Diamond Life, Paperback/Anna Maconochie

The boundaries between friend, lover, and enemy blur in the lives of aspiring creatives in London. For lovers of Industry, Fleabag, Baby Reindeer, and Spent. Nat sets Victor and Cleo up on a blind date, to their mutual disappointment. A married woman has seven other men, or does she? Ghosts, exes and even her therapist make up her love life, threatening chaos but also irresistible fulfilment. Luckless Vicky lodges with glamorous Lara and suffers a romance with toxic loser Damian. A struggling artist, caught between two romantic trysts, is promised by a street fortune teller that it's all about to change. On a family holiday, a little girl meets a witch, who grants her unexpected wishes in adult life and becomes a famous film producer. Graduate Joe moves to London only to find his sought-after internship and social scene do not meet his expectations - particularly his would-be romance with older, troubled opera singer Marsha. Alex is in love with Paul. Paul is only half-in-love with Alex and totally in love with heroin. Candace and Jacob fear their vulnerable friend Jill will kill herself. Despite their class difference, Penny and Frank marry in old age. But Penny soon learns getting what you want isn't always the answer. An ordinary man, born with a long furry tale, strives to live a normal life. But when he removes the tail, it comes back to haunt him. A married man, split from his mistress, gets a surprise invitation from her for one last hurrah. What he finds in the Soho Hotel is not quite what he anticipated. Two schoolgirl frenemies fall in and out of touch in adult life. One seeks fame, the other to be a real artist. Unspoken passions and jealousies give way to a life-changing transaction.