Fireworks

NEW YEAR’S EVE ”Have you made any resolutions?” Sophie asked. Emma put her phone on speaker as she poured a cup of tea. No Champagne for her tonight. “No. Every year I resolve to exercise more and tak

by Harriet Lane (£20, HB, Orion) What lies beneath the image we construct of ourselves? Ruth, newly divorced and drifting as her daughter leaves home, feels invisible – until Sookie, her dazzling form

I t’s one of those January mornings where the sun is so dazzling it tricks you into thinking you don’t need to wear four layers and two pairs of socks. I made the error of leaving the house wearing my

I’M bored.” Ruth looked up from her magazine. How could something so crammed with TV programme listings have so little in it? “There’s nothing on, Max,” she said. Her husband turned his head. “Nothing

JANUARY 1. Hazel sat in the quiet cottage. It was one of two, semidetached, on the outskirts of the village, completely surrounded by fields. When she looked out of the window, all she saw was unrelen

Most people are glued to their phones these days, but my sister won’t go anywhere without her notebook. She bought it after we went on a writing course, and she took it out of her bag as soon as I par