THE BEST NEW FICTION

Bad Relations Cressida Connolly

Viking £14.99

History casts a long shadow in this stylish family saga. A soldier wins a Victoria Cross in the Crimean War, only for his marriage to collapse on his return to England. His tangled family tree stretches from Cornwall to Australia and, as we catch up with his dysfunctional dynasty in the 1970s and again post-Brexit, a lot of loose ends need to be tied up. In lesser hands it would all feel rather corny, but Connolly brings real emotional depth to the characters.