‘Sleepers In The Snow’ by Joanne Harris
Hbk, Gollanz, £22
Joanne Harris delivers a quietly devastating and atmospheric tale that blends the creeping unease of a ghost story with the emotional weight of dementia’s slow erasure. Set on a snow‑swept moor, the novel centres on Kirkhill, a lonely house crouched beneath a pylon, humming with memories that refuse to stay buried. After a painful divorce, the new occupant arrives seeking solitude and renewal.
At first, the moor seems to offer exactly that - its stark beauty, shifting seasons, and the remnants of the previous owners’ belongings create a cocoon of stillness and comfort. Yet as winter deepens, the house’s silence begins to feel oppressive rather than peaceful.
Animals behave oddly, shadows linger too long, and the sense of being watched grows impossible to ignore.
When the occupant discovers the former owners’ diaries, the truth behind Kirkhill’s unsettling atmosphere begins to surface: a tragedy soaked into its walls, one that blurs the line between haunting and memory.
‘A History of the World in Ten Wars’ by Terry Deary
Hbk, Bantam, £22
Terry Deary returns with another irreverent, sharp‑witted romp through history in A History of the World in Ten Wars, a book that asks what conflict has really taught us - and why humanity seems determined to keep repeating the same mistakes.
With his trademark comic flair, Deary whisks readers through ten pivotal wars, revealing not only the strategies and blunders that shaped them, but also the surprising innovations and absurdities that emerged along the way.
From the moment the ancient Greeks finally stopped fighting each other long enough to unite, to the Mongols’ unexpectedly sophisticated supply‑chain tactics, Deary delights in exposing the quirks behind the chaos.
Packed with odd facts, sly humour and genuinely insightful commentary, this whirlwind tour shows how warfare has moulded societies, technologies and global politics.