The Bookcase

By Sophie Herdman

Book of the week

Perfect by Rachel Joyce is published in hardback by Transworld Publishers, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.64). Available now

Middle England, 1972, two extra seconds were added to time. While this most likely seemed insignificant to most, passing unnoticed, for 11-year-old school friends Byron and James, it's a terrifying prospect.

When you mess with time, mistakes happen. At least, that's how it seems to Byron and James and, despite their efforts to put things right, the spiralling consequences are beyond their control.

For anybody who read Rachel Joyce's debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, her follow-up, Perfect, would have been highly-anticipated.

Joyce's debut became a No 1 Sunday Times bestseller, was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and saw her named Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year.

It's not every day that first novels meet such praise, so expectations were high for Perfect.

I, however, hadn't read Joyce's previous novel, so encountered Perfect with no preconceptions or benchmark. Yet somehow, I still feel it's exceeded expectations.

Joyce creates a momentous story from a very simple plot, fuelled by emotions that are, at times, so acutely observed it's heartbreaking.

Every character in Perfect is different and spot-on; Joyce is clearly hugely in tune with people, the seemingly miniscule traits which convey who we are and how we feel, and the struggles that bubble beneath the surface, simmering away like unremarkable quirks, until it all gets too much.

I feel so involved with Byron and his mother Diana's journey that I want to reach into the pages and hug them.

Sadness and despair may be key currents running through Perfect, but glimmers of humour, optimism and resilience complete the picture.

An instant favourite, bound for the bestseller top-spot again.

8/10

(Review by Abi Jackson)

New fiction

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan is published in hardback by Virago, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49). Available now

The rock of this novel, encompassing five stories of love, marriage (or lack of) and that all-important diamond, is Mary Frances Gerety. A single woman in a man's advertising agency, Frances came up with the defining diamond slogan: a diamond is forever.

James, a paramedic, has fallen for the line: despite having to pay for caved-in ceilings, he is determined to buy his wife a diamond. Delphine isn't so convinced. Having left France - and her husband - for a famous musician, we find her wreaking revenge following his own affair.

Evelyn, married for 40 years, finds her son's betrayal of his wife and children unbearable: then there is Kate. Partnered for a decade, with one adored daughter, she doesn't understand why anyone would ruin a relationship by buying into marriage.

These interweaving stories make for an unusual, addictive novel about the complexities and surprises that relationships afford, and a fascinating history of the marriage industry over 100 years.

8/10

(Review by Emma Herdman)

Unseen by Karin Slaughter is published in hardback by Century, priced £18.99 (ebook £8.10). Available now

Special agent Will Trent doesn't know who to trust and which way to turn.

Battered and seemingly betrayed, he must unravel the mystery of a crime boss who is blasting his way through the Georgia city of Macon like a law-breaking whirlwind. While those around him appear intent on taking each other out of the picture, Trent must hold his nerve while struggling to keep his private and professional lives from colliding with seemingly terminal consequences.

As Trent's world comes crashing down around him, he needs to not only save himself, and those dearest to him, but also come to the rescue of the weak and defenceless while his enemy apparently anticipates his every move.

As the net tightens Trent must unmask a villain who appears more myth than man.

Karin Slaughter's 13th novel, Unseen has all the required constituent pieces to keep her on the bestseller lists. An established expert in the field, Slaughter gets the heady mix of forensic attention to detail and fast-paced action just right.

8/10

(Review by Roddy Brooks)

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross is published in hardback by Orbit, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.49). Available now

With the tragic and premature loss of Iain M Banks, the thoughtful and versatile Charles Stross is now probably Britain's finest science fiction writer.

Stross's latest novel envisions an interstellar society without the convenient cheat of faster-than-light travel to abbreviate the huge distances involved. The result is a chilling future in which galactic colonisation has become a species of pyramid scheme.

'Fragile' humanity is a curiosity, outgrown by our robot heirs, and outlasted by the perverse financial system we've dreamt up. Worse, heroine Krina Alizond has stumbled upon proof of a truly staggering scam, with destructive effects dwarfing even the depression similar speculations created today. Can this retiring posthuman accountant survive long enough to bring the culprits to justice?

A thought-provoking satire on out-of-control economics which also finds plausible roles for space pirates and underwater cities is a rare beast indeed, and one to be treasured.

8/10

(Review by Alex Sarll)

Goldblatt's Descent by Michael Honig is published in trade paperback by Atlantic Books, priced £14.99 (ebook £9.99). Available now

Former doctor Michael Honig's debut is a timely - and, one suspects, semi-autobiographical - insight into the bureaucratic quagmire of the NHS.

Dr Malcolm Goldblatt is on his last professional legs. Aged 33 and still doing temporary jobs, he winds up on the unit of Professor Andrea Small, a bundle of neuroses and ego whose ambition is to become the country's pre-eminent Fuertler's Syndrome specialist.

If Goldblatt thought doctors were in medicine for the patients, he is quickly put right. As he battles hierarchy, favouritism, and (gasp) bed manipulation, we wonder whether Goldblatt's dogged determination to Do No Harm will win the day - or whether the simpering Professor will be his undoing.

Although a little on the long side, Honig's ruthless satire of the pedantic is a breath of fresh air. A must-read for Jeremy Hunt, this smart medic-epic is a Tom-Sharpe-esque tragicomedy that will fascinate and perturb doctors, managers, and academics alike.

8/10

(Review by Kitty Wheater)

Brian Gulliver's Travels by Bill Dare is published in paperback by Pilrig Press, priced £7.99 (ebook £1.99). Available now

Comedic writer Bill Dare's acclaimed BBC Radio series is released in novel format this week, to great commendation. Much like its radio equivalent, the story tells of travel writer Gulliver who, after a questionable six-year absence, sits in a London psychiatric hospital to tell his unconvinced daughter his fanciful tales.

In a parallel to beloved adventure books of old, the lands to which Brian travels are much more bizarre - where doctors run countries, fame is currency and pigs farm humans for food - with everything from the NHS to reality TV falling prey to the writer's satirical strikes.

Whether Brian's adventure even happened is an insignificant fact because the truth of the story becomes less important than the metaphorical truths it exposes - the depravity and strengths of human nature, the desire for compassion and the overwhelming desire to find cake, no matter how treacherous the landscape.

Both thought-provoking and utterly hilarious, Dare's latest comic offering is your perfect holiday read.

8/10

(Review by Holly McKenzie)

The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones is published in hardback by Headline, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49). Available now

A cursed family is hunted over the course of 100 years by a mysterious shape shifter called Jakab, who is intent on fulfilling his dangerous obsession of love and lust. The story hops around from the late 19th century through to present day but centres on the horrific experiences of Hannah Wilde and her husband and daughter as they try to outrun a force that seems unstoppable.

With guidance from the entries in her ancestor's diaries and support from members of Jakab's race, it's a rollercoaster ride of trust and fear as Hannah tries to stop the blight that has threatened her family for generations.

Combining history, mystery and the paranormal, Stephen Lloyd Jones's dark debut novel is a page-turning whirlwind of a read that will have you hooked till the bittersweet end.

8/10

(Review by Vicki Bartam)

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight is published in paperback original by Simon And Schuster, priced £6.99 (ebook £2.85). Available now

Kimberly McCreight's debut novel is a colourful re-imagining of the generic mother-daughter relationship, rejuvenated by adding a spike of psychological thriller in the form of a mystery that needs to be solved.

After the apparent suicide of her daughter Amelia, single mother and lawyer Kate Baron is thrown into a world of distress and confusion when she receives a text message reading: "AMELIA DIDN'T JUMP". As she faces the case of her life, she must conquer a dark new reality as new suspects and startling clues push her to the limits of her sanity.

McCreight's writing style is fresh, enthralling and exciting, drawing the reader into the darkest corners of the plot, while flowing effortlessly through intense dialogue and often disturbing narrative.

9/10

(Review by Emily Pawson)

The State We're In by Adele Parks is published in trade paperback by Headline Review, priced £11.99 (ebook £5.99). Available now

Jo is a life-long optimist and hopeless romantic. She's also a nearly middle aged woman who has just lost her job and slept with a man who turned out to be married.

Feeling desperate, she makes a last-minute decision to stop her ex-fiance's wedding - which is about to take place in Chicago - and declare her undying love for him, because she's pretty sure that he is 'the one'.

On the plane over to America she meets Dean who is in many ways the total opposite to Jo - a traumatic childhood means he keeps people at a distance and doesn't believe in happy ever after.

But somehow, both find in each other something that they need, and this chance encounter changes their lives forever.

This is classic Parks - a gripping page-turner that's a fun read and leaves you contemplating relationships, romance and love.

8/10

(Review by Sophie Herdman)

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison is published by Headline in paperback original, priced £12.99 (ebook £3.99). Available now

Canadian non-fiction author and editor Susan (A.S.A.) Harrison died of cancer just two months before her first novel, psychological thriller The Silent Wife, was published.

She did, however, live to see the advanced hype the debut was creating, with publishing rights sold around the globe and people comparing the book to last year's word-of-mouth sensation Gone Girl. It apparently took Harrison a decade to craft and the labour of love was worth it.

The Silent Wife gets under your skin in a way few books do. It pits two different third-person narratives against each other: Her & Him, which tell the interlocking tales of a childless, unmarried couple who've lived together for two decades.

Seemingly happy and successful, Jodi is a psychotherapist, who sees clients in their sleek Chicago apartment, while Todd is a rich property developer. But he's notoriously unfaithful and when he decides to leave Jodi for his friend's student daughter, she takes a chilling revenge to preserve her way of life.

The characters are carefully constructed: Todd is completely abhorrent and Jodi remorseless. It's a fascinating account of how dark undercurrents can manifest in relationships.

8/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

Children's book of the week: The best of the royal baby books

With the Royal Baby due any moment now, the country's set to reach a fever pitch of excitement, spurred on by every commercial outlet including the publishing world. Royal Baby themed children's picture books have been steadily cropping up, including these three rather sweet ones. But which should have pride of place on your little one's bookshelf? Kate Whiting finds out.

A Royal Fairytale: Kate And William by Ink Robin and illustrated by Adam Larkum is published by Egmont, priced £6.99. Available now

A Royal Fairytale is the story of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge presented as a modern-day fairytale. Terribly pretty Kate grows up in the countryside and then drives off to uni in a convertible, where she meets her handsome prince, they have the wedding of the century, travel the globe, produce a sprog and live happily ever after. Not particularly original as we all know this story so well now.

5/10

The Royal Baby by Tony Bradman and Tony Ross is published by Oxford University Press, priced £6.99. Available now

The Royal Baby, illustrated a la Quentin Blake by Tony Ross, is an olden times-set fairytale of a beautiful princess and handsome prince who, the minute they're married, are plagued by questions about when they're having a baby and then speculation about what it will be like, which makes the prince blush. A little bit predictable.

6/10

Shhh! Don't Wake The Royal Baby! by Martha Mumford and illustrated by Ada Grey is published by Bloomsbury, priced £6.99. Available now

Shhh! Don't Wake The Royal Baby! has a picture on the front of the Queen parachuting with the baby strapped to her tummy, in a nod to her Olympics 'stunt'. This one's a joy to read, set in the present day, with the Duchess and Duke surrounded by corgis trying to get their little one (gender unknown) to sleep. Which is when great grandma, aka the Queen, has her thrilling plan. Vibrant and fun.

8/10

Non fiction

Untangling The Web: What The Internet Is Doing To You by Aleks Krotoski is published by Faber and Faber, priced £12.99 (ebook £1.99). Available now

The product of more than a decade of research by social psychologist Dr Aleks Krotoski, Untangling The Web sets out to answer many more questions than just the one posed in its title. What happens to your digital self when you die in real life? Do you need a digital detox? And is Google really making us stupid?

Thankfully, Krotoski delivers her findings in a book that's light on academia and scaremongering and heavy on fascinating facts, covering all your major web talking points - politics, religion, love and, of course, cats. It verges on self help too, offering advice on preventing 'emotional anaemia' on social networking sites and how to avoid becoming a cyber bully.

Is the web really that dangerous? On the contrary, this is a (mostly) reassuring look at why the scaremongers' rhetoric rarely lives up to reality.

7/10

(Review by Katie Wright)

The End Of Night by Paul Bogard is published by Fourth Estate, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.49). Available now

When was the last time you looked up at night and saw more than a handful of stars?

It seems wherever humans are populated, artificial light drowns out true night, and in the last couple of centuries technology has advanced so rapidly that pure darkness is no longer easily accessible outside.

Here, Paul Bogard takes a pilgrimage into the dark to draw our attention to the diminishment of night. He argues, quite persistently, that the light pollution we produce has a colossal effect on our environment, is unhealthy for the human body (artificial night could possibly be linked to breast cancer, although this isn't proven), and incurs considerable financial loss.

It isn't all gloom, though, as his genuine passion for the majesty found within night is clear. Anecdotes such as Bogard's midnight paddle to the middle of a star-littered Minnesota lake establish a truly romantic read.

6/10

(Review by Wayne Walls)

Girl Least Likely To: 30 Years Of Fashion, Fasting And Fleet Street by Liz Jones is published by Simon and Schuster, priced £14.99 (ebook £4.99). Available now

She is one of the most controversial columnists in the British press today but whether you are a fan or you love to hate her, you can now immerse yourself in Liz Jones's book reflecting on her childhood in Essex through the highs and lows of her journalism career.

Jones paints a picture of a very miserable life - one in which she would never dare eat a Mars bar or a whole banana, and she reveals HMRC are currently moving to make her bankrupt.

But with this misery comes dark humour and insight, particularly when it comes to the world of fashion and beauty, an area she appears to have all sewn up and one which, after a lifetime of Vogue worship, she has grown disillusioned with.

From a voyeuristic point of view, her searing honesty and 'write now, face the consequences later' attitude is a great spectator sport.

Although some of what she says may be questionable and, at times, shocking, her commitment to speaking her own mind - regardless of who will dislike it or disagree with it - is refreshing.

8/10

(Review by Catherine Wylie)

My Story So Far by Louis Smith is published in hardback by Orion books, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99). Available now

He took our breath away in the London Olympics last year with his medal-winning gymnastics, and stole our hearts with his winning turn on the dancefloor in Strictly Come Dancing. Now, 23-year-old Louis has penned his story... so far.

Yes, he's only 23 but he's come very far in those years. Raised by his mum in Peterborough, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was four-years-old. Gymnastics allowed him to concentrate all of his energy into a sport that would change his life.

His story is actually very surprising. When you ignore the fact that this is a glossy book with full-page pictures and rather large text, it is a good read. Despite there being a section on his love for shoes, he comes across very well. He dotes on his mother, is focused on his gymnastics, and works very hard.

7/10

(Review by Emma Wilson)

Bestsellers for the week ending July 6

Hardbacks

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

2 Inferno, Dan Brown

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

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

5 And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini

6 The Quarry, Iain Banks

7 Unseen, Karin Slaughter

8 Rick Stein's India, Rick Stein

9 Long War, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

10 Holiday Heartbreak: Dork Diaries, Rachel Renee Russel

(Compiled by Waterstones)

Paperbacks

1 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

2 The Red House, Mark Haddon

3 Sweet Tooth, Ian McEwan

4 A Game of Thrones, Geroge RR Martin

5 The Fault in our Stars, John Green

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

7 NW, Zadie Smith

8 Oh Dear Silvia, Dawn French

9 Standing in Another Man's Grave, Ian Rankin

10 The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers

(Compiled by Waterstones)

Ebooks

1 The Detective's Daughter, Lesley Thomson

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

3 Nameless, Joe Conlan

4 Watch Over Me, Daniela Sacerdoti

5 Binocular Vision, Edith Pearlman

6 Some Day I'll Find You, Richard Madeley

7 Gone Girl, Gilian Flynn

8 This Man Confessed, Jodi Ellen Malpas

9 White Truffles in Winter, Nicole Kelby

10 Inferno, Dan Brow

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