Complete Surrender Dave Sharp (John Blake, 7.99)

This is the story of the brother of novelist Ian McEwan, as strange as anything the writer could have dreamed up himself. Dave Sharp was given away aged one month to strangers who answered an advert in the local paper, offering “complete surrender”. He worked as a bricklayer in Oxfordshire for most of his working life and had a happy upbringing with his adoptive parents. He didn’t set about discovering who he really was until he was 60 and his adoptive mother and father had both died. It's a fascinating story, a tribute to the Salvation Army’s tracing service, and made more interesting by McEwan’s foreword speculating about his parents’ motives in giving away their tiny baby.

The Pursuit of Laughter Diana Mosley (Gibson Square, £8.99)

This probably isn’t the last we will hear of the Mitford sisters — the fascist, the communist, the novelist, the duchess, the Nazi and the lesbian. They grew up at Swinbrook, near Burford, and Diana was the fascist, having married the party’s leader, Oswald Mosley. On the evidence of this collection of essays, book reviews and diary entries, she was not as good a writer as her sisters Jessica (the communist) and Nancy (the novelist). The main interest lies in her mentions of Goebbels and Hitler, with Goebbels described as “clever, good company, always ready with a sarcastic witticism”.

Love All Elizabeth Jane Howard (Pan, £7.99)

Howard is on top form in this charming story set in the village of Melton, where nouveau riche Jack Curtis has moved into the manor and plans to start an arts festival. He has employed elderly garden designer Florence to revamp the grounds, and she, in turn, brings her niece Persephone, who is recovering from the end of a no-hope relationship with a married man. Then there are the original owners of the manor, the troubled Thomas and Mary Musgrove, who have downgraded to a cottage in the grounds. All these characters come together and find some kind of redemption. Comforting, but not trite.

A Corpse in Shining Armour Caro Peacock (HarperCollins, £7.99) Victorian private detective Liberty Lane takes on a new case in this slickly written story. She is engaged by a rising young Conservative MP, Benjamin Disraeli, to investigate the heirs of deranged aristocrat Lord Brinkburn, who has suddenly announced that his elder son Stephen is illegitimate. Fears that this could de-stabilise the government take a back seat after a macabre murder. If you can suspend disbelief, this is an enjoyable romp.

The Other David Guterson (Bloomsbury, £7.99)

The prolific author of Snow Falling On Cedars has pulled together another powerful meditation on life, America and coming of age. Witty, dark and beautiful.