Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.

Jason Austin is reading The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

Winner of both the Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker Awards this year, The Devil Takes You Home is a beautifully paced supernatural crime-noir-horror novel about a man on the brink. 

Mario's small daughter has died of leukemia, and he's freshly estranged from his wife, Melisa. Finding himself deeply in debt with hospital bills, he hesitantly takes a job as a hitman and finds that he is quite good at it. He has the requisite skill of separating his emotions from the act of murder. He's so good that he, along with 'associates' Brian and Juanca are hired by a Mexican cartel to steal $600,000 from a rival cartel. Mario is hoping that this is not a suicide mission. He's also hoping to get Melisa back. 

The Devil Takes You Home is peppered with religious iconography, body horror and things scuttling around in dark places. It’s heart-breaking and skin-crawling. I'll bet there aren't many books that can evoke both responses. For fans of Breaking Bad and Ozark, via the writing of Stephen Graham Jones. 

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Emma Davison has been reading Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton

I’ve been leafing through Dolly Parton’s Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones this week and I am loving it! In this visually beautiful book Dolly takes us on the journey of her life through the clothes she wears, showing us how she developed her iconic style. It’s such a fun and interesting book, perfectly reflecting Dolly’s gleaming personality, and would make the perfect Christmas gift for all the Dolly Parton fans out there.

Fittingly, I have also been listening to her newest album Rockstar which came out last month. This is such a great album, mostly made up of collaborations spanning from 'Wrecking Ball' with Miley Cyrus to 'Let it Be' with Ringo Star and Paul McCartney.

Dolly Parton is an icon in every sense, a multi-talented and timeless star.