Moving house — brick by brick ...

WENDY HOLDEN (Corsair €23.79, 368pp)

THIS amazing debut centres on twentysomething Del, a drifting loner who’s come back to her small American home town.

The house she grew up in is about to be levelled by a construction company owned by greedy relatives. Del’s childhood was difficult, but rather than see her old home crushed she decides to move it brick by brick.

A mighty project begins into which other outcasts and oddballs are gradually drawn, confronting their various problems in the process. All the characters are brilliant, but Del is the best: witty, compassionate and witheringly clear-eyed.

This superb novel shines a bright and merciless light on the small-town mindset and American society in general.

WAITING FOR SUNSHINE by Jane Sanderson (Bantam €20.99, 448pp)

AFTER domestic noir and Scandi noir comes hipster noir. Chrissie and Stu are in a rock’n’roll band but long to be parents. The local authority assigns them Sunshine, a winning child with whom they fall instantly in love.

But soon the trouble starts — first with Barbara the sinister foster mother, then with Sunshine’s mysterious past. Who is she, and who are the strange women who follow her around? Will the new family survive?

The sense of cold dread with which Sanderson slowly builds the drama contrasts with the freewheeling music-biz types who are Chrissie and Stu’s social circle.

Superbly written, emotionally satisfying and compellingly original.

THE LIGHTHOUSE BOOKSHOP

by Sharon Gosling (Simon & Schuster €12.59, 448pp) THIS absorbing story of old secrets and new beginnings centres on the enigmatic Rachel, whose dream job at an eccentrically shaped bookshop is threatened when the owner suddenly dies. Moving swiftly into the frame is an unscrupulous developer, so it’s a race against time to save the shop at the heart of the community.

Aiding Rachel is journalist Toby, who’s moved to the village for a quiet life only to find more excitement than he’d bargained for. A cast of colourful characters, with their own struggles, aid and obstruct the pair as they uncover the sad secret at the heart of everything.

A warm, romantic mystery, beautifully structured and feelingly written.