Books this Christmas

Searching for gift ideas for the lady in your life? Try this selection of seasonal page-turners…

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
Alexander McCall Smith, £16.99, hardback
Celebrate 15 years of Precious Ramotswe with the return of one of the most enduring and original protagonists to emerge in modern fiction. Follow the Botswanan sleuth on two intriguing new cases as McCall Smith delivers another helping of his signature mix of crime and feel-good charm.

Cross And Burn
Val McDermid, £16.99, hardback
In this, the latest in the hugely popular series following psychological profiler Tony Hill, a merciless predator is stalking women who bear a resemblance to his partner DCI Carol Jordan. A visceral thriller that’s easy to pick up without having read any of the previous titles in the series.

MaddAddam
Margaret Atwood, £18.99, hardback
The third in the psychedelic, apocalyptic, wildly imaginative trilogy that began with Oryx And Crake, Atwood returns to explore the outer limits of popular imagination with satirical sci-fi that is both utterly original and utterly recognisable as a plausible tomorrow to the world of today.

Tales From The Dancefloor
Craig Revel Horwood, £20, hardback
The Strictly Come Dancing judge prises the lid off his (not so) closely-guarded personal life with this insider view on the celebrity spats and glitterball lifestyle, including the storm of controversy that broke over the show when Alesha Dixon joined the panel. Expect it to be fab-u-LOUS, and also a-ma-ZING.

Unbreakable: My New Autobiography
Sharon Osbourne, £20, hardback
Osbourne’s recent years have been her most emotional and testing. In this moving follow-up to her previous two Sunday Times bestsellers she recounts becoming a grandmother, her separation from Ozzy, and how she coped when Jack was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt, £20, hardback
To say that The Goldfinch is long-awaited would be an understatement. Tartt’s novels come only once a decade, and this unconventional mystery is worth the wait. An entrancing blend of psychology and deft plot-spinning, infused with dark symbolism and the pain of obsession.