Need something enthralling to read on the beach / plane / park / stay-cation? Here are my favourite books for the Summer: gripping storylines filled with balmy sunshine that are suitably lightweight for July and August.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald You can practically hear the chime of cheering cocktail glasses at Jay Gatsby’s thriving weekly Saturday night parties. I love the way Fitzgerald describes the heat on one particularly hot day when five friends take a suite at The Plaza hotel in New York to cool down (don’t let the heat stifle your glamour!) If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to do so this Summer.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann Set in post-war Summertime on the East Coast of America, it reads a little like The Great Gatsby with cocktails, parties… and drama.

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
London is in the midst of a heatwave in the mid-seventies when Robert goes out to buy a paper but doesn’t return. It reunites a family with a complicated history and tests their relationships to breaking point.

The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh Full review here.