Books of the Week

John le Carre

Espionage master le Carre invites us into a real world of spying and secrecy in this captivating memoir. Le Carre has spent half a century delving deep into the hidden world of foreign intelligence, often to the disapproval of its inhabitants. Now in his 80s, the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy author documents his life - crucially including his time as a real-life Cold War spook in West Germany - and highlights the inspiration behind some of his best-known characters. The Pigeon Tunnel has the feel more of a collection of short stories rather than a flowing narrative documenting a whole life in chronological order - and it works. Written in his usual engrossing style, this is part autobiography and part treatise on global politics over the last half-century, through anecdotes about clandestine meetings with KGB agents and dancing with Yasser Arafat in Lebanon. The result is an absorbing look into the life and mind of one of the world's top spy writers. Rather like his best known MI6 creation George Smiley, he presents a man who is far from perfect, but always retains the ability to influence and captivate.

The Wonder

Emma Donoghue

Author Emma Donoghue is now a household name thanks to her bestselling novel Room, which was made into an Oscar-winning film last year. Her latest effort, The Wonder, is a similarly suspenseful and tightly-wrought thriller, where the majority of the action takes place in a small claustrophobic room. But this novel is set in a dark and peaty village in Victorian Ireland, where an 11-year-old girl in perfect health is believed to have lived for the past four months on nothing but air. An English nurse trained under the watchful eye of Florence Nightingale is hired, along with a local nun, to keep constant watch over the God-fearing child, to discover whether this really is a miracle or a religious hoax. The Wonder is a clever novel, balancing vivid period detail with a tightly-wound narrative. Chillingly gothic and filled with narrative surprises, this book reels you in, fills you with questions and agonisingly sustains the suspense until the big reveal.

The Fat Artist And Other Stories

Benjamin Hale

Benjamin Hale is back following a successful debut, The Evolution Of Bruno Littlemore - a book that told the story of a chimpanzee who learns to speak English and develops a romantic relationship with a woman. This time, Hale has written a selection of short stories, but the surreal element that featured in his first novel remains a key theme. From an artist who nearly eats himself to death ('The Fat Artist') to the woman who accidentally feeds her baby hallucinogenics during a flight, these are stories about people amid, or on the brink of, panic. They're stories that start with the mundane and end in a very real sense of fear, whether they're on the run or on the cusp of the Aids crisis. Despite being a slightly unsettling collection of stories, they're fascinating tales that cover a huge range of characters, who will linger in your mind long after you've put down the book.

Precious And Grace

Alexander McCall Smith

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency stories couldn't be further from the current fashion for Scandi Noir if they tried. Set under sunny African skies in Botswana, there are no dead bodies - the main mystery is a Canadian woman wanting to trace her childhood home. Instead of forensic detail and chills, you get a gentle study of changing times in Botswana as traditions and the old way of life weaken. Philosophical musings into the nature of forgiveness also pepper the book. The secondary plot about the Fat Cattle Club scheme is a little underplayed as its denouement happens "off screen" and is reported simply, lacking the emotional involvement that you've invested to that point. But if you love the series, you'll be happy to take another wander with Mma Ramotswe taking pleasure in the joys of fat cakes with a cup of tea, as befitting a traditionally built lady. Though by the end, you may feel as though you wanted a little more plot and action.