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HEATSTROKE

by Hazel Barkworth

(Headline £16.99, 320pp)

When 15-year-old Lily disappears during a stifling summer heatwave, Rachel, her teacher and the mother of her best friend Mia, takes a keen interest in the case.

Lily’s parents appeal on TV for her return and other parents are terrified for their own children — but then it’s discovered Lily has left home by choice. To begin with, only Rachel has an inkling as to who she might be with — but says nothing.

The search for Lily intensifies and the layers of the novel are peeled away to reveal the reasons for Rachel’s reticence. Narrated from her point of view, the questions mount as to Rachel’s reliability in what becomes a claustrophobic study of obsession and of mother/daughter relationships.

Barkworth has a pinsharp eye for detail, perfectly catching the moment when girls transition to adults. Overall, it’s propulsive, thought-provoking and atmospheric.

KEEPING MUM

by James Gould-Bourn

(Trapeze £14.99, 352pp)

Danny’s wife was killed in a road accident a year ago. His 11-year-old son Will hasn’t spoken since. Neither of them knows how to deal with the grief that is pushing them apart.

When Danny is sacked from his job on a building site and he can’t pay the rent, the future looks bleak. Until he starts busking as a dancing panda in the park . . .

Not knowing the real identity of the moth-eaten panda, Will begins to speak again as he confides in him. But Danny can’t keep up the pretence for ever.

With a roster of delightful subsidiary characters, from the bullying landlord and his sidekick to the builder with a heart of gold, the pole dancer who teaches Danny to dance and the school bully, this is a joyous, uplifting story of a father and son finding their way back to each other.

DAISY COOPER’S RULES FOR LIVING

by Tamsin Keily

(Orion £16.99, 320pp)

After agreeing to move in with her boyfriend, 23-year-old Daisy pops out to get some milk for her flatmate, Violet, and slips on some ice. She comes round in a dull, grey office belonging to Death.

Thanks to an admin error, Daisy has died 69 years earlier than expected, so can’t be processed through the system. She is condemned to limbo where Death appoints her to be his PA.

Death is not the cloaked, scythe-wielding grim reaper we know. He’s lean with grass-green eyes, ‘a dorky sense of humour and a rare but glorious smile’. A snappy dresser, too.

Daisy’s developing relationship with him is neatly evoked, but it’s compromised by her longing to visit those she’s left behind.

Though a touch baggy in the middle, this is an entertaining and original novel about grief, loss and love.