Pure, unadulterated literary escapism featuring giant killer robots and the looming end of mankind. In a word: unputdownable

Kick-ass, one-on-one robot action combines with mind-bending scientific and philosophical speculation

Superb

This year's The Martian. So good and so eerie

A sheer blast from start to finish

A winning combination of briskly paced action and futuristic dystopia

A riveting story of betrayal, corruption and dark secrets, set against the backdrop of a divided Britain

A tight and compelling thriller

Rubin constructs a tantalising alternative world with 1950s Britain riven apart by its own version of the Berlin Wall - and all because the D-Day landings failed. Against this dystopian nightmare, the author overlays a murder mystery that's sure to appeal to fans of SS-GB, The Man in the High Castle, and Fatherland

A gripping murder mystery set in an alternative 1950s Britain. Rubin's London, split between American and Soviet zones after a disastrous World War Two, is vividly realised and his story is elegantly constructed. One not to miss

In the great tradition of SS-GB and Fatherland, Rubin's alternative-1950s murder mystery takes an ingenious premise - the Americans and the Soviets have carved up Britain between them after rescuing the country from the Nazis - and makes it come alive through sheer storytelling skill

A twisting murder mystery combined with a chillingly plausible alternative history of a divided Cold War London. Brilliant.

Liberation Square is a superb and intelligent piece of alternate history. By turns gripping, terrifying and trenchant, it is a remarkably assured debut making Rubin's name one to watch out for in the crowded crime landscape

A brilliantly researched, shockingly plausible thriller set in an alternative Britain

A stunningly plotted debut, that drags you at break-neck-speed through a nightmare alternative world that is eerily realistic. A must read

The ending is devastating

Unsettling, thought-provoking and beautifully written, you won’t be able to get this out of your head

Jones’s style is immediate and lively and she is particularly good at dialogue, which she uses a great deal, often to advance the fast-paced plot

The Snakes unfolds in clean, functional prose and Jones has a lot to say about the way we live now

Determined to escape the nine-to-five monotony, Bea and Dan head to France to visit Bea’s wayward brother Alex, who runs a hotel where the only guests are snakes in the attic. The peace is shattered when Bea’s parents arrive, bringingconflict and misery. From a sedate start, Jones deftly builds the tension to a horrific and powerful conclusion.

Jones’s fifth novel is a fantastic read as a thriller, but where Jones excels, is in her microscopic yet compassionate scrutiny of relationships: the unconditional doting of a flawed sibling; the sickening toxicity of a vicious but powerful parent; the watchful care and explosions of irritation between spouses

Deliciously wicked... the perfect antidote to a relaxing summer's day... hypnotic -- like staring into the serpent's eyes just before it strikes

Both a cautionary tale and a pitch-black race-to-the-end thriller

Sadie Jones is a talented writer. She is able to burrow down into the heart of feelings and yet does so in a matter of fact way. The ending shocked me… [The Snakes is] the sort of read I could spend ages thinking about what lies beneath the story of greed, wealth, jealousy and flawed family relationships

It's no mean feat to find something fresh in the crowded thriller field, but Downing pulls off an indisputable triumph with My Lovely Wife. Exemplary writing and outstanding pacing confirm Downing's talent, but it's her deliciously depraved characters that kept me flying through the pages. Couldn't get enough of this subversive love-gone-sideways tale!

Deliciously dark and twisted... It's a remarkable achievement, full stop.

Best new books to read this March

A highly original and dark look at the shifting power structure in a modern marriage. . . A funny, smart book

Darkly witty and strangely plausible, it's a read-in-one-sitting firecracker of a thriller, laced with explosive twists

A marital, psychological thriller with darkly comedic undertones

Bold and brilliant

This is a ringer of a yarn, shot through with enough tooth-clenching moments to make you have your dentist on speed dial

With a twisty plot that will leave you gasping, this deliciously dark thriller is on a par with Gone Girl

One of the best thrillers I've ever read

I loved The Chalk Man, but The Taking of Annie Thorne is even better, creepier and more addictive! I was so creeped out I had to stop reading until my husband came home one night! Brilliant stuff - well done, C. J. Tudor!

The Hot List

Following on from C J Tudor's successful debut, comes a novel about bullying, cruelty and deceit. . . Tudor keeps the novel moving at a fast pace

A Stephen King style thriller that will have you transfixed and submerged in the entanglement of the twisting plot. This book kept me intrigued all the way to the very end

Crime meets psychological suspense meets out-and-out horror. From the stomach-churning first chapter to the grand guignol ending that is as shocking as it is surprising, Tudor racks up the nastiness . . . Another hit.

Matches Stephen King for creepiness. A must-read for horror fans

Creepy beyond words. Just like Stephen King, the fact that Tudor's characters are so believable makes the events even creepier