Pile by the Bed reviews Widowland by CJ Carey a thriller set in an alternative 1950s in which Germany rules Britain and women are second class citizens.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Talk to Me by TC Boyle’s 18th novel, this one dealing compassionately and empathetically with issues of animal exploitation, experimentation and ethics.

Pile by the Bed reviews Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour a pointed, redemptive take down of the capitalist dream machine.

Pile by the Bed reviews Hades, Argentina by Daniel Loedel a magical realist trip back into the dark days of Argentine military rule.

Pile by the Bed reviews How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina – a fast paced, acidly observed romp through the highs and lows of Delhi.

Pile by the Bed reviews All That I Remember About Dean Cola by Tania Chandler, a tough but compassionate story of a woman dealing with mental illness and a deep seated past trauma.

Pile by the Bed reviews Day Zero by C Robert Cargill – a prequel to his robopocalypse novel Sea of Rust.

Pile by the Bed reviews Falling the debut thriller by TJ Newman in which a pilot and his crew have to try and thwart terrorists who have blackmailed him by kidnapping his family.

Pile by the Bed reviews Widow’s Island a stand-alone thriller by LA Larkin that delves into issues of cyber-trolling and climate change.

Pile by the Bed reviews Still, a debut Australian crime novel set in Darwin in the 1960s.

Pile by the Bed reviews Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, a retelling of the Greek myth of Ariadne and going both behind and beyond the well known story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Pile by the Bed reviews Northern Spy by Flynn Berry, a thriller that explores the unresolved tensions in Ireland.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Texicalaan #2) – a worthy sequel to her 2020 Hugo Award Winning debut A Memory Called Empire.

Pile by the Bed reviews Second Place by Rachel Cusk – an rish exploration of life, art, parenthood and gender.

Pile by the Bed reviews Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka (translated by Sam Malissa) – a comically violent thriller full of twists, turns, philosophy and a cast of bizarre but fascinating characters.

Pile by the Bed reviews Like Flies From Afar by K Ferrari – dark crime fiction in translation from Argentina.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Missing by Dirk Kurbjuweit (translated by Imogen Taylor) a fictionalised account of the hunt for the Butcher of Hannover.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton’s debut which explores issues of racism, gender relations, privilege and entitlement in the context of the story of a pair of 1970s music maker.

Pile by the Bed reviews The April Dead by Alan Parks, the fourth book in his Harry McCoy crime series set in 1970s Glasgow.

Pile bv the Bed reviews The Beautiful Ones, a rerelease of Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s 2017 telenovella-style romance with a touch of fantasy