Cocktails for Three focuses equally on three different women, and on their friendship, unlike many books aimed at twentysomething and thirtysomething females. It is not told in the first person, thus avoiding solipsistic navel-gazing about the lack of decent men and their early-life crises. This is enough to make it stand out from the mass of "women-friendly" novels that crowd the marketplace with their pink book jackets and lurid strap-lines (unfortunately, its book jacket would have you think otherwise, but don't be put off).

Wickham cleverly puts herself in turn into the shoes of Maggie, Roxanne and Candice, exploring their contrasting lives and outlooks. All three appear incredibly successful in their glamorous careers working for a glossy magazine (perhaps in order to up the typical aspirational stakes of this genre). However, they harbour other facets: the diffidence and depression of the new mother; the hidden grief and yearning of the mistress; and the guilt and idealism of the daughter attempting to right her late father's wrongs. Heather, the fourth woman who plays a pivotal role in the plot, is never given her own voice or viewpoint, but instead is judged and discussed by the others, which does mean her eventual character resolution is somewhat predictable. Yet these elements of predictability in the characterisations and plot detail act as a catalyst for a series of events that are less predictable and are thus both satisfying and moving.

Along the way, Wickham successfully tackles death, birth, guilt and romantic love with a depth of emotion that does credit to her ability to localise these universal themes without trivialising them. Cocktails for Three blends familiar ingredients with a few sharp twists to create an exhilarating mix. Olivia Dickinson

2007-12-15 Love, Life, Lies...and of course Cocktails!

Three best friends, all smart successful journalists meet up one a month for cocktails and converstation. Nothing could ever get the way of their friendship...or could it?

Maggie: The cool calm and collected editor of Londoner Magazine. It seems nothing can ruffle her feathers - until the early arrival of her first child throws her world into chaos and she finds the one thing that she can't cope with...motherhood! Follow her journey as she desperatly tries to get to grips with her baby and her whole new life.

Roxanne: Glamourous, fiery and oozing confidence, Roxanne has been having a secret fling with a married man for 6 years. Even her two best friends don't know his identity. And just as it looks like he might just leave his wife for her, tragedy strikes, leaving her broken hearted and with no-one left to turn to.

Candice: Honest, kind and decent, but with a dark family secret that once revealed almost destroys her career - and her life!

When a face from the past walks into the cocktail bar it will change the lives of one of the three forever - and this unannounced stranger threatens to irrevesably ruin their friendship once and for all.

This is the first book I've read under Madelaine Wickham, having been used to her writing under her other alias Sophie Kinsella, but this novel is a world away from the shopoholic series. For starters this book is written in the 2nd person, and takes time to explore each of the girls lives seperatly, before neatly bringing them back together. If, like me you've only ever read any of her books under Sophie Kinsella, then give this a go, its totally different but just as good. I'll deffo be on the look out for more Madelaine Wickham books now.