The author’s narrative choices will not be to the taste of some readers but he has packed a pleasing amount of knowledge and understanding into his concise work

A critique of Communist triumph and its human cost, from the civil war to early statehood

Tracing the creation of Europe’s first designated urban quarter and the bleak reality for those who lived there

Novel speaks to our current moment of data-harvesting taken to extremes and the kind of dud seances which Big Tech proports to offer via its ghoulish ‘grief avatar business’

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent; Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce; Maneater by Ellie Graves; The City in Year Zero by Michael Russell; and Astronaut! by Oana Aristide

Author’s descriptive talent and prose anchor the story in place, a vast sheep station in remote Western Australia

Acclaimed author Brandon Taylor’s new novel is less romance novel and more dissection of art in the age of identity politics

Author expertly arranges a huge range of characters and locations in absorbing story about Roger Casement

A riveting ride both on and off the pitch, beautifully crafted and impressively researched

A dual examination of the decline of imperial Russia and the backdrop against which Rasputin’s influence was enabled

Diaries are notable as the internal record of a thinking, feeling person behind the icon

These strange, yet strangely familiar short stories encapsulate the distinctive Irishness of the rural west

Beneath the Cedar Tree by Frank Shouldice; How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley; Wise: Finding purpose, meaning and wisdom beyond the midpoint of life by Frank Tallis

Rory O’Connor: To Defend the Republic shows why Irish republican deserves recognition for his turbulent life

Inspired by Rebecca, this novel explores themes of duty, reputation and female autonomy

Allen examines ageing, illness and the enduring light of Heaney’s poetic world

What’s most striking about a book ostensibly about celebrating women’s freedom is its utter joylessness

In Costello’s novel the protagonist looks back on her life in an effort to determine ‘why we do what we do, or tolerate what we tolerate, or love who we love’

Clíodhna O’Sullivan’s debut novel, Her Hidden Fire, and new books from Kristin Dwyer, Emiko Jean, Billy Ray and Luke Palmer

New releases cover examination of early economic nation building, the discoverer of DNA helix and an on-point spoof of contemporary culture