The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

This visceral, arresting portrayal of friendship and grief sees three women in their 70s convene at their late friend Sylvie’s beach house, to clear it out and say goodbye. Severe, tightly wound Jude, ever the optimist Adele, and intelligent Wendy with her decrepit dog Finn, have known one another decades, and while those years contain a lot of love, their relationships have become fractious, complicated by secrets, regrets and exasperation. The frequent descriptions of the incontinent Finn are nauseating, but it’s indicative of Charlotte Wood’s incredible ability to induce an actual physical response in the reader. You cringe alongside Jude at Adele’s lack of self-awareness; you feel the prick of tears as Wendy feigns poise in the face of Jude’s thoughtlessness and unkindness. Wood tackles age sharply and movingly, and makes you consider the darker aspects of your own friendships.

8/10

The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton

Two women, a dying wish and a web of lies – Karen Hamilton is back with her latest twisted thriller. When Marie’s best friend Nina dies, Marie begins to slowly fill the gap left behind, not realising Nina had her own explosive secrets. Fans of The Perfect Girlfriend will love Hamilton’s latest, and the Last Wife is an utterly compelling, addictive read. Marie makes the ultimate unreliable narrator, and Hamilton is a skilled writer who makes you invest in the most unlikeable of characters. It is the kind of book you finish in one sitting, with enough twists to keep you guessing until the final page.