Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (Pocket Books, £6.99)

I'm always sceptical of any book billed as a bestseller, but having started Big Stone Gap with a cynical eye, my view softened and veritably warmed to this novel within the first chapter.

Not only is it well written, but there is plenty of pace and wit.

The story is set in a sleepy Virginia hamlet. Everyone knows each other, and teenagers fall in love, marry and stay there for the rest of their lives.

Ave Maria Mulligan, through whose eyes the story is told, is an oddity. She is 35 and unmarried. She has recently lost her Italian mother to whom she was very close, but has not yet grieved.

Her private life is mirrored by her role as the town's pharmacist. For years she has been keeping intimate secrets on behalf of residents, and it is Ave to whom they turn in moments of crisis and self-doubt.

However good she is at helping others, she is blind to her own situation and how others feel about her. In many ways, this is a typical love story with a happy ending, but the way it is told manages to steer clear of mush and syrup to give a wry sparkle and vitality.

Buy a copy now for some summertime reading. You will not be disappointed.

Jackie Harris