Pile by the Bed reviews The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, a rollicking historical crime novel with possible supernatural elements and a tip of the hat to Sherlock Holmes.

Pile by the Bed reviews Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson, a book that follows the lives of multiple generations of an Aboriginal family living in rural NSW.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Burning Island by Jock Serong, set in the early days of the colonisation of Australia and sequel to 2018’s Preservation.

Pile by the Bed reviews V2 by Robert Harris, a novel which looks at the development and use of the V2 rocket in World War 2 and the attempts to prevent V2 attacks on London.

Pile by the Bed reviews A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville – her fourth exploration of the early days of the colony of Sydney, this one through the eyes of Elizabeth Macarthur.

Pile by the Bed reviews Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell a joyful look at the late 1960s music scene which can stand alone but has plenty of connections to other Mitchell works.

Pile by the Bed reviews Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia which true to its title is a gothic horror thriller set in the mountains of Mexico in the early 1950s.

Pile by the Bed reviews Desire Lines by Felicity Volk an Australian romance that spans the second half of the Twentieth Century

Pile by the Bed reviews The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi, an assured and unique debut novel set in an alternate Elizabethan England.

Pile by the Bed reviews By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar, a profane, violent enjoyable take on the Arthurian legend.

Pile by the Bed reviews How Much of These Hills Is Gold the debut novel by C Pam Zhang which gives a new perspective on the American gold rush and the myths of the West which challenges views of race, gender and class.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley. Steampunk sequel to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street set in late 19th Century Japan.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel which explores the impact of the global financial crisis on a range of disparate characters.

Pile by the Bed reviews Our Dark Secret, a dark coming of age tale by Jenny Quintana

Pile by the Bed reviews The Slaughterman’s Daughter, a wild ride across 19th century Poland by Israeli writer Yaniv Iczkovits

Pile by the Bed reviews House on Endless Waters by Israeli author Emuna Elon. The book explores the fate of the Jews of Holland in World War II and in particular the hiding of children to save them from transportation.

Pile by the Bed’s 2016 review of Natasha Pulley’s steampunk fantasy debut The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

Pile by the Bed reviews Shepherd by Catherine Jinks, a book which uses convict era Australia as the setting for a compulsive cat and mouse thriller.

Pile by the Bed reviews Greenwood by Michael Christie – a compulsively readable, beautifully observed, deeply felt and rich multigenerational family saga

Pile by the Bed reviews A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes, a slightly magically realist romance of sorts that takes as its jumping off point Jamaican independence.