Sue Margolis

It's only after Finchley-dwelling Jewish housewife Beverley Littlestone has spent several minutes attempting "to work out which was further west, Liverpool or Bristol" that she realises she's literally "been lying back and thinking of England" while husband Melvin "had been engaged in what he liked to think of as lovemaking". Melvin's business skills aren't up to much either. And never have been. His latest bright idea to stave off bankruptcy involves...

Excerpt: "Dan Bloomfield stood in front of the full-length bathroom mirror, dropped his boxers to his ankles, moved his penis to one side to get a better look and stared hard at the sagging, wrinkled flesh which housed his testicles. Whenever Dan examined his testicles - and as a hypochondriac he did this several times a week - he thought of two things: the likelihood of his imminent demise; and the cupboard under the stairs in his mother's house...

"In the new novel from the author of Losing Me, one woman is about to discover what happens when you take the "grand" out of "grandma." Recently widowed, Judy Schofield jumps at the chance to look after her two grandchildren for six weeks, while their parents are out of the country. After all, she's already raised one set of children--and quite successfully, if she may say so herself. But all it takes is a few days of private school functions, helicopter...

After losing her job, Barbara, who had been financially supporting her grown children and caring for her elderly mother, is forced to face her vulnerabilities, until a young boy comes into her life and gives her perspective.