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Share THE TEMPTATION OF GRACIE by Santa Montefiore (S&S £14.99)

THE TEMPTATION OF GRACIE

by Santa Montefiore (S&S £14.99)

Despite one of the characters being a tarty northerner called Wendy who drinks too much and snores, I enjoyed this novel very much . . . Gracie, a put-upon widow in Devon, leaves boring village life for a week at a cookery school in a Tuscan castello.

Guilt prompts her career-obsessed daughter, Carina, to go too, bringing along her own daughter Anastasia, who's hardly ever seen Gracie.

Granny and granddaughter bond instantly, however, and Gracie starts to reveal the real reason she has come to the Castello.

She has a past life as an Italy-based master criminal, not to mention a long-lost lover in the area.

Full of lovely, positive characters and dreamy descriptions, this also has a fun satirical streak. Flappy Scott-Booth, queen of Gracie's Devon village, is a peach of a character whom I hope to meet again. As well as Wendy, obviously.




 

GAME THEORY by Thomas Jones (J M Originals £12.99)

GAME THEORY

by Thomas Jones (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, https://mukck.com/%ea%b7%b8%eb%9e%98%ed%94%84%ea%b2%8c%ec%9e%84/ hence the title. Well-observed and ruthlessly truthful, this book paints a vivid picture of middle-class lif




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