A serial killer, a traumatized woman, the quirkiest of characters, such perfect observational writing-- Joanna Cannon is a superstar. Although one person's distress is another person's couldn't-care-less, so I don't know how they decide which bits to take out. It started slightly slow, but then quickly picked up and started giving “Single White Female” vibes.

Photograph: David Levenson/Getty Images View image in fullscreen ‘A masterclass in misdirection’: author Joanna Cannon at Oxford literary festival in March 2017.

When another girl goes missing in the area in which she lives the whole neighbourhood gets caught up in the drama and a net of suspicion is cast. Joanna Cannon is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, which has sold over 250,000 copies in the UK alone and has been published in 15 countries. Yarwood’s poignant debut is infused with humour, pathos and gastronomic delights in an uplifting novel about friendship, death and how the joy of living can be found in the most unexpected places.

At times it’s extremely funny, albeit darkly so, her way of speaking can be most amusing but she’s also very perceptive and clever so you try interpret the inflections and nuances to detect the truth. Newspapers will always sniff around, asking their questions, wanting answers and photographs and rummaging in everyone else’s business. At the same time, she tracks down the former resident of her house and befriends her, a little too closely. The two timelines generate enough of a curiosity to know what’s happening ( though this doesn’t work very well in the audiobook.Linda has no hope really given a mother like this, and a lot of the story is her bouncing off of herself about ‘what mother would approve’ of. This is a story so cleverly constructed that even the most astute reader is unlikely to see the full picture before the jaw-dropping reveal. This reading group guide for A Tidy Ending includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. Meanwhile, emergency doctor Chris, having recently experienced the breakdown of his own relationship, finds himself unexpectedly attending the wakes of both patients and friends. Lest you think this is just one woman’s monologue of a mundane life, the inclusion of the murder strand brings a darkness and sinister anticipation to the story, as do other characters that Linda becomes involved with.

If only Linda could become friends with this Rebecca, she’d stop worrying so much about what Terry might be up to. The novel was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, shortlisted for The Bookseller Industry Awards 2017 and won the 2016 BAMB Reader Award.Armed with a key and new knowledge about his parents' past, Nik sets out to unlock the secrets that his mother has been holding onto his whole life.

Sometimes, it's as though you haven't spoken at all, as if your world or their world are running quite happily side by side, but there isn't any way of moving between one and the other. Mother says I take far too much notice of the world, that I hold on to things when everyone else has let them go, but it’s just the way God made me and you never know when that kind of information will come in useful. The audio version is narrated by Lissa Berry and includes a chat with the author that reveals the genesis of the novel and also of a particular incident in the story. A Little Luck is the story about the debilitating weight of lies, the messy line between bravery and cowardice, and the tragedies, big and small, that can ripple out from a single decisive event.

It’s not said outright in either book, but both women seem to be on the autism spectrum, and both are meticulous about cleaning. Lately, there have been too many books on dysfunctional characters with mental health issues, so a book needs to have something special to make it stand out.