Do No Harm by Henry Marsh, Wiedenfeld and Nicholson (Orion), £8.99

This is almost a series of short stories in that Henry Marsh, a senior consultant neurologist at St George’s Hospital in London, takes a particular neurological complaint and then tells the reader about a case that illustrates it.

The book charts his career as a leading brain surgeon and shows with compassion and humour a little of how difficult a job this is. In addition we learn how complicated our brains are and how neurological conditions are often life and death situations involving the patient and the whole family.

Written with humour, passion and anger at the ‘system’, this book is hard to put down and is the ultimate in medical dramas.

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld, Vintage, £8.99

All the Birds, Singing is a wonderful second novel by a young British novelist who all the critics say is one to watch.

Written in sparse prose, it is about a girl called Jake who lives on a remote island off the coast of Australia with her dog, imaginatively called Dog, and her flock of sheep. Something or someone is attacking the sheep.

The story alternates with the present day narrative moving forward in time and the back story of how she came to be there going backwards in time.

With beautiful writing, it is a compelling, rather dark story which makes you laugh and cry. Altogether it is a good book for a dark autumn evening that will hold your attention.

Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson, Random House Children’s, £12.99

This would make a great Christmas present for all Jacqueline Wilson fans and is the 100th book from this great author.

Opal Plumstead is a 14-year-old schoolgirl, intelligent and ambitious, who finds herself sent to work in a sweet factory when her life is irrevocably altered by her father being sent to prison.

Opal finds it hard to adjust and to get along with her fellow workers. The kindly owner of the factory, Mrs Roberts, a member of the suffrage movement, introduces the feisty Opal to Emmeline Pankhurst. Opal’s life is completely changed, like so many people’s, by the outbreak of World War One.

It is a good read and, at more than 500 pages, should last a bit longer than some children’s books.

Killers of the King by Charles Spencer, Bloomsbury, £20

After seven years of fighting the bloodiest war in Britain’s history, members of Parliament, having defeated the King’s forces in the Civil War, resolved to do the unthinkable and compel Charles I to account for the appalling suffering endured by the people.

Although he would not admit the right of the people to try him, he was executed in January 1649.

When his son, Charles II, came to the throne in 1660, he set about hunting down and executing all of those responsible for his father’s death. The book is about the regicides during the interregnum and the detective work involved in hunting down the killers of the king. As well as being brilliantly written and researched, it is a thrilling tale of pursuit and resistance. Warning: Contains some gory descriptions of beheadings!

A Spy Among Friends – Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben MacIntyre, Bloomsbury, £12.99

Ben MacIntyre, as well as being a Times columnist, is famed for his true spy stories. Truth is often stranger than fiction and that is certainly the case with this book.

Kim Philby was a rising star in MI6 in the aftermath of World War Two. No one knew, however, that he was also working for Moscow.

It is a well-researched, well told story of duplicity, loyalty, treachery and ruthlessness. A brilliant read and truly a gripping story.

  • All of this month’s titles are available from Chorleywood Bookshop, New Parade, Chorleywood. Details: 01923 283566, chorleywoodbookshop.co.uk