"Viking, North Utsira, South Utsira, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight. " The exotic names of the shipping forecast-the opening words of Alan Titchmarsh's second novel-never fail to evoke an annoyingly patriotic nostalgia in Brits: no matter what else changes, their country is still an island with miserable weather. The fictional Cornish world of Pencurnow Cove seems at first sight to be the forecast's literary equivalent: the kind of village where the landmarks (pub and post office) are populated by obligingly eccentric locals; where Loaded and FHM are sold under the counter, as overly racy; and where borderline criminals are easily identified by hints of foreignness ("Len Gryler looked as if he was of Italian ancestry") or a loud London accent ("Bladdy hell, woman"). It's the kind of world only Enid Blyton ever lived in. But Titchmarsh's nostalgic Cornwall is no life-enhancing, organic community: it serves primarily as a retreat for battered victims of the real world. Will Elliott has spent the last six years in Prince Albert Rock Lighthouse, failing to grieve for his pregnant wife, killed in a hit-and-run; Amy Finn is a one-time Ballet Rambert ballerina, felled by a knee injury and plagued by her ex-lover and dance partner. When the lighthouse closes, Will buys a motor launch and attempts to build a new life; his attraction to Amy threatens to make him face his grief. Titchmarsh seems unsure what to make of the dilemmas facing the inhabitants of Pencurnow Cove. Though mourning the passing of the lighthouses, he appears to embrace the possibilities of the new world. Following his more upbeat bestseller Mr MacGregor, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a gentle, well-written tale, whose picturesque setting will no doubt appeal to the tourist in us all-but in the sudden, deeply-felt sufferings of its hero, there's a glimpse of something much tougher. [+]

Lee Child has inexorably pulled himself into the upper echelons of thriller writing with a series of tough, lean and perfectly crafted novels featuring ex-US military cop Jack Reacher. Without Fail is the sixth outing for the resourceful Reacher, and far from showing any signs of incipient fatigue, the series just goes from strength to strength as Child hones his abilities. As in such previous books as Die Trying and The Killing Floor, Jack Reacher is a maverick. He carries no ID, and any place he hangs his hat is home. And while he's more than capable of dealing out massive violence to the bad guys who take him on, he's a sucker for a plea for help-particularly from a woman. This time, he's asked by the persuasive Ms Froelich to help her protect the Vice-President of the United States from an assassination attempt that's on the cards. So Reacher, with only the clothes he stands up in, finds himself deep in the rarefied world of the United States Secret Service in Washington, where his problems come from the stiff-necked bureaucrats as much as from the utterly ruthless killer who soon has Reacher in his sights as much as the Vice-President. If the plot here is a tad reminiscent of the Clint Eastwood movie In the Line of Fire, that's no coincidence-Child has his characters discuss the echoes of their situation with that film at length. But, boy, does Child ring some powerful variations of his own on the theme: this the most kinetic Reacher novel yet, full of the brilliantly orchestrated set-pieces that are a specialité de la maison with the author (the final climax in a snowy ravine is a pip). The action here is relentless, but never at the expense of character-Child is canny enough to keep dark shadows from Reacher's past a key part of his motivation. [+]

Historical fiction is enjoying a new golden age at present, with ever more impressive military heroes joining the ranks. Alan Mallinson, author of The Nizam's Daughters and a serving cavalry officer, has already achieved considerable praise for his brand of derring-do in his first novel A Close Run Thing, which is generally acclaimed as a debut of real excitement and verve. With The Nizam's Daughters, the author has overcome the second hurdle with equal aplomb. In Mallinson's second novel, Matthew Hervey of the Light Dragoons, fresh from the Battle of Waterloo, is newly appointed as aide de camp to the Duke of Wellington. Hervey is sent on a clandestine mission to India (leaving behind his fiancée Henrietta) to travel to an alien land seething with intrigue. At the princely state of Chintal, Hervey undertakes his mission: to discover the intelligence that will allow the Duke to forge lasting alliances if (as he expects) he becomes Governor General of India. Needless to say, Hervey soon finds himself way out of his depth, as Chintal is a city threatened from all sides. The massing forces of the Nizam of Haidarabad, whose expansionist policies are backed up by the eponymous Nizam's Daughters, a legendary artillery brigade provide the most sinister menace. Mallinson has studied the masters of the historical adventure genre well, and is particularly adroit at creating the dangerous and dirty reality of the soldier's lot. The author's experience of horseborne warfare serves him well in pitching the reader into the heart of the battles fought by his beleaguered hero. [+]