Thud -- Terry Pratchett

Straight-as-a-die copper Sam Vimes tries to keep two warring factions apart in the latest adventure for the Ankh Morpork Watch.

The enemies are dwarves and trolls and Sam's officers include a vampire, werewolf and imp as well as a several smelly humans.

The result is a hilarious and heartwarming novel, one of Pratchett's best, as the Watchmen again face impossible odds.

On one level it's fantasy, on another it's a great story, sharp satire and telling exploration of racial tension, parenting and female bonding.

David Knights

Alan Furst -- Night Soldiers

Khristo Stoianev sees his brother kicked to death by strutting thugs in the Bulgaria of 1934 and recognises the growing threat of fascism.

Fleeing to Moscow he becomes a member of the Soviet Secret Intelligence service and is sent to work amidst the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. Yet news reaches him of Stalin's purges and he must flee for his life.

Furst has written an absorbing and historically detailed account of the horrors of post-war Europe and the fickle nature of politics.

Antony Silson

Wild Girls -- Diana Souhami

This biography of painter Romaine Brooks and socialite Natalie Barnes, two American expats in Paris, should be fascinating.

The lives of these two artistic, wealthy lesbians were unconventional and exciting.

However, Souhami seems overly preoccupied by their sexuality, and by minor details of the lives of those surrounding them.

The book is intriguing, but doesn't give enough information on her actual subjects. It also contains factual errors, and bizarre accounts of the author's own experiences. A disappointing book.

Elizabeth Sutcliffe