Deadly Election, by Lindsey Davis

Former academic Lindsey Davis uses her considerable knowledge of imperial Rome to inform and underpin her witty and intelligent historical detective novels. Amid the murder and mayhem we gently learn the intricacies of Roman law, politics and society, simultaneously educated and entertained. The endearing and persistent Marcus Didius Falco was the hero of 20 books, set mostly in the relatively benevolent reign of the Emperor Vespasian. The ascension of the vengeful and unstable Emperor Domitian has prompted Falco into retirement, leaving his adopted daughter Flavia Albia to fill his shoes. The unconventional widow brings a new flavour to these Roman tales, coming from the perspective of a working woman. They are not as funny as the Falco novels, but are just as engaging. This one, the third in the new series, examines complicated family relationships amid a minor election and Flavia Albia’s growing romance with magistrate Tiberius Manlius Faustus. Davis has seamlessly applied the transition from father to daughter, Falco and the rest of her family remaining peripheral characters who add to the narrative without taking it over.

Song One (2014), directed by Kate Barker-Froyland

Folk music is the star of this quiet little film about love found in the face of tragedy. Anne Hathaway is Franny, an anthropologist estranged from her folkie younger brother, Henry, who has rejected academia. He is in a coma following a car accident and she deals with her fear and guilt by using his journal as a map to his life. Musician Johnny Flynn is a revelation as Henry’s folk idol and Franny’s love interest. It is to be hoped his talents are recognised and used more in future. Song One pretty much bombed with critics and at the box office, but deserved better and will be enjoyed by those who like folk music and films in the vein of Begin Again.

Wild (2014), directed by Jean-Marc Vallee

The Pacific Coast Trail runs from the US/Mexico border to the US/Canada border through deserts, hills and forests. Cheryl Strayed decided to walk the trail to get her life back together after going off the rails following the death of her beloved mother. Reece Witherspoon plays Cheryl, who had turned to sex and heroin to escape her misery and destroyed her marriage in the process. The Nick Hornby script from the Strayed memoir is tight, the solid supporting cast includes Thomas Sadoski as ex-husband Paul and the outstanding Laura Dern as her mother. Flashbacks are woven in well to create a credible and engaging tale of redemption and healing.

Recipes for Love and Murder, by Sally Andrew

Alexander McCall Smith is quoted endorsing this Tannie Maria mystery and you can see how it fits into his oeuvre, if somewhat self-consciously. Unusual African setting – check; quirky and homely amateur female detective – check; challenging and lovable circle of friends and colleagues – check; unlikely romance – check. Racism is apparently almost a thing of the past in this small country town in post-Mandela South Africa. Domestic violence is not, and former victim Tannie Maria earns her keep as an advice columnist and cookery writer at the local paper. When one of her advice seekers is murdered, Tannie Maria feels she let her down and is determined to help gain justice. Use of Afrikaans dialect and slang is excessive and annoying, particularly as the glossary is at the back – too late to be helpful. The history lessons are shoehorned in and don’t really add to the story. But Andrew evokes a strong sense of place with almost poetic descriptions of scenery and wildlife that do belong among the action. Delicious recipes are well woven into the plot and help to flesh out the appealing characters and their motivations.

Love the One You're With, by Emily Giffin

Revisiting the road not travelled and looking up the one that got away has become all too common in the era of the book of face, often with mixed results. Newlywed Ellen faces the choice between the temptation of passion past and the contentment of a stable present, complicated by the ties of friendship and family and the pull of career. Emily Giffin’s characters are flawed, as well as relatable, but her later novels are less edgy, more conservative than her early successes, Something Borrowed and Something Blue. While the outcome of Love the One You’re With is predictable, the route there at least teeters on the edge of interesting.

Harnessing Peacocks, by Mary Wesley

With her first novel published at the age of 70, Mary Wesley had plenty of time to hone her sharply observed brand of social comedy. Probably best known for the wartime shenanigans of The Camomile Lawn, in Harnessing Peacocks Wesley jumps forward in time to create equally quirky and engaging characters, gently skewering the snobbery of the ‘right sort’ of people while celebrating a slice of English life that always fascinates. Resilient single mother Hebe has escaped the stifling hypocrisy of the ‘right sort’ and supports her small family by making the most of her talents in the kitchen and the bedroom. But is she courting hypocrisy herself by using her earnings to send her son to the kind of school that will gain him admission to the society she has turned her back on? Brutally honest about sex, money and marriage and about people’s motivations around all of them, Harnessing Peacocks is also a warm and funny tale of taking love where you find it and creating a satisfactory family to replace one that is not.