Supper Club

Secret affairs, marriage problems, difficult children and shattered dreams are not typical polite dinner party conversation topics, but in British author King's delicious new page-turner, no subject is too taboo or intimate for discussion among old friends gathered for a monthly dinner. King (Second Time Lucky) introduces four female characters as different as the recipes they choose. Lucy Summers is recently widowed; Patsy Jones stole a married man; Jenny Macdonald wants to find someone; and Chrissie Richards's marriage is falling apart. Their secrets unfold as the meals progress from August's Lamb baked with apricot and prunes to February's Prawns in lime and ginger (recipes not included). At times the suspense is marred by predictability and unresolved plot elements, but the characters are sympathetic, and readers will cheer them to the last course.