With reservations, RON JACOBS recommends a deep dive into the nature, history, and mindset of US intelligence
Murder most foul – and entertaining – from London to Isis Syria
[Tony Webster/Creative Commons] 
JOHN HAWKINS wrestles with the anti-humanist fantasies of techno-feudalist thinking
MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE review 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Savages, The Legend of Ochi, and The Naked Gun
GORDON PARSONS advises you to get up to speed on obscure ancient ceremonies to grasp this interpretation of a late Shakespearean tragi-comedy
DENNIS BROE enjoys the political edge of a series that unmasks British imperialism, resonates with the present and has been buried by Disney
STEVE JOHNSON speaks to DJ and singer/songwriter Mark Radcliffe
BLIND DEFENCE (Little Brown, £16.99) is the second book in John Fairfax's series about a convicted murderer who becomes a London barrister and, if anything, it's even better than the first.
This time, William Benson is reunited with instructing solicitor Tess de Vere to defend a hopeless murder case. A young woman fled her life in Dover to escape her bullying boyfriend only to die in a rented room in London, with the boyfriend's DNA all over the place.
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Beet likes warmth, who doesn’t, so attention to detail is required if you’re to succeed, writes MAT COWARD
