Mike Pannett – You’re Coming With Me, Lad (Hodder & Stoughton, £7.99) ****
What a lovely easy-to-read book about policeman Mike’s day-to-day life in rural Yorkshire. A mad swordsman, violent wedding parties, milk bottle thefts, floods and visiting politicians – Mike’s life is far from easy. These and other tales including his living arrangements with Walter, his quest to fit in a love life and finding a home of his own, are all told with delightful good humour, and are a joy to read.


Julie Gatenby, 45, support assistant, Harden, Bingley

Daniel Depp – Loser’s Town (Pocket Books, £6.99) ****
Private Detective David Spandau is hired to protect Hollywood superstar Bobby Dye. With his own personal anxieties, David struggles to maintain an interest as a bodyguard, but when Bobby is drawn into a web of blackmail and murder, David realises his own life and career are at risk. This book comes highly recommended by film star Johnny Depp (the author’s brother) and I must agree it is a plausible, non-stop debut novel well worth reading.


Margaret Jarvis, 78, retired, Wyke