5 new books to read this week

A traitorous kids book and a handful of gripping thrillers to sink into…

Fiction

The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers is published in hardback by Hodderscape, priced £20 (ebook £6.99). Available now

Owning a bookshop is a fairly common fantasy amongst big readers; the thought of cosying up with a book all day and getting paid for it. But it’s a bit different when the bookshop itself has an opinion on how badly you’re running things, the walls keep moving, the books spontaneously flood the building, and there are numerous people willing to murder you for the privilege of taking the bookshop off your hands. This is the conundrum former bookseller-turned thief Cassandra Fairfax faces when her mentor, Chiron, dies and leaves his magical bookshop to her (questionable) care. Troubled by a wrenching tragedy she played a hand in, and up against a society of bookshop owners out to crush her, Cassandra must also find her place in a world she thought she’d left behind. Quickly paced and packed with secrets and dastardly motives, The Bookshop Below is a well wrought mystery, and the unfurling of Cassandra’s backstory – and relationship with rival bookseller Lowell Sharpe – is riveting. However, it can be difficult to grasp the logistics of the magical network of Georgia Summers’ bookshops and their history, making the plot something you’re trying to cling to as it races ahead.
8/10

Review by Ella Walker

Everyone Wants To Rule The World by Ace Atkins is published in hardback by Corsair, priced £22 (ebook £12.99). Available now

The American media came to refer to 1985 as The Year Of The Spy, and if Ace Atkins’ latest thriller Everybody Wants To Rule The World is anything to go by, it is obvious why. In mid-1980s Atlanta, 14-year-old Peter Bennett seeks help after suspecting his mother’s new boyfriend is a Russian agent. Throw into the mix a has-been crime writer, his drag performer pal, a KGB defector with a long-lost love and the murder of a secretary and you have the makings of a thriller which is a whole lot of fun. Atkins, a crime reporter turned bestselling novelist, offers a nostalgic depiction of the Cold War along with fast-paced action, although, as a reader, sometimes it takes a minute to get to grips with all the twists and turns. All of the drama is served up with a generous amount of humour, combining to create a thoroughly enjoyable adventure.
8/10

Review by Eleanor Barlow

Mimik by Sebastian Fitzek is published in paperback by Head of Zeus, priced £9.99 (ebook £3.99). Available December 4

The book starts with a crazed gunman taking young children hostage in a nursery school, an incident which has dramatic repercussions for one boy and his mother, Hannah Herbst. Hannah is Germany’s best facial resonance expert, meaning she can ‘read’ a suspect through their facial expressions alone. As a result, she’s been involved in the convictions of multiple violent criminals. She loses her memory after an operation, waking up to find she is now a hostage herself, tied up and held by a dangerous criminal who has escaped from a high security hospital. He makes her watch a video of a woman confessing to brutally murdering her entire family – although not her son – a woman who appears to be Hannah. The search for the truth involves more murders, dramas and a truly shocking ending. Sebastian Fitzek is one of Europe’s most successful psychological thriller authors, and Mimik is sure to thrill and stun his fans – and attract a few more.
7/10

Review by Alan Jones

Non fiction

Living Young: Techniques And Exercises To Lower Your Biological Age by Dr Lara Hemeryck and Anastasia Mabel is published in paperback by Michael O’Mara, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available December 4

This guide, self-described as “everyday biohacking for beginners” is broken down into five broad headings: eat, move, sleep, think, live. Based on the latest research the authors share tips and advice on ways to positively improve your health to stave off aging and improve your wellbeing. Everything is simply explained and aimed at the beginner starting to think about making changes to improve their longevity. You’ll have heard the thrust of some of the chapters elsewhere – eat a good diet, move more, follow regular sleep patterns – but there are practical tips on how to introduce gradual improvements that are easy to add to your everyday life in a way that suits you. It’s all fairly top level, so if you want to sink into the details you’ll have to check out the extensive resources listed for the studies showing that these recommendations work. But for beginners it’s a good place to start exploring things that might work for you.
7/10

Review by Bridie Pritchard

Children’s book of the week

Terrible Traitors (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary, illustrated by Martin Brown, is published in paperback by Scholastic, priced £6.99 (ebook £5.94). Available December 4

Fans of Horrible Histories – and even those who have never dipped their toe in before – will find much to delight them in this latest romp through the history books. Terrible Traitors describes the worst traitors known to man, all with a dose of humour thrown in. Terry Deary tells how 50 brutal men and women made their mark, such as Alfred the Great, who pretended to be a singer to steal Danish battle plans from their camp. And what about the knight Walter Tirel, who claimed it was an accident when his arrow missed a deer and struck King William II through his chest? This book is wonderfully illustrated throughout and includes extra quick facts in Did You Know? sections. Would make a good stocking filler.
8/10

Review by Jane Kirby

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 29

HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
2. Fallen Stars by Imani Erriu
3. Exit Strategy:Jack Reacher by Lee Child and Andrew Child
4. Flesh by David Szalay
5. The Artist by Lucy Steeds
6. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
7. The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
8. Brimstone by Callie Hart
9. Rose Field: The Book of Dust Volume Three by Philip Pullman
10. The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer
(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. Always Remember:The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm by Charlie Mackesy
2. Mary 90:My Very Best Recipes by Mary Berry
3. Private Eye Annual 2025 by Ian Hislop
4. Guinness World Records 2026
5. Seven Tenths Of A Second by Zak Brown
6. A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke
7. Diddly Squat: The Farmer’s Dog by Jeremy Clarkson
8. Last Rites by Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Ayres
9. When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between by Ruth Jones and James Corden
10. Pup Fiction by Ted the Dog
(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NONFICTION)
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
3. The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer
4. Brimstone by Callie Hart
5. A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke
6. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
7. Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
8. The Names by Florence Knapp
9. Exit Strategy by Lee Child and Andrew Child
10. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
(Compiled by Audible)