GAME THEORY

(J M Originals £12.99) THIS fantastic debut novel tackles those difficult years between firebrand youth and comfortable middle age. Slightly dull alex and chippy, clever wife Clare go to stay with their Sloaney friend Henry at his posh house in kent.

But it’s ten years since they left Oxford and old ties are unravelling. new ties are taking their place, as when Clare finds herself in bed with her host. Her marriage to alex ends soon afterwards, and Henry’s to Victoria shortly after that.

The four then strike out for an illusory freedom, each phase punctuated by a game — tennis, croquet, billiards etc, hence the title. Well-observed and ruthlessly truthful, this book paints a vivid picture of middleclass life.