Best books of 2012

Booker prize winner Hilary Mantel dazzles again with Bring Up The Bodies, which deals with the downfall of one of the most captivating women in history, Anne Boleyn. A gripping tale, bursting with dark detail, it gallops along until the final page.

The mysterious death of a Duke and a castle full of treacherous goings-on make The Secret Rooms a gripping read for fans of Downton Abbey. As thrilling as any fiction, Catherine Bailey uncovers the darkest depths of a family with plenty of skeletons in its closet. 

As illiterate farm girl Mary learns to write she reveals her haunting testimony in The Colour of Milk, an unforgettable – and truly original – new novel from playwright Nell Leyshon.

Her effortlessly elegant writing and ability to capture perfectly the subtleties of human eccentricity have earned Anne Tyler a legion of fans, including the Pulitzer prize judges. In The Beginner’s Goodbye she tells the story of grieving widower Aaron whose dead wife’s ghost appears to him, making him reassess their less than perfect marriage.

A beautiful and deeply moving novel about loss and recovery from one of our favourite writers.

When a man confesses to the murder of a father and his two children it seems like a straightforward case – but the facts just won’t fit...

With red herrings and false turns aplenty, Broken Harbour by Tana French will keep you on the edge from the first gripping page to the shocking last.

Man Booker prize-winner Alice Munro’s new story collection is a thing of beauty. Dear Life offers illuminating glances into ordinary people’s lives – from a woman being blackmailed to a young soldier starting again after WWII – all of which display her immense gift for storytelling.

Like Barbara Kingsolver’s modern classic The Poisonwood Bible, Flight Behaviour is a powerful and mesmerising epic that touches on class, poverty and climate change.

Mum of two Dell finds herself suffocating in a life she has outgrown in dirt-poor middle America. But when she happens upon a vision, it’s the beginning of a transformation that sees her stand up to her family and the local church. Not to be missed.

When Nick’s wife goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, he’s the prime suspect. But is it all part of an elaborate game?

In Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn has created a terrifically intelligent thriller with a gasp-inducing twist.

Good people making bad decisions and the tragic consequences that follow are at the heart of The Light Between Oceans.

ML Stedman’s heartbreaking debut is a gem of a book you’ll have trouble putting down.

Keep the tissues close as Jojo Moyes returns with Me Before You, a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting tale about the relationship between an embittered quadriplegic man and the carer who is trying to give him a reason to live.

Seating Arrangements, a witty debut from Maggie Shipstead, holds a magnifying glass up to a well-to-do American family in the lead up to the eldest daughter’s wedding. A delight not to be missed.

The great-great-great granddaughter of Herman Melville (author of Moby-Dick), Liza Klaussman is a talented new author we can’t wait to read more from.

Tigers In Red Weather, the subject of a massive bidding war between publishers, is a Great Gatsby-esque novel about a wealthy dysfunctional American family, where passion, betrayal and disappointment simmer just below the surface.

Having made a huge splash with her first novel White Teeth, written when she was only 25, Zadie Smith fulfils her early promise with her latest, NW.

Full of spot-on observations and dialogue, it’s a very readable tale about four people whose lives have diverged wildly since they left the council estate they all grew up on.

Transferring all her warmth and humour to the page, Clare Balding tells her life story through the pets and horses she’s known in My Animals And Other Family. 

The Land of Decoration is a stand-out debut from new talent Grace McCleen. Bullied at school, 10-year-old Judith finds comfort in the make-believe world she’s created in her bedroom.

But trouble begins when she discovers she can use it to perform miracles in the real world... Inventive and unforgettable.