Happy Hour by Jacquie Byron, Allen & Unwin

Parenthood wasn’t to be for children’s book author and botanical artist Franny, but she and husband Frank shared a love of cooking and travel, with a coterie of friends and family. When Frank, 65, “of robust health”, was fatally knocked off his bicycle by a youth on ice, his widow began to withdraw. This is a bristling, fearless, funny look at loss. Three years later Franny turns 65. She doesn’t answer her phone, has stopped exhibiting at the gallery and talks to the photos of Frank – “Kitchen Frank” holding BBQ tongs, “Studio Frank” on their wedding day. Tanqueray time is 6pm, when Franny’s descent begins. When a single mother and her two children move next door, the bohemian painter becomes a mentor to both, Dee, 16, who raids Franny’s vintage wardrobe, and flamboyant Josh, eight, a high-camp cartoonist. With Cairn Terrier Whisky and Golden Retriever Soda at her side, cantankerous Franny is not a glass half full kind of gal – but she’ll call the shots for those she loves.