Recommended books

Dr Haggard's Disease by Patrick McGrath, Viking, pounds 14.99. An enigmatic, twisted love story, set in pre-blitz Britain, that burns off the page. Review by Anthony Quinn, 8 May.

May the Lord in His Mercy be Kind to Belfast by Tony Parker, Cape, pounds 16.99. Brilliantly crafted interviews with the people of Belfast, both touching and depressing. Review by Robert Winder, 4 June.

A River Sutra by Gita Mehta, Heinemann, pounds 9.99. Fine and lyrical fan of stories with a mystical edge set on a holy Indian river. Review by Natasha Walter, 5 June.

Cruel and Unusual by Patricia D Cornwell, Little, Brown, pounds 14.99. Tense and bloodstained detective story from the mortician's slab. Interview by Amanda Craig, 10 July.

The Wine Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian, HarperCollins, pounds 12.95. Enthralling continuation of a much-admired novel-sequence about 18th-century seafarers. Interview by Peter Guttridge, 10 July.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, Secker & Warburg, pounds 12.99. Sharp and funny novel about a 10- year-old trapped in an uncosy boyhood. Review by Giles Smith, 26 June.

Life's Dominion by Ronald Dworkin, HarperCollins, pounds 17.50. Learned and judicious essay about abortion, the law and the meaning of life. Review by Conor Gearty, 12 June.

And when did you last see your father? by Blake Morrison. Extremely moving and detailed memoir of the author's late father: elegiac, confessional and funny.

What Henry James Knew by Cynthia Ozick, Jonathan Cape, pounds 12.99. Clear and brilliant literary essays, arguments in favour of the unusual idea that the best response to modern horrors is to read more Henry James. Review by Anthony Lane, 3 July.

Change the Name by Anna Kavan, Peter Owen, pounds 15.50. A cool novel with a surprisingly nihilistic heart, about a young middle-class girl's struggle to go to university. Review by Doris Lessing, 5 June.