5 new books to read this week
This week’s bookcase includes reviews of Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins and Dissolution by Nicholas Binge.
Suzanne Collins returns with a blockbuster Hunger Games novel…
Fiction
Dissolution by Nicholas Binge is published in hardback by HarperVoyager, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99). Available March 27
What if the mind of someone you love, lost to dementia, held the key to saving the world? In Dissolution, Maggie visits her husband, Stanley, in a care home, only to discover that his fading memories contain secrets that could change everything. Hassan, a mysterious and eerie figure, visits her and convinces her to enter Stanley’s mind, unlocking his past to retrieve vital clues that could save the world. But can she trust him? Maggie is a strong, determined protagonist you root for from the start. As she fights to uncover the truth, she also faces the emotional pull of seeing Stanley as he once was. Blending sci-fi with romance, Dissolution echoes The Time Traveler’s Wife, weaving love, science, and fate into a gripping narrative. An emotional and thought-provoking read, Dissolution is a powerful exploration of memory, resilience, and the strength of love. You will be gripped right up until the end.
8/10
Review by Jacqueline Ling
Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley is published in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £14.99 (ebook £6.99). Available March 27
When Justine Stone starts to uncover the bad blood in her family, it threatens her career as a high-flying barrister, her marriage and her sanity. After leaving her hometown 18 years ago, her life is on the up, living in London, winning court cases and devoted to her husband. She’s excited to be given her first murder case – a horrific double killing of a middle-aged couple in their own home – but then realises the suspect is a former boyfriend. Should she take the case, or simply try to unearth the truth about her ex, who she’s convinced is innocent? A cryptic cry for help from her brother complicates her life, and sends her back to her roots to face the memory of a night of terror she’s been trying to forget, as well as new horrors about the death of her father and secrets her mother has kept locked away. The author has been a literary agent for a decade, but her debut novel proves she is an accomplished addition to the ranks of psychological thriller writers.
8/10
Review by Alan Jones
The Vipers by Katy Hays is published in hardback by Bantam, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99). Available March 27
Katy Hays was strong out of the dock when she released her dark academia novel, The Cloisters. The Vipers is equally as dark. At the heart of this thriller is the Lingate family; a tightly wound clan filled with whispers, secrets and death. Playwright Sarah died on the island of Capri 30 years ago, in an accident that rocked the family. Every year at the same time the Lingates return to the island with Helen, Sarah’s daughter, whose every action has been controlled by the family name. This year when they arrive there is a mysterious gift, a necklace that once belonged to Helen’s mother. Who sent this item from the past? What do they know about the Lingates? Is there more to what happened on Capri? Hays lays out stories and memories, while time becomes a knot of confusion, and things quickly and satisfyingly unravel in the final moments.
7/10
Review by Rachel Howdle
Non-fiction
Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold is published in hardback by Doubleday, priced £25 (ebook £9.99). Available March 27
Following the extraordinary success of The Five, which looked at the women murdered by Jack the Ripper, Hallie Rubenhold has taken on another of Britain’s most notorious crimes – Dr Crippen’s murder of his wife in 1910. As with The Five, Rubenhold focuses on the women involved in the case, not only the victim – Belle Elmore – but her friends who played a major role in bringing the crime to the attention of the police. Mixed in with a gripping account of the case itself is plenty of fascinating social history on the role of women at the turn of the 20th century, and the world of medicine, homeopathy and snake oil salesmen embodied by Crippen himself. The result is a novel and interesting approach to the subject, taking it beyond true crime.
9/10
Review by Christopher McKeon
Children’s book of the week
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is published in hardback by Scholastic, priced £19.99 (ebook £9.49). Available now
The highly anticipated fifth Hunger Games book is here and it’s all about Haymitch Abernathy. The chaotic yet loveable character was first introduced to us in the original Hunger Games novel, but what’s his story? What did his games look like and what turned him into an alcoholic in the future? Sunrise on the Reaping is Haymitch’s story of love, loss and the battle against evil. As well as having to survive the Hunger Games (which we know he wins), a young Haymitch is forced to navigate a world of media propaganda. He’s eager to stand against the Capitol and President Snow, but uprisings take time. Collins tells us that change doesn’t happen overnight. In this instalment, we’re able to make sense of characters we met in previous novels and discover that the rebellion began long before we met Katniss Everdeen.
9/10
Review by Maryam Munir
CHARTS
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 22
HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne
2. Dream Count by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie
3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
4. The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas
5. Faithbreaker:The Fallen Gods Trilogy by Hannah Kaner
6. Three Days in June by Anna Tyler
7. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
8. Pagans by James Alistair Henry
9. Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
10. Universality by Natasha Brown
(Compiled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. Spring:The Story of a Season by Michel Morpurgo
2. Careless People: A story of where I used to work by Sarah Wynn-Williams
3. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins
4. The Best of the Hairy Bikers, by Hairy Bikers
5. In the Hide:How the Natural World Saved My Life by Gordon Buchanan
6. The Art and Making of Arcane by Elisabeth Vincentelli
7. Easy Air Fryer by Jamie Oliver
8. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
9. The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne Sullivan
10. The Doctor’s Kitchen: Healthy High Protein by Dr Rupy Aujla
(Compiled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NONFICTION)
1. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
3. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
4. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
5. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
6. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
7. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
8. Detective Sebastian Clifford by Sally Rigby
9. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
10. The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
(Compiled by Audible)
The Press Association
Latest posts by The Press Association (see all)
- Actor Richard Chamberlain dies aged 90 - March 30, 2025
- 5 new books to read this week - March 26, 2025
- 6 things a physio wishes people over 60 would stop doing - March 25, 2025
- NHS reminder to 7.5m people as Covid-19 jab booking system opens - March 25, 2025
- The truth about cholesterol – what you need to know - March 25, 2025
