Happy Place, by Emily Henry

Doctor Harriet, farmer Cleo and lawyer Sabrina could not be more different but have been the closest of friends since college. It’s a 10-year tradition for them and their partners to spend some of the summer at Sabrina’s father’s cottage in Maine, but he is selling it so this time will be the last. All of them bring secrets to the nostalgia trip, which will test the boundaries of their friendship. The biggest secret is that Harriet and Wyn have broken their engagement but haven’t told their family or friends. They resolve to keep it quiet for a little longer so as not to spoil the party, but keeping up appearances is a strain. An entertaining read, the novel paints an interesting picture of the development of relationships within a friendship group and the way childhood patterns can repeat in adult life. But it is based on a flaky premise – it’s hard to believe the disengaging couple have not told anyone, especially their closest friends, in five months. The ending is predictable and a little disappointing, aiming to make a point about being true to yourself despite others’ expectations, but not quite hitting the mark.

Apartment 303, by Kelli Hawkins

Rory suffers PTSD and OCD, resulting from childhood trauma, and rarely leaves her inner city Sydney apartment. She gets financial and emotional support from her aunt and daily comfort from her dog, which she walks on the rooftop garden. Becoming frustrated with her limitations, Rory starts to expand her horizons by befriending neighbours. But she soon runs into barriers, including her own fears and the apparent return of her violent father. Is there a genuine threat or is it all in her head? The story is quite gripping and Rory a sympathetic character, her battle with mental illness credible and engaging. The climax and resolution is a bit rushed and melodramatic – if not entirely surprising given its clunky execution.

The Great season 2, Hulu

Empress Catherine is heavily pregnant for most of the second season of this sort-of true story of the German Princess who modernised her adopted country in the 18th century. This has an effect on her emotions and decisions, particularly with regard to her husband and father of her child. She has deposed him as Emperor in a palace coup, but can’t bring herself to kill him and eliminate the threat he poses. A visit from her manipulative mother complicates everything, as does war with the Ottoman Empire. Catherine has made progress in her bid to bring enlightenment to Russia, but she still faces strong opposition among the nobles, who don’t want to lose any of their enormous privilege. This interesting take on history is enormously entertaining and visually sumptuous, with a sharp and funny script. The cast is top notch, with Dakota Fanning a delight as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult imbuing the monstrous Peter with humanity.

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder, by Kerryn Mayne

At first this novel promises to be yet another quirky tale of a neurodivergent young woman overcoming the odds. But while Primary School teacher Helena ‘Lenny’ Marks may be neurodivergent, it soon becomes apparent she is living with the effects of a traumatic childhood. Reclusive, isolated and socially awkward, at the age of 37 Lenny has been half-heartedly trying to ‘get a life’ at the urging of her foster mother. When a letter dredges up her past it triggers buried memories and forces Lenny to question everything she thinks she knows of herself. Intermittent flashbacks gradually reveal how Lenny lost her family – and her memory. Mayne treads a fine line between horrifying and amusing in revealing Lenny’s past and outlining how she operates in the present. Her denseness about people gets irritating and some aspects are a bit far-fetched, but Lenny is a strong character and her story holds clear and useful messages. The ending is both disturbing and satisfying as it successfully answers the question posed by the book’s title strapline – Or Does She?

London Rules, by Mick Herron

Moscow rules say watch your back; London rules say cover your arse. MI5 dumping ground Slough House apparently loses one of its Slow Horse agents in unfortunate circumstances in each book. The early candidate here is obnoxious techie Roddy Ho, who is targeted from the start. This comes to the attention of the thoroughbreds of Regent’s Park when it is linked to a terrorist attack on an English village. The investigation of who is behind it stretches to Birmingham and to the actual town of Slough, where a comedy of errors facilitates a political assassination rather than preventing it. Often a step ahead of their Regents’ Park superiors, the Slow Horses swing wildly between heroics and fuck-ups. As usual their execrable leader Jackson Lamb operates on Moscow Rules to ensure the continued existence of his team. This time it leads to handing arch enemy Diana Taverner a weapon to secure her power that seems likely to come back to bite him. The sardonic humour is laugh-out-loud in places and there is joy in identifying thinly disguised political figures, especially from the populist right, and speculating on the accuracy of their depiction. This tale ends on several cliffhangers, likely to reverberate in the next instalment.

Silo, Apple TV+

Based on the dystopian books of Hugh Howey, this 10-part series is faithful to the story, while creating its own vision. The Silo houses a population of 10,000 citizens, deep underground. Every aspect of life is tightly regulated, especially technology. Ostensibly run by a popularly elected mayor who appoints a sheriff, in reality a judicial service oversees everything and rules the Silo with an iron fist. The story starts 140 years after a rebellion, in which many records were destroyed. No-one knows why the Silo was established, how long it has existed, or when it might be safe to venture outside. Questioning the system is strongly discouraged; dissenters are seen as a threat to the Silo and sent outside to clean the sensors that show the devasted environment. Engineer Juliet Nicholls lives and works deep in the bowels of the Silo, keeping the generators that power the place operating. The death of her lover takes her to the top levels, where power and authority reside, looking for answers to some profound and dangerous questions. A fantastic cast is led by Rebecca Ferguson as Juliet, supported by a gripping script and stunning visuals that bring the Silo to life. This is quality television and a second series is essential, so it’s a relief it has been announced for 2024.

The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell

Teenage runaway Holly Sykes has some strange and violent encounters with otherworldly beings in rural Kent in the 1980s. She returns home to her parents’ pub when her strange little brother, Jacko, disappears. Seven years later, sociopath Cambridge student Hugo Lang finds his double life as perfect son and student versus fraudulent card sharp is about to unravel. On a ski trip to Switzerland, his encounter with hard working bar manager Holly takes his life in a very different direction, or perhaps to a different plane. Another decade on, war correspondent Ed Brubeck is struggling with PTSD and an addiction to his work and the impact it has on his partner, Holly, and their child. When their daughter goes missing old forces from Holly’s past are reactivated to find her. All this takes to half way through the book and so far, so intriguing. Then we hit 2015 and Crispin Hershey, an ageing, fading writer who encounters Holly on the writers’ festival circuit. He is a tedious character who dominates the next chunk of the novel, to its detriment. His section is actually no longer than the others but is so dull to read that it seems triple the length. Eventually we hit 2025, and the ultimate showdown between those mysterious otherworldly beings – the Horologists and the Anchorites, who have been at war for centuries. But not before we digress into the past lives of Marinus, one of the Horologists, just to spin the tale out even longer. Finally Holly retakes the central narrative in post-apocalypse 2043, where she is barely surviving in rural Ireland with her grandchildren. Mitchell’s books are difficult to describe because they contain such a dense concentration of worlds within worlds. This one is an epic self-indulgent ramble over more than 600 pages. Holly is a compelling protagonist; elements of the tale are entertaining; but it’s all too much and it’s a relief to finally get to the unlikely ending.