POPULAR FICTION   | Daily Mail Online

THE FAMILY HOLIDAY

by Elizabeth Noble (Michael Joseph £7.99, 432pp)

Charlie Chamberlain wants to mark his 80th birthday in style. He hires a fabulous Cotswolds house and invites his children and their families. They’re a troubled bunch: Nick is recovering from the death of his wife and Laura from a painful split, made worse by her son being accused of a dreadful crime.

Only wealthy banker Scott seems happy, with his shiny, glossy, superficial-seeming American wife, Heather. But in a clever reversal of expectation, there’s much more to Heather than meets the eye.

Beneath the perfect make-up and dazzling smile beats a kind heart and a capable energy. By the end of the break, everyone’s in better shape.

Packing in the style detail and deftly weaving many narrative strands together, Noble produces an absorbing, moving and uplifting read.

LIAR

by Lesley Pearse (Michael Joseph £20, 384pp)

It’s summer in the city — 1970s West London to be precise. Junior reporter Amelia finds a young woman’s body on a rubbish heap.

After she persuades her editor to let her interview the victim’s family, her journalistic career is launched. But more murders follow, revealing the existence of a serial killer called the Chiswick Creeper.

Amelia’s dogged pursuit of the story takes her via a violent relationship to the realisation that the murderer is someone she knows. As ever with Pearse, there’s a grim backstory of difficult families and challenging circumstances.

But there are good people, too, and the accessible prose and pacy plot make for a compelling page-turner. I particularly enjoyed the carefully maintained period flavour.

THE GREEK HOLIDAY

by Maeve Haran (Pan £8.99, 368pp)

Four middle-aged women pals recreate their student trip to Greece.

They’ve all got problems they’re leaving behind.

Nell’s divorce means relations with her daughter are still strained and The Other Granny has the monopoly over her granddaughter.

Moira, a dry-stick academic, has been retired by her Cambridge college and has no idea what to do next.

Penny is escaping ghastly husband Colin while Dora, a top London PR, wants to forget a professional disaster.

On the idyllic, little-known island of Kyri, the four of them find solutions to their troubles, new love and a classical drama in which a statue of Aphrodite has been stolen by the local baddies.

An engaging romance mixing heartwarming friendship with gentle humour in a gorgeous summer setting.