FICTION: A WOMAN SCORNED by Wendy Robertson (Headline, £18.99)

FOR many years, Mary Ann Cotton from West Auckland, in County Durham, held the record for mass murder - children, husbands, stepchildren... all mysteriously died under her care and she was hanged. Her reputation is irretrievably black. Bishop Auckland author Wendy Robertson has bravely taken a fresh look at the story of Mary Ann. Was she really an evil woman, or was she just an outsider, just a bit too independent for her County Durham neighbours? An intriguing look at a local scandal.

NIGHTS OF RAIN AND STARS by Maeve Binchy (Orion, £17.99)

PURE escapism on a Greek island. Four disparate characters - from Ireland, England, America and Germany - have come to escape. But then, in a taverna owned by Andreas, who also has his share of heartache, they witness a dreadful accident that brings them all together. With the help of a middle-aged Irish woman who's lived in the village for years, they face up to their demons and can get on with their lives. All very satisfying, with just a dash of harshness to stop it from becoming a complete fairy tale.

Also available on Orion audio, read by Kate Binchy.

SNOBS by Julian Fellowes (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £12.99)

ACTOR and film director Julian Fellowes is the posh sort of a chap who wrote Gosford Park. His wife is a lady-in-waiting to royalty. He knows the upper classes from the inside - but that doesn't mean he likes them. Ambitious middle class Edith - to the delight of her parents - marries into the aristocracy, but they have no idea what to make of each other. Very sharp, very funny. Nancy Mitford meets Vanity Fair. Enough to make you glad to be a peasant.

Also available on Orion audio, read by the author.

STARTER FOR TEN by David Nicholls (Flame, £6.99)

WHO said student days were the happiest of your life? Sometimes they can be agony - as in this brilliant story of a working class lad, an innocent, utterly clueless, who goes off to uni like a lamb to the slaughter. Then he tries to impress a very posh girl and auditions for University Challenge. Student son and his friends loved this book. And more than 30 years after I graduated, it still made me blush with remembered agonies.

THE THIEF TAKER by Janet Gleeson (Bantam, £12.99)

A NEW detective joins the realms of fiction's greats This is one of the most unlikely - Agnes Meadowes, cook to a silversmith in 1750s London. Glorious attention to detail - life in a big house, below stairs and above it, the seamy side of London underworld and, best of all, the loving details of the elaborate meals that Agnes cooks.

NON FICTION: THE LONG WEEKEND by Ann Leary (HarperCollins, £14.99)

AN unexpectedly delightful book. Ten years ago American Ann Leary accompanied her husband Denis to London for his big break on a BBC comedy show. They'd planned to stay for three nights. But then Ann went into premature labour and they ended up staying six months until her son was well enough to travel.

As there's a photo of a ten-year-old Jack on the cover, you know there's a happy ending, so can sit back and enjoy the wonderful confusion of an American coping with the NHS head on - not least thinking she was in a convent, or why else would the nurses be called Sister? Jack thrived, the NHS triumphed and this whole book is really a wonderfully entertaining thank you letter.

Published: 07/12/2004