Take your pick from the Mirror Book Club’s best new reads of the week with Charlotte Heathcote
Mother Ship
By Francesca Segal
Segal’s twin daughters arrived 10 weeks too early in October 2015.
This diary of her babies’ 56 days in hospital is beautifully written and profoundly moving, a love letter to her girls, her husband, and to the NHS.
Moments of terror and desperation, when she cannot know whether her babies will survive, are described with dignity and restraint.
At one point her daughters are in two different hospitals, each suffering an unidentified infection.
It is not until Day 22 that she and her husband find the confidence (or the time) to name the girls.
A powerful, poetic and deeply affecting reminder of how precious your life and health are.
BY GIULIA RHODES
Chatto & Windus, £14.99
Smoke And Ashes
By Abir Mukherjee
In Calcutta in 1921, Captain Sam Wyndham is sent to investigate a gruesome murder.
The victim suffered the same ritualistic injuries as those he saw on a corpse in an opium den the night before.
Along with Sergeant Banerjee, Sam must try to find a ruthless killer while keeping his serious opium addiction secret.
A thrilling mystery and a captivating journey.
BY JON COATES
Harvill Secker, £8.99
Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days In August
By Oliver Hilmes
For 16 days in August 1936, Adolf Hitler’s wicked dictatorship was put on hold as Germany sought to project an image of power and peace to the world.
Hilmes recounts each day in diary form, taking the reader on a tour of the cosmopolitan city through the eyes of ordinary Berliners.
A fascinating, unique and original alternative history of the controversial games.
BY ADAM SKINNER
Vintage, £9.99
City Of Girls
By Elizabeth Gilbert
In her fourth novel, the Eat Pray Love author tells the tale of Vivian, 90, who looks back on her long, lustful life.
In 1940 she moved to Manhattan to spend a summer with her aunt Peg who runs a bohemian theatre.
Thrill-seeking Vivian has her pick of bedfellows but there is trouble coming over the horizon.
A novel as bubbly as a champagne cocktail but with a kick in the tale.
BY EITHNE FARRY
Bloomsbury, £16.99
Those Who Are Loved
By Victoria Hislop
In this family saga, Hislop delves into Greece’s troubled 20th century.
Themis just wants to study and play but extremist politics and war are tearing her country and family apart.
All too soon she finds herself holding a gun, forced to stand up for what she believes in and going to extraordinary lengths for the sake of love.
An eye-opening and moving read.
BY ANDREINA CORDANI
Headline, £20