THE BEST NEW FICTION

Still Life Sarah Winman

Fourth Estate £16.99 In Second World War Italy, two chance encounters shape the fate of cockney soldier Ulysses Temper, eventually taking him to 1950s Florence where he builds a life for himself. Along for the ride are an old man who talks to trees, a child they call ‘the Kid’, and an Amazonian parrot named Claude. Teeming with unforgettable characters and oozing atmosphere, it’s a joyous, summery ode to love, art and poetry, to wild bets, E. M. Forster and sharp dressing.

Hephzibah Anderson

The Fortune Men Nadifa Mohamed

Viking £14.99 In 1952, Cardiff’s Tiger Bay area is a last-chance saloon for seamen and refugees from across the world. When a Polish shopkeeper is savagely murdered, suspicion falls on Mahmood Mattan, a Somali gambler married to a Welsh woman. The evidence is thin, but it may be enough to hang him. Based on real events, Mohamed’s novel is panoramic in its scope and rich in period atmosphere, vividly tracing the desperate lives of the victim and the accused.

Anthony Gardner

The Startup Wife Tahmima Anam

Canongate £14.99 Newlyweds Asha and Cyrus create an app – We Are Infinite – that provides an internet platform for creating non-religious rituals. It’s a resounding success but raises interesting moral dilemmas, while the elevation of charismatic Cyrus to messiah status creates trouble in their marriage. Anam’s fourth novel is a smart, savvy satire on social media and the tech scene that scores some palpable hits but fails to convince in its depiction of human relationships. Simon Humphreys

One Way Street Trevor Wood

Quercus £18.99 Wood’s much-admired debut, The Man On The Street, introduced Jimmy Mullen, a homeless, traumatised veteran turned unofficial detective. This powerful sequel begins months later with Jimmy now living in a Newcastle hostel, trying to keep his nose clean. But when a string of drug-using kids start dying in mysterious ways, he feels compelled to investigate. Wood brings humanity and a vital dash of humour to his portrait of life on the mean streets of Tyneside. John Williams