Gloria by Kerry Young is published in paperback by Bloomsbury Circus, priced £12.99 (ebook £8.51). Available now.

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award for her 2011 debut Pao, Kerry Young returns with Gloria, which is based in Sixties Jamaica and begins with a rape.

After escaping from the countryside where she grew up, and the crime she committed, 16-year-old Gloria and her younger sister Marcia arrive in Kingston to start a new life.

With no education, and desperate for money, Gloria is forced into prostitution. As she's introduced to the city's criminal underworld, her past becomes ever-present, shaping not only her life, but affecting her young daughter Esther's.

But it's brothel owner and female rights activist Sybil who inspires Gloria to prevent Esther's life mirroring her own.

Embittered by the men who did her wrong, and strengthened by those who showed her support when she was most vulnerable, Gloria finds a voice to campaign for equal rights for Jamaica's women.

Gloria is a brilliant, observant, sometimes complex read, but with clear and simple messages, it speaks to the feminist and equal rights campaigner in all of us.

9/10

(Review by Vicky Burt)

 

The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson is published in hardback by Headline, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49). Available now.

Since winning the Telegraph's First Thousand Words Of A Novel competition with her debut in 2007, Imogen Robertson has built a name for herself as a writer of atmospheric historical thrillers.

The Paris Winter evokes the emerging world of women painters in the city in the early 20th century.

Against this backdrop, an unlikely friendship forms between Maud, a reserved and impoverished Englishwoman, and wealthy Russian emigree Tanya and Yvette, a streetwise Parisian model.

Each woman has her part to play in avenging Maud's attempted murder and their fight for justice leads all three to confront their background and break away from their history.

The depictions of Belle Epoque Paris - the fourth heroine of the novel - are vivid and well researched, and the story is fast-paced and engaging.

At times, though, the characterisation falls short and the resolution feels a little rushed, but Robertson's slick writing and ability to craft a good story will keep readers hooked until the final page. Opulent fun.

7/10

(Review by Sarah Reid)