Eggshell Days — Rebecca Gregson

Emmy, Niall, and Sita and Jonathan miss their train back to London from a Somerset wedding, escaping Britain's worst rail crash in sixty years. Upon reflection of their mortality, the friends reevaluate their lives, and come to a decision. They will all, along with Emmy's daughter Lila, Niall's girlfriend Kat, and Sita and Jonathan's children Jay and Asha, move into the ramshackle manor house Emmy recently inherited in Cornwall. In the idyllic setting, they hope to simplify their lives.

As renovation of the house begins, a closely-guarded secret threatens to be uncovered. The bricks and mortar of the group's long friendship starts to crumble. It soon becomes clear that fresh starts have little to do with geography, and the four of them realize that escape to the country doesn't mean escape from life's problems. As choices are made and the truth comes out, will they be able to hold their friendships together?

Touching and thoughtful, with quietly elegant writing and easily relatable characters, Eggshell Days is a novel to treasure.