Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie is published in hardback by HQ, priced £12.99 (ebook £5.99) Not quite the must-read which led to the runaway success of The Underground Railroad, but close enough. There are memorable moments but, as it was inspired by shocking events at a real reform school, sometimes the truth suffocates the story. Whitehead's powerful prose is a cool study of an era which still shakes the foundations of the US today and resonates worldwide as the voices of those who survived similar treatment in orphanages, church or state-run workhouses are finally heard. You'll burn with anger as A-student Elwood, guilty of nothing more than naivety and a stubborn idealism, inspired by a worn-out recording of a Martin Luther King speech, finds the door slammed shut on his dream of a better life. Set in the Jim Crow era after slavery has been abolished, 'students' are cast into the murderous, cruel Nickel reform school in Florida. THE Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad has delivered another searing indictment of injustice and suffering. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is published in hardback by Fleet, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99) Luminescent writing, immaculate plotting and multifaceted storytelling make for an ingenious and satisfying read. Plus, Maddie's black cop lover arrives through an open window, lights up her nights, and tells stories he shouldn't. Maddie becomes obsessed with Cleo Sherwood, the 'lady' in this Raymond Chandleresque title and dredges the murky story, despite warnings to stay away – including, oddly, from the dead woman. She lands a job as an assistant at the Baltimore Sun, and two deaths help Maddie on her way: A Jewish girl killed in a pet shop and a young black woman found in a fountain.

It is 1966, Maddie is Jewish, in her late 30s, divorced (more or less), and determined to be a reporter, whatever anyone says. Maddie Schwartz surprised her into that direction. LAURA Lippman says she had no idea she was writing a newspaper novel. Lady In The Lake by Laura Lippman is published in paperback by Faber & Faber, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.99)

Luan goldie