Book review: The Girlfriend

Laura and her son Daniel have always been close, but for the past few years, he’s been away at university. When he returns home after graduating, she relishes spending time with him.

Michelle Frances

Pan Macmillan, pb, £7.99;

ebook, 98p

In a matter of days though, Daniel meets Cherry, a bright, ambitious estate agent who has always wanted more for herself.

Laura invites Cherry over for a family meal, but rather than forging a friendship, the two women get off to a less than auspicious start, and soon the relationship turns from strained to downright poisonous.

Michelle Frances has worked in television drama for 15 years and the fruits of that labour are borne out in this impressively compelling debut.

Her skill lies in taking a universal relationship, familiar to many, and creating two characters who transform it into something much more malignant.

The novel keeps the reader on a knife-edge throughout and with film rights secured by Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium, The Girlfriend looks set to thrill on the big screen too.