Summary
Perfect for readers of The Paper Palace and Tessa Hadley: one summer holiday, two couples, and decades of suppressed secrets emerging in the heat.
Since they first met at university twenty years ago, Maggie and Will have spent the last two weeks of every summer in France with their close friends, Lydia and Roland. Both families have been looking forward to this cherished annual ritual - but this year things are different.
Will has been hiding something from his wife, …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780241784235 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0241784239 |
| Author: | Chloë Ashby |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Imprint: | Fig Tree |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 9 August 2026 |
| Weight: | 424g |
| Dimensions: | 226mm x 148mm x 30mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
A beautifully poised and riveting novel about the intricacies and entanglements of a group of friends holidaying in the south of France. I was gripped from the start * Claire Powell, author of All In *
An intelligent, evocative, elegant novel simmering with tension and drama. Family Friends is a forensic examination of friendship and desire, and the perils of mixing the two * Lisa Owens, author of Natural Disaster *
Delicious! So good on the way that time ties knots in relationships that trip us up further down the line. Chloë is so patient with her characters, even when they’re making terrible mistakes, whilst also keeping us hooked on her tangled plot * Lizzy Stewart, author of Alison *
Sultry and very evocative … Contains the sort of characters you’d die to have as neighbours: chaotic, and always on the verge of their next mistake — perfect, in other words, to gossip with friends over * Jo Hamya, author of The Hypocrite *
With Family Friends Ashby has created a piercing portrait of marriage, friendship and parenthood. It is a propulsive story with intrigue, secrecy and drama – I had a wonderful time reading it * Jenny Mustard, author of What a Time to Be Alive *
Ashby writes with an eye for detail … The deft plotting makes this a novel that preoccupies you even when you’re not reading it * The Irish Times *
Grief and temptation gather under the August heat in Ashby’s psychologically acute novel about loyalty * The i paper, The best new books out in July *
An involving and psychologically acute portrait of marriage, friendship and loyalty tested to the limit. A sophisticated summer page-turner for Tessa Hadley fans * The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice *
Ashby’s background in art comes to full force in her physical descriptions … Family Friends is at its best when it evokes the singular sensory pleasures of a summer holiday * The Sunday Times *
Poised and elegant. Skewers the intimacies and dynamics of friendship, desire, trust and betrayal on a summer holiday in the sultry French heat * The Good Stuff, substack *
About The Author
Chloë Ashby
Chloe Ashby is an author and award-winning arts critic. She writes and reviews for publications including the Times, the Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, and the TLS. As well as her two previous novels, she is the author of two non-fiction books on art history.
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