CHICK LIT SARA LAWRENCE

THE SUNSHINE SISTERS by Jane Green

(Macmillan £14.99) JANE GREEN’S perceptive gaze is focused here on a far-frombrilliant mother, narcissistic Hollywood actress Ronni Sunshine, and her three estranged adult daughters. Now in her 70s, Ronni is dying and determined to bring her girls together before she goes.

Each is facing a crisis of her own, but none can share her feelings. As the reality of Ronni’s illness sinks in, they begin to confront longheld resentments and talk honestly for the first time. I adored it.

THE BREAK by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph £20)

WHEN Amy’s husband Hugh says he wants to take a six-month break from their marriage, she is distraught and not sure they can come back from it, especially if he meets someone else along the way. But she soon realises that if he’s on a break, then so is she. Amy doesn’t want a break — or does she?

This is not a story about falling in love, but about staying in love. It’s about how to sustain a long-term relationship against the obstacles most face: bereavement, temptation, big and small changes, stroppy teenagers, unwanted pregnancy and mid-life crises. Fabulous.

THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell

(Century £12.99) HERE, Jewell goes full tilt into a psycho-thriller. Teenager Ellie Mack is a dream daughter, a golden girl loved deeply by her family. One day, however, in the middle of her GCSE exams, she vanishes without trace.

Her mother, Laurel, is distraught and, as the years go by with no sign of Ellie, Laurel’s relationships with the rest of her family become increasingly distant and fraught. A new boyfriend begins to help mend Laurel’s broken heart, but it becomes apparent there are disturbing links between his family and hers.

Emotional and incredibly clever. Bravo.