OK, let's get the M word out of the way first.
The Japanese name in the title. Attractive girl on the cover. The white, black and red colour scheme. A character called Watanabe. The narrator being interrupted by a phone call while making pasta.
There's more than a faint whiff of Murakami about Who is Mr Satoshi?
Coming from me, as most of you will be aware, that is a compliment.
But is also a little unfair of me, even if Heinemann appear to be actively courting the comparison. The book is far more than and and, if anything, this is the Murakami novel for people who don't like Murakami.
No weird netherworlds. A plot that actually makes sense. All the loose ends tied up.
Rob is a reclusive photographer. Since the death of his wife he has suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia. He rarely leaves the house or engages with the outside world. When his mother dies in her nursing home he is forced to confront his fears and also, it would appear, some long-hidden family secrets.
Sitting in his mother's room is an undelivered packaged addressed to a Mr Satoshi. Circumstances conspire to send Rob to Japan in search of this mysterious figure and it proves to be quite a ride for the reader.
I might as well chuck in another cliche while I'm at it and describe this as a real pageturner. Lee has pitched the pace of this novel perfectly. We want to know what is in the package, we want to guess the identity of Satoshi, we want to predict the twist (if there is one). The truth is revealed slowly, piece by piece, with several chapters ending on a mini-cliffhanger. This is one of those books where you always seem to want to read just one more chapter.
But it is also thoughtfully written, full of great images, beautiful sentences and a cast of characters that rival Murakami himself for endearing quirkiness. It is a brilliant debut.
Once Rob gets to Japan he falls in with a pink-haired college student who helps him negotiate the language differences and takes the role of detective, trying to track down the elusive Mr Satoshi. Their will they/won't they relationship drives the middle portion of the book.
And when the conclusion arrives, together with the ultimate reveal, it doesn't disappoint.
Who is Mr Satoshi?
I can't wait to see what Jonathan Lee does next.
has the look and feel of a DIY small press affair - some of the illustrations are a bit dodgy and almost none of them are actually needed - but if you can get over that then there is plenty here to amuse and delight.
by PK Munroe.
is the best novel about Elvis impersonators you will ever read and 
manages to capture the clumsy arrogance of teenage rock bands which is quite some feat.
by Jake Nickell is published next month.
by Howard Read and Chris Chantler.
by the bizarrely and delightfully named Seymour Chwast (to clarify, it is written and illustrated by him, I was sent it by Bloomsbury, his publisher). It is only 127 pages long and looks like an annual so is very easy to pick up and flick through without feeling like you are embarking on some heavy work of historical importance.
of the same name.
by Anne Tyler is the first one on there, in case you were wondering.
, was published. I was a teenager at the time and bought it in WH Smith in Southend. They used to have the largest book range in the town. It took up the whole of their first floor. You could get pretty much anything there. Of course, this was the 1980s. In those days they were the leading entertainment retailer in the country. They sold more music and video than anyone else.
. Glad we have finally established that.
is entirely believable. It is written in such a way that it feels plausible and true, with its own internal logic. As a result you don't question it, you go with it.
, with, well, superheroes with unlikely powers.
by Janet Soskice. It is the true story of Victorian twins who travelled to the Middle East at the end of the 19th century and discovered another version of the gospels to rival those mentioned above.