Pile by the Bed reviews Babel by RF Kuang a historical fantasy that takes on notions of Empire and colonialism through a unique linguisitc magic system.

Pile by the Bed reviews Willowman by Inga Simpson – a love letter to Australian cricket and its traditions.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Passenger, the first book from Cormac McCarthy for sixteen years full of beautiful and thoughtful passages but slightly less than the sum of its various exquisite parts.

Pile by the Bed reviews the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner The Netanyaus by Joshua Cohen a campus satire set in the late 1950s loosley based on a true story involving the familiy of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pile by the Bed reviews Essex Dogs by Dan Jones, debut historical fiction following a group of English soldiers at the start of the hundred years war between Britain and France.

Pile by the Bed reviews Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris, tense historical fiction set in the aftermath of the English Civil War and the restoration of Charles II.

Pile by the Bed reviews Gemini Falls by Sean Wilson, an Australian crime fiction debut set in country Victoria during the Great Depression.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz, a heartfelt and engaging novel full of likeably unlikeable characters that explores and comments on a range of aspects of modern life.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra, a multilayered character and incident filled historical novel set around a small American film studio in World War 2.

Pile by the Bed reviews Maror by Lavie Tidhar an underbelly look at the history of Israel bewteen the mid 1970s and the early 2000s in the vein of James Elroy. Recommended

Pile by the Bed reviews The Settlement by Jock Serong, the third of his trilogy of historical novels set around the Furneaux Island group in Australian Bass Strait.

Pile by the Bed reviews Dark Music by David Lagercrantz, the start of a new series featuring a Sherlock Holmes style detective duo and exploring the dark consequences of 9/11 and the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara an ambitious and skilful debut novel that charts the rise of a computer mogul from humble beginnings in the coconut industry through to a dystopian future,

Pile by the Bed reviews The Night Ship by Jess Kidd – a story which connects the 17th Century voyage and wreck of the Batavia on the Abrolhos Islands and the crayfishing industry on those islands in the late 1980s through the lives of two children.

Pile by the Bed reviews Jesustown by Paul Daley which tries to grapple with the ongoing impacts of Australian history.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Partisan by Patrick Worrall – a debut Cold War thriller with chess at its centre and roots back to World War 2.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley, historical fiction set in the 1960s and based on the true story of a Soviet radiation research facility.

Pile by the Bed reviews Ordinary Monsters (The Talents #1) by JM Miro – a tense Victorian-era fantasy involving children with powers and an existential threat to the world.

Pile by the Bed reviews May God Forgive by Alan Parks, the fifth book is in his gritty Harry McCoy series set in 1970s Glasgow.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a reimnagining of the HG Wells classic set in 19th Century Mexico.