This was the first novel written by TV bigwig Jed Mercurio, and it’s very different from the other one I read (Ascent). It follows the early days of our protagonist’s career in a hospital, with the very many challenges faced by young doctors - all the pressure from the scheduling, the lack of funding, the difficult patients, and worse than all of these, the colleagues. The main focus of the story is whether our hero should turn whistleblower or not after a number of things go wrong and are covered up. It’s a very difficult read but very well written and the stress and tension just leap off the page.

I was intrigued by this, written by the brilliant mind behind Line of Duty. It’s an odd little book, chronicalling the life of a Russian from a troubled boyhood to a long stint flying planes in the military and then joining the space race against the US. It’s a good read and I thought the ending very impactful, but it does feel like it’s missing something. There’s not a lot of personality given to any of the characters, so it’s hard to get fully engaged. And some of the flying adventures are like reading Top Gun which I wasn’t so bothered about. But overall worth the read.