BEST FOR … THRILLER FANS

Conviction by Denise Mina (Harvill Secker, £12.99)

Anna McDonald is obsessed with true crime podcasts. When her husband Hamish, suitcase in hand, announces he is leaving Anna for her best friend Estelle and taking their two daughters with them, her safe and predictable world implodes.

That isn't even the strangest thing to happen to Anna on this particular November morning in Glasgow. Distracting herself with a new podcast – a yacht that mysteriously sunk in the Mediterranean with multiple deaths – she realises that one of the victims is from her secret past.

Determined to unpick the murky events that led to his death, Anna embarks on a heady and dangerous adventure through the Highlands, glitzy south of France on to Venice and Paris. A whip-smart and galloping read.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena (Bantam Press, £12.99, published July 25)

How well do any of us know our neighbours? It's a thorny question, one which Shari Lapena – who has carved a reputation for serving up top-notch domestic suspense thrillers – brings to life with unsettling effect.

In a leafy, tight-knit neighbourhood an anonymous note is doing the rounds about a teenage boy who has been breaking into houses and snooping for fun. It appears innocuous enough but when a missing woman is found murdered, things crank up a notch.

As secret ties and illicit liaisons with the dead woman begin to surface with devastating effect, three couples face having their lives turned upside. What lengths will each go to when it comes to protecting their seemingly picture-perfect lives? A fast-paced plot packed with delicious twists.

The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood (Sphere, £12.99, published July 25)

As the sole adult survivor of a mass suicide among the cult in which she was raised, Romy finds herself in unfamiliar territory: alone and outside the walls of the only community she has ever known.

Survival takes on new meaning as she fights to keep herself and the life of her unborn child safe in a strange and dangerous new world. Who can Romy trust and who must she fear? And what horrors has she herself buried deep inside?

Buckle up and prepare to embark upon a dark, unnerving and helter-skelter journey. The Poison Garden is a captivating read that will stay with you long after you have closed its pages.

The Body Lies by Jo Baker (Doubleday, £12.99)

A young author-turned-English literature professor escapes London for a university post, seeking a fresh start away from the scene of a violent assault that upended her world.

She immerses herself in the rigours of academic life and single motherhood. Yet the remote countryside isn't quite the haven she had hoped, not least when a troubled student begins submitting chapters from a novel that blurs the lines between fiction and reality.

When the professor recognises herself as the ill-fated character in the book, a spine-tingling game of cat and mouse ensues. The Body Lies is a shrewdly layered thriller that unflinchingly tackles the quagmire of pressure, judgement and ever-present danger women navigate in their daily lives.

BEST FOR … SALVING THE SOUL

Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton, £20, published July 11)

David Nicholls, author of Starter For Ten and One Day, is a master of the bittersweet coming-of-age novel. He has a canny knack for capturing joy and angst, the tumultuous pain of friendship and unabashedly championing the downtrodden and awkward souls among us.

Sweet Sorrow is the story of a life-changing summer for 16-year-old Charlie Lewis. At the outset, things are unbearably bleak. Charlie's exams didn't go too well and his days bear the heavy burden of a father locked in the grip of depression.

Fran Fisher breezes into his world and, for the first time in a long while, Charlie feels hope. To win her heart, he must change everything about himself, not least joining a drama society and risking the ire of his friends, all while treading a poignant and precarious path towards adulthood.

After The End by Clare Mackintosh (Sphere, £12.99)

You may be familiar with Clare Mackintosh, the former police officer-turned-author who has penned a clutch of clever psychological thrillers such as I Let You Go, I See You and Let Me Lie.

Her latest novel is a marked departure from that genre yet every bit as compelling. It centres on Max and Pip, devoted parents who, when their young son Dylan is diagnosed with a brain tumour, face an unenviable and impossible choice – and they can't agree.

With echoes of Me Before You and My Sister's Keeper, After The End is a tender, immersive and thought-provoking read. Mackintosh has written from the heart: in 2006, she and her husband had to decide whether to keep their critically ill son alive or remove his life support.

READ MORE: Sir Paul McCartney on his late wife Linda's photography ahead of Glasgow exhibition

The Ten Loves Of Mr Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami (Granta, £12.99)

The enigmatic Mr Nishino is a man who is incorrigible, seductive, elusive, and fickle. Or so we learn as this intriguing tale unfolds, told from the perspective of the many women – a colleague, a chance encounter, the daughter of his one true love – who have found their lives intertwined with his.

It is a story of desire, envy, romantic mishap, star-crossed lovers, passion, courtship, infidelity, unrequited love and loneliness. Yet, rather than slavish devotion to an adored-but-unobtainable man, what emerges is a portrait of a man who is, at times, a slave to his own flaws.

Written by Hiromi Kawakami, the award-winning author of Strange Weather In Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop, and translated by Allison Markin Powell, it is published by Granta Books which brought us the brilliant Convenience Store Woman which featured in last year's Summer Reads.

BEST FOR … THE BEACH BAG

The Other Mrs Miller by Allison Dickson (Sphere, £12.99, published July 16)

Phoebe Miller doesn't venture out much, preferring to stay within the confines of the home she shares with an increasingly distant husband. Her days are spent idling by the pool, staving off boredom through a fug of wine and ice cream.

When a battered-looking blue car keeps showing up on her quiet cul-de-sac, she has an uneasy feeling the occupant may be watching her. But has no idea why. A welcome distraction arrives when a new family moves in across the street.

Bubbly and fun-loving neighbour Vicki and her handsome college-bound son Jake each provide much-needed companionship for Phoebe. But at what cost? A twisty suspense novel that will keep you guessing until its final pages.

Jailbirds: Lessons From A Women's Prison by Mim Skinner (Seven Dials, £16.99)

Mim Skinner spent three years working as an art teacher in a women's prison. If you want, she can reel off the statistics regarding re-offenders, suicide and jarring figures on how many of those incarcerated have been victims of more serious crime than those they've committed.

What makes Jailbirds so compelling, however, is the human stories of prison life. Like the woman who sneaked scissors from the classroom, not to stab a cellmate, but to give her pubic hair a quick trim in the toilet cubicle. Or three uses for coffee whitener: cheesecake, bread topper and glue.

Skinner's warmth and empathy radiates from the pages in this eye-opening read. Humbling, hopeful and wryly hilarious in equal measure, it serves as a powerful reminder about the importance that women's voices – even behind bars – deserve to be heard.

Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff (Trapeze, £14.99)

If you're not familiar with their work – err, where have you been? – Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff host the hugely popular true crime comedy podcast, My Favourite Murder, swapping gory tales as their 19 million listeners worldwide, aka "murderinos", avidly tune in.

Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered – which takes its title from their podcast sign-off – is an interesting hybrid format, part joint autobiography, part self-help manual, which draws on their life experiences including struggles with depression, eating disorders and addiction.

The duo – who bonded over a shared love of true crime documentary The Staircase at a Hallowe'en party – cover themes such as "Karen's Plan for When the Party's Finally Over" and "Georgia's Top Ten 'Holy Sh*t!' Moments in Therapy".

BEST FOR … SPORT

In Sunshine Or In Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope In The Troubles by Donald McRae (Simon & Schuster, £20)

A golden era of boxing in Ulster – one punctuated with names such as Barry McGuigan, Davy Larmour, Charlie Nash and Hugh Russell – is deftly captured by Donald McRae in a remarkable tale of hope and redemption.

At its heart is a gym in the New Lodge area of Belfast, right on the frontline of the sectarian divide, where Gerry Storey's Holy Family Boxing Club became a place that the Protestant and Catholic communities could come together through a shared love of the sport.

Despite widespread support, Storey still found himself the target of bomb attacks from those opposed to reconciliation. McRae follows Storey on his journeys to the Maze prison, where the trainer worked with prisoners serving life sentences from both Loyalist and Republican groups.

Magic Spanner: The World Of Cycling According To Carlton Kirby (Bloomsbury Sport, £12.99)

Cycling fans will likely be familiar with the high-octane and excitable tones of Carlton Kirby. The Eurosport commentator purveys a frank and forthright, albeit slightly, err, wandering commentary style as he relays the action from the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana.

In Magic Spanner, Kirby pulls back the curtain to reveal behind-the-scenes antics from cycling's Grand Tours, laying bare the hilarious, leftfield and downright bizarre moments that covering the sport brings, alongside oodles of expert analysis and witty anecdotes.

Think over-exuberant fans in lime green mankinis displaying "jiggling hirsute buttocks", the etiquette of "comfort breaks" and a tongue-in-cheek guide to "the dark side of cycling" from hair and helicopter "doping" to the sticky bottle and that famed magic spanner.

BEST FOR … ESCAPISM

Noel Streatfeild's Holiday Stories by Noel Streatfeild (Virago Modern Classics, £12.99)

This heart-warming collection of stories will stoke nostalgia for holidays from bygone years with tales of crime-solving adventures, unlikely friendships and fun-filled afternoons spent berry-picking, fly-fishing and decamped to the homes of doting grandparents.

Noel Streatfeild began writing children's books in 1931 after working in munitions factories and canteens during the First World War and later as an actor. She is the author of the beloved classic Ballet Shoes and delightful books about skating, circuses and stage life.

Holiday Stories follows on from a Christmas anthology published last year drawn from a series of forgotten stories only recently re-discovered among the late writer's papers. Originally written for annuals and magazines between the 1930s and 1970s, they will appeal to readers of all ages.

READ MORE: Sir Paul McCartney on his late wife Linda's photography ahead of Glasgow exhibition

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £14.99)

Claire Lombardo's impressive debut novel centres on a family with skeletons about to come rattling out of the closet. David and Marilyn Sorenson fell in love in the 1970s, their relationship described as "two people who emanated more love than it seemed like the universe would sanction."

The story shifts back and forth in time as David and Marilyn raise their four markedly different daughters, Wendy, Violet, Liza and Grace, in the Chicago suburbs. As Liza puts it: "It's a vast hormonal hellscape. A marathon of instability and hair products."

When a teenage boy given up for adoption 15 years earlier reappears into their lives, it throws open a Pandora's box filled with decades-old secrets and betrayals.

Something To Live For by Richard Roper (Orion, £12.99)

When you are surrounded by death it can be easy to forget how to live. That's the fate that befalls Andrew, a council worker who spends his days searching for next of kin and attending the funerals of the deceased who don't have any traceable friends or family.

On the surface, Andrew leads a happy life with the perfect wife and 2.4 children waiting for him at home. The reality couldn't be starker. And now it's time to change that.

Inspired by the work of real-life council workers who deal with arranging funerals for those in our society who have slipped through the cracks and die alone, Richard Roper's debut is heart-breaking, uplifting, funny and brimming with human kindness.

BEST FOR … MEMOIR

Just Another Mountain by Sarah Jane Douglas (Elliott & Thompson, £14.99)

Sarah Jane Douglas was 24 when she lost her mother to breast cancer in 1997. She vowed to honour a promise made to her late mother and keep going in the face of adversity.

Douglas sought solace in the formidable mountains of her native Scotland. By walking in her mother's footsteps, she was able shed the cloak of grief and make peace with a troubled past, while garnering the much-needed strength to carry on in the face of her own diagnosis 20 years later.

Honest, raw and beautifully written, this uplifting memoir is testament that in life there are times when there is nothing for it but to scale that mountain and often, despite your worst fears, the view from the top isn't half bad.

Close To Where The Heart Gives Out by Malcolm Alexander (Michael O'Mara, £16.99)

Malcolm Alexander upped sticks and moved with his family from suburban Glasgow to the wilds of Orkney to become the resident GP on the island of Eday.

They prepared "for an adventure that none of us really understood," he writes. "The haunting difference between working with a hospital, ambulances, colleagues all nearby, and working alone on an island with only a tenuous plane link to anywhere in an emergency."

That was the job on paper. Yet, as this fascinating memoir reveals, there was far more to it than that as he treated a steady stream of eclectic ailments and the occasional non-human patient, including a stricken harbour seal. An ode to island life in all its glorious foibles and heart-soaring delights.

Lowborn by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus, £14.99)

Kerry Hudson visited the towns of her childhood to retrace her past and examine what it means to be poor in Britain today. The result was a Lowborn, a searing memoir which lays bare the dehumanising effects of poverty.

Hudson started life in Aberdeen but was uprooted time and again (often as her mother followed unsuitable, sometimes abusive, boyfriends around the country) to Canterbury, Airdrie, North Shields, Coatbridge and Great Yarmouth.

Her mother struggled with depression. Her father was American and mostly absent. Hudson bears the scars of adverse childhood experiences carried into adulthood: emergency foster care, a sexual abuse child protection inquiry, rape and two abortions.

But it is also a story about resilience. "These stories need to be told because society wishes to look in the other direction," writes Hudson. Don't look away, read this book.

BEST FOR … LIFE LAUNDRY

Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson (Harper 360, £18.99)

What do you need when it feels like the world is going to hell in a handbasket? A hefty dose of pragmatic advice. Step forward Mark Manson whose previous book The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*** (yup, he likes the sweary words) saw him take on the mantle as anti-hero of pop psychology.

"We are a culture in need not of peace or prosperity or new hood ornaments for our electric cars," he writes in latest offering Everything Is F*cked. "We have all that. We are a culture in need of something far more precarious." That ever elusive totem? Hope.

Manson rails against what he describes as "this couch-potato-pundit era of tweetstorms and outrage porn" and suggests there are other ways we can connect with the world around us. Provocative and no-holds-barred, it might just make you stop and take stock.

READ MORE: Sir Paul McCartney on his late wife Linda's photography ahead of Glasgow exhibition

Let That Sh*t Go by Nina Purewal and Kate Petriw (Harper 360, £9.99)

Yup, it's another one with a swear word in the title. Do bear with me. Especially if you can relate to having an ever-growing to-do list, a perpetual guilty feeling about not spending enough time with loved ones or a nagging existential dread about a big deadline looming at work.

Life is stressful but is doesn't have to be, according to Nina Purewal and Kate Petriw. The answer? Mindfulness. Granted, it has been a buzzword for a few years now, but ironically many of us are too busy or bogged down in mundanities to give it a whirl.

Let That Sh*t Go features more than 100 tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into our everyday lives, stealing moments of much-needed calm amid the chaos. If you are prone to deluding yourself on a regular basis that "next week will be better", then this is the book to pack in your beach bag.