Chapman’s Odyssey by Paul Bailey is published in hardback by Bloomsbury, priced £16.99.

Veteran wordsmith Paul Bailey makes a welcome return to the world of fiction with his first novel since 2003’s Uncle Rudolf, and revisits familiar themes from his lauded canon.

Chapman’s Odyssey follows the unravelling of the life of actor-turned-author Harry Chapman.

While undergoing observation and facing operations, Harry delights hospital staff from his ward bed with poetry recitals while keeping a writerly ear on the dramas developing around him.

As he slips in and out of consciousness, helped by his painkillers, he is visited by ghosts of his past – particularly his acid-tongued mother – and by ghosts of literary history, who are and have always been as real to him as anyone.

Insightful, poignant, humorous and surreal, this is a beautifully crafted novel by the Booker-shortlisted author, which demonstrates a rich appreciation of literature, a Dickensian flair for characterisation and uses a poetic economy of language.

9/10

The Holmes Affair by Graham Moore is published in hardback by Century, priced £12.99.

Graham Moore’s debut novel centres on two murder mysteries - one from the past and the other from the present.

In Victorian London, writer Arthur Conan Doyle uses the deduction methods of his character Sherlock Holmes to discover who sent him a homemade bomb – leading him to a killer who is targeting young suffragettes.

In the present day, literary researcher Harold White joins a prestigious group dedicated to Sherlock Holmes and its creator. When the group’s leading scholar is murdered, Harold sets out in the footsteps of the detective to find the killer.

But will Arthur and Harold succeed as the famous sleuth did?

The plots are cleverly laid-out between alternating chapters which make it a compelling read for those who love mysteries.

9/10

Agent 21 by Chris Ryan is published in paperback by Red Fox, priced £5.99.

Chris Ryan made his name as ‘The One That Got Away’, the only member of the Bravo Two Zero SAS troop to evade capture and the star of his own non-fiction account of the Gulf War.

A prolific author who draws on years of knowledge gained in the special forces, Ryan has also turned his hand to writing action thrillers for a younger audience.

In Agent 21, Ryan introduces Zak Darke, a teenager thrust into an alien world of espionage after the death of his parents.

Ryan draws on the same knowledge which made his series of SAS-themed books such a success and is set to follow up his previous popularity among both adult and younger readers with the Agent 21 series.

Darke is a new kind of world-savvy hero – don’t be surprised if he eventually makes a seamless transition to the small screen or even Hollywood.

7/10