Mike Gayle

A Richard and Judy Book Club pick

Helen and Ben parted as heartbroken 18-year-olds and went their very separate ways.

Twenty years later, mother-of-two-teenagers Helen is still in Manchester, a part-time primary teacher, stunned by the behaviour of her love-rat husband. In an old T shirt and scruffy jeans, she feels at the lowest point in her life.

And suddenly, impossibly, Ben is standing on her doorstep. Tired maybe, lonely even, but clearly still the world-famous, LA-based multi-millionaire rockstar he has become.

Can you ever go back?

For Helen and Ben, so much has happened in the years between. But just to sit in the kitchen for a while and talk - that would be nice.

THE MUSEUM OF ORDINARY PEOPLE (Hodder & Stoughton)

Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she's ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold.

But when in the process Jess stumbles across the mysterious Alex, together they become custodians of a strange archive of letters, photographs, curios and collections known as The Museum of Ordinary People.

As they begin to delve into the history of the objects in their care, Alex and Jess not only unravel heartbreaking stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long buried secrets that lie much closer to home.

Inspired by a box of mementos found abandoned in a skip following a house clearance, The Museum of Ordinary People is a thought-provoking and poignant story of memory, grief, loss and the things we leave behind.

Life is waiting to happen to Hubert Bird.
But first he has to open his front door and let it in.
In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfilment.
But Hubert Bird is lying.
The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul.
Until, that is, he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on.
Now Hubert faces a seemingly impossible task: to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out.
Along the way Hubert stumbles across a second chance at love, renews a cherished friendship and finds himself roped into an audacious community scheme that seeks to end loneliness once and for all . . .
Life is certainly beginning to happen to Hubert Bird. But with the origin of his earlier isolation always lurking in the shadows will he ever get to live the life he's pretended to have for so long?

The incredibly moving and uplifting new novel from the author of The Man I Think I Know.
Kerry Hayes knows exactly who she is: a single mum, a cleaner and Mariah Carey's biggest fan.
Noah Martineau thinks he knows who he is: a successful barrister, with a wife, daughter and big house in Primrose Hill.
Strangers with nothing in common.
Strangers living worlds apart.
But it wasn't always this way...and Noah and Kerry are about to discover just who they really are.

Some people just look destined for great things. And sometimes, life has other ideas.

The stunning new novel from Mike Gayle, packed with his trademark heart and charm. For fans of Jojo Moyes and Jenny Colgan.

Ever since The Incident, James DeWitt has stayed on the safe side.

He likes to know what happens next.

Danny Allen is not on the safe side. He is more past the point of no return.

But it's funny the way life is sometimes. Just when you think you know how everything is, it surprises you.

And redemption can come in the most unlikely forms . . .

Warm, witty and wise, Mike Gayle's new novel is a powerful story of male friendship and what we mean by success, reminding us of the simple courage at the heart of every human life.

Tom Hope is broken. Ever since his wife Laura died he hasn't been the same man, and definitely not the same father. Luckily, however, his mother-in-law Linda is there to pick up the pieces and look after his two struggling daughters, Evie and Lola.
But Tom getting arrested on the first anniversary of his wife's death is the last straw for Linda.
She decides on drastic action, and in a final attempt to make Tom reconnect with his daughters, Linda leaves for Australia. Now, with two fast-maturing girls on his hands, Tom has to learn how to accept his responsibilities and navigate the newly discovered world of single fatherhood - starting immediately.
While Linda finds her journey brings more than she bargained for, Tom suddenly has only himself to rely on.
Will he fall back into grief or finally step up and be the father his girls need?
Bittersweet, funny and sad, THE HOPE FAMILY CALENDAR is a novel about grief, love and family.

Joe Clarke is about 78% sure he's just had an affair. Well, that is the beautiful office intern in bed next to him...

But, if Joe really has just cheated, why can't he remember anything about it?

Confused but mortified Joe vows to be a better husband and father. Until his wife Penny puts two and two together and leaves him.

Devastated, Joe will do anything to win his family back. But when he realises that the key to saving his marriage lies in the hands of the mean-spirited ghost of his least favourite ex-girlfriend, Joe knows he's in real trouble.

SEEING OTHER PEOPLE is a hilarious and bittersweet novel about love, parenthood and fidelity and how easy it is to get lost on the way to your own happy ending.

THE SEQUEL TO THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL TURNING THIRTY:

How to turn forty:
1. Set yourself a personal challenge.
2. Clear wardrobe of all age-inappropriate clothing.
3. Relax.

How not to turn forty:
1. Have a complete meltdown . . .

High-flier Matt Beckford's sole ambition is to turn forty with his life sorted. With a Porsche on the drive and a job that requires him to spend more time in BA's club lounge than his own lounge, it looks like things are going in the right direction. But when Matt's wife unexpectedly calls time on their marriage, a chain of events is set in motion that very quickly sees him facing forty broke, homeless and completely alone.

But all is not lost because Matt has a plan . . .

The Stag and Hen Weekend is the story of Phil and Helen, a couple in their thirties about to commit their lives to one another . . . that is of course if they can just manage to get through their respective stag and hen weekends (his: Amsterdam; hers: a country house and day spa in the Peak District) without falling apart. Told in the unique form of two separate stories that have common characters as well as themes and conclusion, The Stag and Hen Weekend can be read from front to back or from back to front putting the reader in the driver's seat as to which story they wish to read first. Feisty, fun and thought provoking.

Despite the example of their own parents' enduring marriage, the three Bachelor brothers show no signs of settling down. Adam has a string of glamorous girlfriends, but they aren't suitable wife material. Luke has just proposed to Cassie but his refusal to consider having children looks like an insurmountable barrier. And baby of the family Russell is in love with the one woman he can't have.
Then their father announces he has been thrown out of the family home and this forces all three brothers to examine their own priorities
Are all three Bachelor brothers totally hopeless cases or just late starters?

Cleverly set around various parties, THE LIFE AND THE SOUL OF THE PARTY revolves around three couples: Chris and Vicky, the seemingly perfect couple whose shiny veneer hides Chris’s affair with a younger woman; Cooper and Laura, whose relationship could be on the brink of a crisis as they head in opposite directions; and Melissa and Paul, who were last together five years ago but could still be so right for one another. This witty, warm and moving book examines a wealth of different relationships with an honesty and reality that is Mike Gayle’s trademark.

Their holiday brochure said 18 — 30 …But they’ve just turned 35. After ten years together Charlie Mansell has been dumped by his live-in girlfriend, Sarah. All he wants to do is wallow in misery, but mates Andy and Tom have a better idea: a week of sun, sea and souvlaki in Malia — party capital of the Greek islands. But Charlie and his mates aren’t eighteen any more. Or even under thirty. And it shows. It isn’t the cheap beer, the late nights or even the fast-food that’s the problem. It’s girls. And life. And most of all …each other. Wish You Were Here is a heart-warming, funny and wise tale about love and friendship and how seven days in the sun can change your life forever.

When Rob’s girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester, not only will it mean moving cities, it’ll also mean leaving behind his best mate in the entire world. Believing that love conquers all and convinced of his ability to make new friends, Rob takes the plunge. Six months in, and yet to find so much as a regular drinking buddy, Rob realises that sometimes making friends in your thirties can be the hardest thing to do. With drastic action needed, his girlfriend puts an ad in the classifieds for him. Three excruciatingly embarrassing “bloke dates” later, Rob begins to truly despair. Until his luck changes…There’s just one problem. Apart from knowing less than nothing about music trivia, football, and the vital statistics of supermodels, Rob’s new friend has one huge flaw…She’s a girl.

From their first meeting at the student union over a decade ago, Jim and Alison succesfully navigated their way through first dates, meeting parents, moving in together and more. Then they split up and divided their wordly goods (including a sofa, a cat and their flat) into his’n'hers. Now, three years later, with new lives and new loves, they couldn’t be happier. Until a chance encounter throws them back together and to embark on a journey through their past to ask themselves the big question – where did it all go wrong, and is it too late to put it right?

When Dave Harding holds his friend’s newborn baby, the biological clock he never knew existed starts ticking. Loudly. Which wouldn’t be so bad except his partner Izzy has no nine-month plans for fat ankles or trips to Baby Gap. Then the music mag folds and Dave is temporarily forced to become Agony Uncle for ‘Teen Scene’. Knee deep in the adolescent outpourings of his readership, Dave opens one letter from a girl who doesn’t want advice about boys – she wants to know about Dave. Because she’s convinced that Dave Harding is her dad. And she’s got the facts to prove it.

Unlike most people Matt Beckford is actually looking forward to turning thirty. After struggling through most of his twenties he thinks his career, finances and love life are finally sorted. But when he splits up with his girlfriend, he realises that life has different plans for him. Unable to cope with his future falling apart Matt temporarily moves back to his parents. During his enforced exodus only his old school mates can keep him sane. Friends he hasn’t seen since he was nineteen. Back together after a decade apart. But things will never be the same for any of them because when you’re turning thirty nothing’s as simple as it used to be.

After twenty-eight years of shirking responsibility Duffy’s finally realising that he can’t extend his adolescence forever. His low-paid temping job is threatening permanency. His gradually receding hairline is depressing him greatly. And if that’s not enough his long-suffering girlfriend, Mel, wants to get engaged. Trips to IKEA, dinner parties with married couples and talk of babies, however, are giving Duffy cold feet. He doesn’t have many worldly goods to share – apart from the remote control for his TV, the beers in the fridge and his record collection – but can he really put his hand on his heart and say “I do’? He knows Mel’s the one for him, so why is it he’d feel happier swapping “Till death us do part’ for “Renewable on a four year basis’?But the choice is: All or nothing. Now or never. Mel or no Mel.

So after a lifetime as Mr Irresponsible does Duffy have what it takes to become Mr Commitment?

Meet Will Kelly. English teacher. Film fan. King of sandwich construction. Still in love with The One, desperately searching for An-Other One. In his decrepit flat, Will’s lifeline is the telephone. There’s Alice (who remembers his birthday), Simon (who doesn’t), Martina (the one-night stand), Kate (the previous tenant of his rented Archway fleapit) and of course Aggi – the inimitable Aggi. His Legendary Girlfriend. Or is she? Two men, three women and a donkey called Sandy…basically it’s your classic love hexagon.

Mike Gayle is nowhere near being a proper adult – even though his tenth wedding anniversary is looming; his second child is due any moment; and in less than twenty-four hours he is going to be officially closer to forty than he is to thirty. Appalled by this lack of maturity, Mike draws up a To-Do list containing every single item he’s been meaning to do but just keeps putting off... He's got a lot of stuff that needs doing. But unlike previous To-Do lists, he promises himself that this one will actually get DONE. And along the way, Mike will learn stuff about life (323), love (999), friends (1004) and family (9) and finally work out what it means to be a grown up (846).