Recently I was asked to recommend a book for someone who likes cryptic crosswords. Not a book about cryptics as such, but one that would appeal to someone who does them. Transcription was my suggestion. It is full of misleading characters and events and is equal parts playful and serious. The novel’s central character, Juliet Armstrong, fearing the consequences of her past life as a spy, sets out to investigate a spate of mysterious coincidences. Juliet is a great character, a mix of detachment and sly observations. Atkinson toys with words and ideas and saves the biggest, deepest puzzle for the very end.