‘By Your Side’ by Ruth Jones

Hardback, Bantam, £22

The joyful and life-affirming new novel from the BAFTA-winning co-writer of Gavin and Stacey and the bestselling author of Love Untold.

Linda Standish has one last mission before she retires from her role in the Unclaimed Heirs Unit.

As she arrives at a remote Scottish island, hoping to resolve the case of Levi Norman, she discovers that connections and communities can be complicated.

One chapter is ending for Linda, but an unexpected new one is beginning.

Bursting with all the heart and humour that has made Ruth’s name as a screenwriter and author, By Your Side is a joyful celebration of friendship, love and community.

‘The Buried City’ by Gabriel Zuchtriegel

Hardback, Hodder Press, £22

A vast area of Pompeii is being excavated for the first time, revealing astonishing insights into how people really lived.

In this revelatory new history, director of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel shares the untold stories from a world frozen in time.

There are unmade beds, dishes left drying, abandoned tools, bodies embracing with love and fear.

There are captivating works of art: lifelike portraits, exquisite frescos and mosaics, an extraordinary sculpture of a sleeping boy, curled up under a blanket that's too small.

The author offers a detailed reconstruction of city life and the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii on August 24, 79 CE.