust.
Wolf HallWolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Buy new: £8.49 / Used from: £7.95
A welcome antidote to Philippa Gregory's bodice rippers; Mantel's Tudor England is a more vivid place altogether.
The Girl with the Dragon TattooThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Buy new: £3.95 / Used from: £3.45
Sassy Scandinavian crime novel with a social message. Better than its prequel.
Devil May Care (James Bond)Devil May Care (James Bond) by Sebastian Faulks
Buy new: £4.61 / Used from: £0.01
A Bond "homage" that reminds you why no one reads Fleming any more.
The Einstein GirlThe Einstein Girl by Philip Sington
Buy new: £9.06 / Used from: £3.08
Dark, thought-provoking and powerful mystery about an Einstein family secret. Beautifully done.
Gone TomorrowGone Tomorrow by Lee Child
Buy used from: £9.90
Child reprises and recycles in this, his 13th Jack Reacher novel. The flogged horse isn't dead, perhaps. But it's definitely resting.
The White TigerThe White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Buy new: £3.80 / Used from: £0.73
The lively but improbably confession of a Bombay murderer with ambitions to rise.
The Angel's GameThe Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Buy new: £9.46 / Used from: £5.81
More gothic shenanigans from the auther of The Shadow of the Wind. Doesn't take itself too seriously, and falls a bit flat when it does.
The History of LoveThe History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Buy new: £6.36 / Used from: £0.01
Charming tale, wittily told in a New York/magic realism kind-of-way.
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
Buy new: £7.46 / Used from: £6.50
Latest, last and longest in this hugely successful romantic/vampirical saga. We live in strange times, is all I can say.
The Boy in the Striped PyjamasThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Buy new: £3.49 / Used from: £0.88
Spare but affecting story of children growing up during the Holocaust period.
The Luminous Life of Lilly AphroditeThe Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
Buy new: £4.74 / Used from: £0.01
Lively if slightly over-long yarn of movie-makers in Weimar Germany. A rich period piece.
SashenkaSashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Buy used from: £0.79
Seriously hyped historical yarn that takes far too long to get going.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill HouseThe Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale
Buy new: £4.27 / Used from: £0.01
Don't read this as a whodunnit. It's an intelligent and revealing look at Victorian society, revealed through the prism of a seminal murder investigation.
Suite FrancaiseSuite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Buy new: £4.76 / Used from: £0.01
Astute, tragic unfinished novel.
The Interpretation of MurderThe Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
Buy new: £5.01 / Used from: £0.01
Engaging but drawn-out historical detective yarn.
The Legend of Sigurd and GudrúnThe Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún by J R R Tolkien
Buy new: £9.92 / Used from: £2.99
Really only suitable for Middle Earth fanatics who should probably get out more.
The BelieversThe Believers by Zoë Heller
Buy new: £3.85 / Used from: £0.01
New York is full of hypocritical and nasty people. Heller draws them with ruthless efficiency. But her plot has no emotional centre and little in the way of drive.
The Shadow Of The WindThe Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Buy new: £3.99 / Used from: £0.01
Convoluted, OTT and slightly silly mystery redeemed by humour and occasional panache. But no masterpiece.
The ReturnThe Return by Victoria Hislop
Buy new: £4.76 / Used from: £0.01
Pretty ropy mix of salsa nonsense with a Spanish civil war plot. Dull writing makes it all seem rather tired.
The RoadThe Road by Cormac McCarthy
Buy new: £2.95 / Used from: £2.70
Miserable subject; oddly uplifting story. Not too long either, which makes a pleasant change.
The Children's BookThe Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
Buy new: £8.49 / Used from: £11.28
Top class historical saga about children's writing 100 years ago.
Me Cheeta: The AutobiographyMe Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever
Buy new: £4.48 / Used from: £2.80
Rollicking showbiz 'memoire' about apes and the Hollywood of yesteryear.
What Was LostWhat Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
Buy used from: £0.01
Droll look at growing up in the 1980s. Distinctive.
The Lost SymbolThe Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Buy new: £9.00 / Used from: £9.50
The publishers worldwide have been waiting seven years for this. Whether their patience has been rewarded remains to be seen. For readers, at least, the precedents are not good.