THERE’S war between the classes and the generations in Our Holiday by Louise Candlish (HQ, £9.99). Pine Ridge is an idyllic little town on the south coast of England, but its loveliness is what’s led to its current problems.

With ever-increasing numbers of middle-aged London professionals buying second homes, there’s little hope of young locals getting their first place. And some of them are no longer willing to meekly accept the dictates of the free market.

For most of its length, this novel has the feel and pacing of a very superior beach read — lots of dangerous liaisons and shameful secrets — while the last quarter is a fast, suspenseful crime thriller. It sounds like an odd hybrid, but it really works: I was stuck to it like glue from first to last.