Middle-aged couple Jo and Dave go on holiday with Dave’s moaning father, his flash brother Teddy and Teddy’s skittish girlfriend Kayla.

What could possibly go wrong? First they lose their luggage, then, gradually, their will to live.

Teddy’s paying for the exotic resort which is supposed to wow them all, but its soullessness and tastelessness undermines everything. From the themed restaurant to the chartered yacht by way of the ocean of free booze, one expensive disaster follows another.

But underneath are all the characters yearning for the one thing that can’t be bought? This brilliantly bleak comic drama is well-observed and omits no ghastly detail of holiday hell.

In this glorious, glamorous tale of stylishness and stately homes, legendary interiors queen Mimi is selling a lifetime’s worth of keepsakes. But why?

Young Jo, employed to write the auction catalogue, gradually pieces together a long-ago summer.

When naughty Nancy Carswell, spirited scion of the Big House, invites the gardener’s gorgeous daughters to the ball, tragedy follows.

Events are still unfolding 50 years later, with Jo increasingly drawn in. It’s a great premise, fabulously realised in Chase’s lush, lyrical style, and with a wonderful ending.

After Katherine breaks her leg, her sister Annie goes alone on the boy-band-themed cruise that was Katherine’s 45th birthday treat.

Four days at sea with 1990s sensations Boy Talk, plus thousands of Talkers (their obsessed, middle-aged female fans) is a horrifying prospect. But Annie’s a thoughtful sort at a crossroads in life and grows to understand, even appreciate, the cringey entertainment and brakes-off behaviour.

Also on board are organiser Sarah, grimly trying to keep the show on the road (or waves), and disaffected band member Keith.

As well as pop, this hilarious, insightful and superbly-written book touches on almost every aspect of human existence. I absolutely loved it.