MY CONEY ISLAND BABY

by Billy O’Callaghan, Jonathan Cape, £14.99 (ebook £9.99) ★★ ★★★ MY Coney Island Baby, tells the story of Michael and Caitlin, whose affair takes place in monthly trysts. The heavy-handed opening of the pair heading to a dingy hotel, amid a storm as they find out about threats to their relationship is typical of a book which tends to be overwritten. The main characters fail to generate much sympathy.

The description of losing a baby is one of the few sections which rings true, but if romance is what you’re after, it ticks the box.