What would you do if you heard rumours that your best friend’s husband was cheating on her? For Tamsin, the answer is to set up a honey trap. But when things don’t go according to plan, she gets embroiled in a far worse scenario and risks losing best friend Michelle. Even worse, Michelle’s husband, Patrick, still seems to be playing around and Tamsin is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The blurb gives a bit too much away for my liking but this is one heck of a riveting, exhilarating read as you follow Tamsin to see how things are going to unravel. There’s tension and drama aplenty. Fallon blurs moral boundaries and implicates her heroine as much as she exonerates her. But it’s a fascinating approach to characterisation and one that reveals the grey areas. As such, the plot doesn’t always go the way you would expect, instead Fallon shows the complications of the situation and doesn’t try to take the easy route out. And although this means that Tamsin may not get her happy ending, it does make for a much more nuanced and thought-provoking depiction of friendships, relationships and morality. (JC)
Behind every great woman stands another one in Jane Fallon's Strictly Between Us. The summary says: "Tamsin and Michelle have been inseparable since childhood. Even now they spend all their time together, along with Patrick, Michelle's handsome husband. Except Tamsin's brilliant assistant Bea (without whom Tamsin's life would fall apart) has heard a nasty rumour that Patrick is playing away. Determined to uncover the truth, Tamsin devises a honey-trap to test his resolve, using Bea as bait. But she never counted on Bea having her own agenda. Struggling to untangle the web of deceit, Patrick seems to be constantly one step ahead. Can Tamsin reveal the truth to Michelle without ruining everyone's life along the way?" Strictly Between Us is out in December 2015.