Shooting Sean, by Colin Bateman (HarperCollins, £6.99)

If you have not yet met Dan Starkey, now's the time to strike up what could well be a long and lasting acquaintanceship.

He is a freelance writer, living beyond his means and trying to settle down with wife Patricia and little son, Stevie. But with a career that has taken a nose-dive and armed with the knowledge that nothing in life is simple, Starkey chasing an easy buck finds himself up to his neck in death and kidnapping.

There is lots of sharp humour and lots of suspense, with reminders of Bateman's other Starkey adventures in Divorcing Jack (now a film), Turbulent Priests and Of Wee Sweetie Mice And Men.

Meeting The Invisible Man, by Toby Green (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £20)

When author Green met a Senegalese photographer, El Hadji, he soon realised that his new friend seemed to know, and be liked, by everyone he came across. Hadji explained it was because of magic: he knew a woman with strong powers who had made him popular with everyone.

Intrigued by this, and by stories of some people who were invulnerable to knives and bullets, and of others who could make themselves invisible, Green set out to seek the truth for himself.

Meeting The Invisible Man tells the extraordinary story of his journey with Hadji to remote settlements in the Senegal bush where the keepers of such ancient knowledge, the marabouts, still retain authority. A meeting with a marabout starts with burying a cockerel alive in a hole in the ground for seven days, from which it seems to survive unscathed, and ends with a knife attack on Green in which the sharp blade is stabbed repeatedly at his arm, but just bounces off, eventually leaving a small bruise. Disquieting stuff.

Vanilla Beans & Brodo, by Isabella Dusi (Simon and Schuster, £13.99)

After Tony and Cherie, here is a story of real life in the hills of Tuscany.

Isabella Dusi writes about life in the medieval village of Montalcino, its history and what has made its inhabitants, the proud citizens they are today.

Isabella, with Scottish roots, had travelled with new husband Lou, from Australia where they first met, to Italy the country of his birth, and together they have discovered a new life, not one of Tuscany tranquillity, but of drama, village rivalry, football and the fierce passion the Tuscans have for their daily life.

Sliced Iguana, by Isabella Tree (Hamish Hamilton, £17.99)

This is a journey into the heart of Mexico, through cultures that appear little known in Mexico, let alone the outside world.

Isabella Tree reveals a country of devout Catholicism that goes hand in hand with pagan ritual, but also a country eager to embrace genuine democracy for the first time, determined to rid itself of its brutal colonial past.