This week's bookcase includes reviews of A Line Made By Walking by Sara Baume, City Of Friends by Joanna Trollope, Ragdoll by Daniel Cole and Felix The Railway Cat by Kate Moore

A Line Made By Walking by Sara Baume is published in hardback by William Heinemann, priced £12.99 (ebook £9.49). Available now

Sara Baume's work does not rely on narrative. Her writing flourishes because instead of depending on plot devices, it takes time to thoroughly explore the minds of its protagonists. Her first work, Spill Summer Falter Wither, focused on the mind of a man who socialised predominately with his dog. Her second, A Line Made By Walking, focuses on that of Frankie, a young artist who, failing to master city life, retreats to her deceased grandmother's bungalow in the countryside. Whilst there, Frankie finds her days pass her by, achieving very little, but eventually she begins to seek comfort and artistic inspiration in the nature that surrounds her. Baume's sophomore effort is a masterclass in the power of prose. Frankie's depression and insecurities unfold in the most three-dimensional of ways. They do not feel like plot devices, but instead permeate the novel as they do life. A brilliant work that will likely resonate with anyone who's ever felt a little lost in their twenties and beyond.

9/10

(Review by Sam Prance)

FICTION

City Of Friends by Joanna Trollope is published in hardback by Mantle, priced £18.99 (ebook £7.12). Available February 23

Emotional turmoil - often hidden beneath a facade of brave faces and stiff-upper-lip normality - is among the trademarks of Joanna Trollope's contemporary work, whether it's affairs of the heart, family issues, bereavement, betrayal and a variety of social dilemmas. Her 20th novel centres on four ambitious female friends who have shared joys and heartache since university and are now nearing their fifties and in high-flying careers. But the dynamics of the group change when one of them is sacked and there follows a series of complications arising from betrayals, interwoven through both their professional and private lives, which threaten the future of the friendships. Told in chapters focusing on each of the four protagonists individually, Trollope's work cleverly tackles contemporary issues and raises the age-old question: can women have it all? Her observations are as astute as ever, as female friendships, tricky teenagers, fractured families, elderly relatives and workplace issues are all thrown into the mix. She makes an excellent case for the viewpoint that having an enjoyable job can save a woman's sanity.

8/10

(Review by Hannah Stephenson)

Ragdoll by Daniel Cole is published in hardback by Trapeze, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99). Available February 23

In a horrific turn of events, a body is found with the mutilated parts of six victims sewn together like a puppet, dubbed the 'ragdoll' by the media. Detective William "Wolf" Fawkes is allocated to the case with his ex-partner Detective Emily Baxter. Fawkes must identify the six victims - but events get even more complicated when the killer issues a "hit list" of six people, and the dates on which they'll die - and the last name on the list is Fawkes himself. This is a real rollercoaster of a ride and a deliciously dark thriller as time quickly passes and the police flounder to find answers in this mad, twisted investigation. This novel was initially a rejected TV screenplay for the author, who has now effectively turned it into a enthralling tale that will keep you hooked until the very last page. The writing and descriptions are wonderfully graphic and the characters are larger than life, multifaceted, flawed and certainly leave their mark on the reader. Definitely worth a read!

8/10

(Review by Heather Doughty)

Under The Almond Tree by Laura McVeigh is published in hardback by Two Roads, priced £17.99 (ebook £11.99). Available February 23

"We don't choose the stories we tell," writes Laura McVeigh in Under The Almond Tree's afterword, "they choose us." The story that has chosen this Irish-born Londoner concerns a family of Afghani refugees fleeing the wreckage of their country following the Taliban's uprising. Seen from the viewpoint of Samar, a young girl with a passion for Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, they eventually find sanctuary in two cabins of the Trans-Siberian Express, travelling back and forward on the line, making a home of perpetual movement. In her former work, McVeigh was Executive Director of PEN International, and her belief in the power of literature to transform lives shines through. A novel look at displacement and belonging, and of how we make sense of the world through story, it falls short through McVeigh never quite managing to believably bridge the gap between her own world and Samar's.

5/10

(Review by Adam Weymouth)

NON-FICTION

Felix The Railway Cat by Kate Moore is published in hardback by Michael Joseph, priced £12.99 (ebook £9.49). Available February 23

Cover-based book-judgers rejoice: here we have a cat, in a railway porter's hat. Felix is the Huddersfield station's Senior Pest Controller, and Kate Moore's account of her Facebook-fuelled rise to international stardom expands on this photo in high spirits and good faith, with royalties supporting a national cancer charity. Felix's arrival as an objectively adorable kitten and subsequent winning over of staff and passengers is a success story of treats, pigeons and extensive napping for cat and reader alike, the lives of those lucky enough to serve alongside her forming an inoffensive backdrop of human highs and lows, captured through railway's agreeably rose-tinted lenses. Hearts may or may not be warmed: train nostalgists can reminisce of an era when station mogs were not uncommon (and passengers weren't called 'customers') while the rest of us might marvel at how potently social media and photos of cats unite the masses, gently sedating us against the next post down... Go with the cover on this one in complete confidence.

5/10

(Review by Michael Anderson)

Megatech: Technology In 2050 is published in paperback by Economist Books, priced £15 (ebook £4.74). Available now

Executive editor of The Economist, Daniel Franklin edits and writes the introduction to this collection of essays from some of our most highly respected scientists, business leaders, academics, journalists and science-fiction authors. Each discusses the big technology trends which shape our lives and the future of the planet in the decades ahead, while asking what policies we might need to make the most of opportunities ahead, but also to tackle environmental, economic and social challenges. Contributors include Melinda Gates, co-founder and chairperson of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Economist deputy editor and head of digital strategy, Tom Standage. Another is scientist and entrepreneur Robert Carlson, who examines how a research arm of the US Defence Department is already experimenting with ways to hook up the human brain directly with the internet. The result is a series of tantalising glimpses into all our futures, but there are also chilling reminders of what could go wrong, both in terms of unintended consequences and deliberate manipulation.

7/10

(Review by Gill Oliver)

CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK

I Don't Want Curly Hair by Laura Ellen Anderson is published in paperback by Bloomsbury, priced £6.99 (ebook £4.68). Available now

All girls (and let's face it, most boys too) grow up with bits they don't like. For me, like the corkscrew-bonced narrator in Lauren Ellen Anderson's charming new picture book, it was my curly hair. "It's messy and silly and just plain UNFAIR!" she moans, adding the mantra for all curlytops around the world: "I want my hair STRAIGHT. I want my hair... smooth. I want it to flow through the air when I move." So she tries everything - books, balloons, sticky tape - to tame her frizzy locks, before meeting a straight-haired girl, who (guess what?) wants BIG hair. And together, the new friends discover they actually have more fun when they like their hair. Anderson's cute and brilliantly funny illustrations make our protagonist bounce off the page and at it's core, is a message of learning to accept our looks, however old we are.

8/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

BEST SELLERS FOR WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 18

HARDBACKS

1. The Midnight Gang by David Walliams

2. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

3. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

4. Deliciously Ella With Friends by Ella Mills Woodward

5. Double Down: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

6. James Martin's French Adventure by James Martin

7. Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany

8. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

9. Quantum Mechanics: A Ladybird Expert Book by Jim Al-Khalili

10. Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby

(Compiled by Waterstones)

PAPERBACKS

1. The Ashes Of London by Andrew Taylor

2. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain

3. The Romanovs: 1613 - 1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore

4. Who Let The Gods Out? by Maz Evans

5. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

6. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

7. Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

8. Lion: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley

9. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

10. Different Class by Joanne Harris

(Compiled by Waterstones)

EBOOKS

1. Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil

2. Sister Sister by Sue Fortin

3. Postcards From The Edge by Carrie Fisher

4. The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott

5. Mad Love by Nick Spalding

6. The Breakdown by BA Paris

7. Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer

8. Who's That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane

9. Death Sentence by Damien Boyd

10. A Boy Made Of Blocks by Keith Stuart

(Compiled by amazon.co.uk)

ends