So which of these jingle your bells? Our reviewers pick the best fiction books of 2025

LITERARY FICTION  

Anthony Cummins 

THE BENEFACTORS by Wendy Erskine (Sceptre £18.99, 336pp)

Ignored by the Booker judges, this multi-voiced Belfast saga is a knockout triumph bursting with warmth and emotional ­wisdom. Centred on three mothers whose sons are accused of a grave crime, it ­supplies page-­turning drama as well as ­narrative experiment – part of the story is told via ­cameos from more than 50 ­supporting characters.

TONYINTERRUPTOR by Nicola Barker (Granta £16.99, 224pp)

One of our most brilliantly eccentric novelists was on top form in this freewheeling farce about the online brouhaha that erupts after a heckler ­disrupts a jazz concert. A fizzy comedy of 21st-century manners coupled with an intimate tale of family strife.

HELM by Sarah Hall (Faber £20, 368pp)

No novel this year had more ambition than this ecological epic about a Cumbrian wind, as experienced by characters ­ranging from a neolithic herdswoman to a retired cop battling PTSD. The bold concept is ­electrified by Hall’s inventive language.

Stephanie Cross

THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton £25, 688pp)

Desai’s third novel was deservedly Booker shortlisted (and would indeed have made a ­worthy winner). Moving between India and America, it follows would-be writer Sonia and ­journalist Sunny, but is far richer, more profound and more original than a simple love story. At nearly 700pp, if you want to get truly lost in a great book this Christmas, look no further.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING by Kit de Waal (Tinder Press £20, 320pp)

Published in April, this book’s magnificent central character, auxiliary nurse Paulette, has stayed with me all year. Christmas can be a lonely time, and de Waal has immense empathy for the plight of outsiders. But ­ultimately this is a book about the triumph of kindness, and will light up the darkest ­winter’s night.

FLASHLIGHT by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape £20, 464pp)

There are some novels that you remember for the plot and some for the characters, but it’s not often that a book delivers so ­brilliantly on both. Based on actual events, Choi’s epic Booker shortlisted novel spins out from the kidnapping of a Korean ­academic, following both his plight and his abandoned family. It’s sweeping and intimate, breathtakingly ambitious and thrillingly executed.

Claire Allfree

Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape £18.99, 368pp)

This year’s Booker Prize winner, about a working class Hungarian who loses everything he gains, is both a searing existential parable and a riveting portrait of masculinity adrift. A novel for our times.

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (Fitzcarraldo £12.99, 120pp)

Two young creatives attempt to live their best lives in Berlin in this cool evisceration of impeccably curated twentysomething lifestyles, shortlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize. A gut punch reality check for your favourite Gen Zedder.

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami (Granta £9.99, 288pp)

I’m still haunted by this dystopian Japanese novel about the appalling transformative potential of AI on human life months after having read it. Written in disarmingly dreamy prose, it’s a horribly persuasive depiction of our future extinction, made all the more nightmarish by how willingly we appear to be walking towards it.

Popular: Wendy Holden 

THE SECRETS OF DRAGONFLY LODGE by Rachel Hore (Simon and Schuster £16.99, 480pp)

This lovely Norfolk-set novel will calm festive nerves with its ­delicious mid-century feel. ­Journalist Stef becomes intrigued by her mother’s elderly neighbour. Nancy was a brilliant ­scientist, so why didn’t her career reach the top? Stef discovers a tale of sexism and skulduggery, not to mention Nancy’s smouldering grandson.

THE SECRET OF SECRETS by Dan Brown (Bantam £25, 688pp)

In a luxury hotel among the spires and cobbles of Prague, we find Brown regular Robert Langdon with brainy sidekick Katherine. Her book on the wider consciousness seems a problem for someone, but who? Several chases and cliffhangers later, we find out. This house-brick-sized tome will look impressive under the Christmas tree.

WELL, THIS IS AWKWARD by Esther Walker (Bedford Square £16.99, 336pp)

While her anarchist mum’s in hospital, teenager Sunny moves from their off-grid Welsh cabin to her aunt Mairead’s smart London flat. She’s never been to school, let alone had a burger. It’s a ­baptism of fire for both of them, but gradually they find common ground. Touching, heartwarming and bracingly satirical about middle-class life.

CRIME: Geoffrey Wansell

The Dogwalkers’ Detective Agency by Michael Hogan (Penguin Michael Joseph £9.99, 480pp)

Cosy crime takes a delightfully fresh turn with this striking debut about a graphic designer who returns to his childhood home at the seaside and finds a body while walking three dogs. One body breeds another, and the plot gently thickens. If you like Richard Osman’s books, you will love this.

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves (Macmillan £22, 384pp)

Detective Jimmy Perez returns, but not to Shetland – to Orkney, where he has moved with his pregnant partner Willow and their son. He finds his childhood friend, Archie Stout, murdered with a Neolithic stone. Superb characters, a complex mystery and Cleeves’s matchless style.

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (Orion £22, 400pp)

Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, ace criminal defender, seems to leave crime behind to take on a civil lawsuit, that – inevitably – starts with a crime. An AI company’s chatbot drives a 16-year-old boy to kill his ex-girlfriend. Ferocious storytelling, and a great hero.

DEBUTS: Sara Lawrence

Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy (Abacus £14.99, 224pp)

This captivating coming-of-age novel is set in New York and revolves around the relationship between graduate students and best friends Avery and Frances. Frances is from a wealthy background, Avery is not. Frances drops out yet still becomes ­successful. Avery, meanwhile, is a mess. Clever, cool and current.

Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie (The Borough Press £16.99, 320pp)

When journalist Sophie’s theatre critic colleague Alex becomes embroiled in an extraordinary scandal, she has a ringside seat. Alex is known for his brutal reviews, but when he sleeps with a woman before his particularly ­eviscerating takedown of her show is published, he cannot foresee the hell that is about to be unleashed. Unputdownable.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle (Borough Press £16.99, 352pp)

In a vaguely dystopian near-­future on the set of a reality TV dating show similar to Love Island, Lily is competing to stay in the compound. References to wars, climate catastrophes and mass mask-wearing on the ­outside contribute to the increasing sense of menace on the inside. Brilliant on performance and consumerism.

HISTORICAL: Eithne Farry 

The Rush by Beth Lewis (Viper £18.99, 400pp)

Canada, 1898, and the Yukon is in the grip of gold fever, making men desperate and dangerous. Lewis pitches three spirited women, pell-mell, into this lawless world, and sets about testing their ­mettle with murder, mayhem and endless mud. It’s a cracking read, a rip-roaring adventure peopled with engaging, vividly drawn characters and vibrant with emotional drama and gutsy plotlines.

The Artist by Lucy Steeds (John Murray £16.99, 304pp)

Honeyed heat and slow-burn attraction make for a smouldering atmosphere in Steeds’ intense, beautifully realised debut as art, love and autonomy play their parts in the lives of writer Joseph, aspiring artist Ettie and her uncle, the reclusive painter Tata, in the Provence of 1920. Heartbreakingly beautiful, it’s a blaze of a book – poetic, ­passionate and quietly powerful.

The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury £18.99, 464pp)

There’s much fun to be had in Harkin’s riotous, mischievous take on a thorny patch in English history as the warring ­factions of Lancaster and York transform endearingly bamboozled farmer’s boy Lambert Simnel into Edward Plantagenet, the future king, once Henry VII is disposed by their underhand, political machinations. Funny and furiously imaginative, this is a brilliant debut.

CONTEMPORARY: Sara Lawrence

Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate £18.99, 256pp)

The narrator of this beautifully written, emotionally intelligent story about love is studying ­creative writing at an American university when she meets star students and best friends Sam and Yash. Years later, our female lead is a successful writer, married with children, when a surprise visit throws her straight back into emotional chaos. Fabulous.

Picture Imperfect by Jacqueline Wilson (Bantam £22, 352pp)

This adult sequel to Wilson’s bestselling 1999 children’s book The Illustrated Mum is extremely nostalgic. Marigold, the ‘illustrated mum’ of the title, suffers from bipolar disorder.

Narrated by Dolphin, her youngest daughter, it’s a moving account of children dealing with maternal mental health issues. Now 33, Dolphin is still trapped by Marigold’s needs.

Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams (Orion £16.99, 400pp)

Charlie is 23 and works as a ­junior assistant at a leading publisher. Although this is the job of her dreams, Charlie’s mother died when she was 16 and her self-­esteem has been shaky ever since.

When Charlie begins an affair with her favourite author she quickly becomes isolated. ­Compelling and great on power and control.

PSYCHOS: Christena Appleyard

The Cut by Richard Armitage (Faber & Faber £18.99, 336pp)

Already successful, actor Armitage (The Hobbit) is now making his name as an accomplished writer. The Cut tells the story of a cool architect who returns to his roots, a village where he is ­confronted with a mass of overpowering, disturbing memories.

A murdered school friend is at the centre of this powerfully ­moving book that tackles ­childhood bullying and its toxic adult legacy.

Our Beautiful Mess by Adele Parks (Harper Collins £16.95, 448pp)

There’s no such thing as a disappointing Parks thriller. They’re always good for beginners and seasoned fans.

A mother is blindsided by her daughter coming home with her new boyfriend. Parks cleverly reveals the mother’s back story and the roots of the boyfriend’s connection to her panic. It’s a ­disturbing and sometimes difficult read with a terrific ending.

The Trials of Lila Dalton by L. J. Shepherd (Pushkin Press £16.99, 352pp)

A barrister suffering from amnesia finds herself standing in a courtroom with a man accused of mass murder. She has no idea why she is there. This is an intriguing start to a truly ­original ­storyline set against a dystopian backdrop and a ­complex plot.

Excellent writing and truly ­relatable characters.