Laura Clark is Away From her Desk by Helen Russell (Wildfire £20, 400pp)

HR manager Laura Clark’s colleagues are surprised when they see her out-of-character out of office message saying that she is away from her desk.

Sian, Laura’s self-obsessed teenage daughter, has long been mortified by her parents and blames her fortysomething mother for everything but is also surprised when Laura ignores her many texts.

Laura’s demanding mother can’t believe that her reliable daughter is suddenly unavailable to listen to her complaints. No one knows where Laura is and it soon becomes clear that her out of office message must be taken seriously.

The longer Laura stays away, the more chaotic everyone’s lives become and they realise how much they relied on her. This is a brilliant portrait of a mid-life woman who has taken on too much and caused harm to herself in the process.

Clutch by Emily Nemens (Juniper £16.99, 384pp)

Carson, Hillary, Bella, Reba and Gregg met as undergraduates at an American university and forged a lifelong friendship.

Twenty years later, the five friends live all over the place but have remained close.

Reuniting for a weekend, each is dealing with a different issue. Career and relationship problems, difficult children, addiction and infertility are under the spotlight.

What ensues is heartwarming yet bittersweet – the women have changed but not all in the same direction.

The examination of the group dynamic rings true, with micro-alliances and splinter groups, but the women ultimately make a commitment to spend more time together.

It’s wonderful on the power of friendship and how it’s your friends who know you best.

Tuesdays are for Oversharing by Bella Osborne (Penguin £9.99, 400pp)

Four months after the accidental death of her adored older brother Davey, Louisa moves into the house he left her in a village. Desperate for change, full of guilt and with no idea how she should feel about everything, Louisa plans to keep a low profile.

This is upended on her first night when Davey’s neighbour and friend, retired nurse Peter, mistakes her for a burglar.

Knowing it’s not good for Louisa to isolate, Peter refuses to leave her on her own and it’s not long before she is driving him to a weekly meeting at the Cosy Café, where locals socialise. Louisa soon starts to make friends and her life improves.

This is a gentle read about finding connections when things seem hopeless.