Staying in

With major public events on hold, it’s time to think about keeping entertained indoors, writes MYKE BARTLETT.

Film

Last Night in Soho (DVD, Blu-ray, Stream) Young fashion designer Eloise is obsessed with the Swinging Sixties. What luck then that, on moving to London, she finds herself able to travel back to the capital’s 1960s heyday and experience life in its glamorous Soho clubs.Or is she just dreaming that she can? The line between dreams and reality soon becomes blurred, as Eloise discovers that nostalgia can hide some dark truths about what the past was really like. From director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver), Last Night is part-mystery, part-ghost story and one of the most colourful and surprising films in ages. The soundtrack is ace too.

Television

Get Back (Disney+) Sticking with the 60s, Peter Jackson’s epic documentary about The Beatles made for a perfect Christmas present for fans of classic music. If the thought of eight hours has been putting you off, rest assured that it makes for increasingly addictive and absorbing viewing, as the Fab Four race the clock to write songs, record an album and perform a surprise concert like no other. It’s like sport for music nerds — will our team triumph? More than that, it’s an incredible document of creativity, as Paul McCartney summons timeless hits such as Get Back and Hey Jude out of thin air. At the end of the day, who wouldn’t want to spend eight hours in a room with one of the greatest bands ever to make music? Mindwandering by Moshe Bar (Bloomsbury) Daydreaming gets a bad rap, but this new book argues that it’s key to being creative — and can also brighten your mood. Cognitive scientist Moshe Bar looks at the cutting-edge research behind our brain’s tendency to distraction, to wander, to worry or talk to itself about things that don’t always seem important (or relevant)! His easy to read style helps us consider what to think about, how to stimulate creativity by dwelling on our memories, how we can come to understand ourselves better, ways of thinking that might cheer us up, and how we can avoid getting distracted by knowing when it’s time to rein our brains in. Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Penguin) The murder mystery can feel as tired as it does tried and true. In his third novel, Aussie comedian Benjamin Stevenson takes great joy in twisting the format to breaking point (having clearly outlined the 10 rules of detective fiction with a fold-ready dogear at the start of the book.) His hero is summoned to a family reunion at a suitably remote spot and soon the deaths begin. Smart, funny and an irresistible blend of modern and old school, this should please fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club and Knives Out.

Book

The Leviathan (Bloomsbury) History and myth entangle in this compelling and entertaining new mystery from a debut UK author. Thomas, a soldier in the English civil war, returns home to find his father ill and his sister making accusations of witchcraft. His rationality is tested to its limits as death encroaches and he tries to work out what is going on. What connects the current dark events to a shipwreck years earlier — and something ancient stirring beneath the waters? With echoes of Sarah Perry's superb The Essex Serpent, this intelligent and beautifully written novel is perfect for the lengthening autumn nights. The Mother by Jane Caro (Allen & Unwin) Walkley Award winning journo and social commentator Jane Caro turns her hand to thriller writing in this tense and complex new novel. Recent widower Miriam is a devoted mother and grandmother who starts to wonder if all is well with her youngest daughter Ally. Has Ally’s relationship with her husband become toxic — and dangerous to herself and her children? When the police can’t intervene, Miriam decides to take action on her own. But how far will she go to protect her family? Tackling topical issues of domestic violence, this is a compelling read.