'The Five', Hallie Rubenhold. This is a moving and I'm inclined to say necessary book. The murderer of these women is almost entirely absent, the focus being on their lives rather than their deaths. These are tragic stories, stripped of the sensationalism of Ripper lore.

'The Spy and the Traitor', Ben MacIntyre. The Harris book above is a novel that reads like history - this one is the opposite, telling the extraordinary true story of Russian double agent Oleg Gordievsky. Always fascinating, and utterly gripping in its later stages.

'The Irish Assassins', Julie Kavanagh. It's 'about' the Phoenix Park murders of 1882, but really much more than that, being an excellently told account of the Land War, the career of Parnell, and more besides.

'Los Alamos', Joseph Hanon. Useful prep for seeing the Oppenheimer movie a couple of months later! An excellent thriller with a strong sense of the place and time.

'The Go-Between', LP Hartley. This had been on my shelf for very many years, and I just never got around to it. I admit I finally started to read it more out of a sense of duty rather than genuine enthusiasm, but it drew me in very quickly.

'An Officer & A Spy', Robert Harris. The story of the Dreyfus case, as seen through the eyes of Georges Picquart, the intelligence officer who uncovered the truth. Great story-telling.

'Hild', Nicola Griffith. Marvellous novel following a young girl and her place in the shifting politics of 7th-century Britain. As good as Dorothy Dunnett, which is the highest praise possible, isn't it?

'Razorblade Tears', SA Crosby. I have a lot of favourite crime authors with big back-catalogues still to get through, but Crosby is new to me. A thoughtful exploration of homophobia balanced with a very dark revenge story.

'One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time', Craig Brown. Brilliantly, and often hilariously, captures the mythological significance of the Beatles - not at all a straightforward telling of their story but fascinating on every page.

'Watership Down', Richard Adams. Never read it previously, and never saw the film(s), but had the impression the '78 film was traumatic to children everywhere. As a result, the tension mounted throughout the book as I waited for characters to die horribly...