The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams
Virago, £12.99
Buy the book

Two sisters - plain Ginny and pretty Vivi - are meeting again after years of estrangement in the family's vast, decaying, Victorian Gothic mansion. Ginny has always adored her little sister (or so she maintains), so what went wrong between them? Could the trouble have started on the terrible day in their childhood, when Vivi fell off the bell tower and nearly died? Or was it the shock of their mother's fatal fall down the cellar steps? There's a Baby Jane aura around this sisterly relationship, and tension as the shocking truth is revealed.

The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
Chatto & Windus, £16.99
Buy the book

Tom Loxley is staying in a remote shack in the Australian bush, trying to finish his book about Henry James, when his dog goes missing. Over the next ten days, while Tom searches for his dog, the story of his life is revealed, from his childhood in India to his fascination with Nelly, the artist who owns the shack. Nelly was once married to a Leeson-type rogue trader who suddenly vanished - did he commit suicide, or does Nelly know more than she lets on? Tom is also burdened with the increasingly frail condition of Iris, his Anglo-Indian mother. This is a beautiful piece of writing - place your bets now for the Booker.

The Lighted Rooms by Richard Mason
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £12.99
Buy the book

Eloise McAllister is a successful fund manager in her late forties. Her mother, Joan, is becoming too infirm to cope alone. Eloise knows she doesn't want to be Joan's carer. The only alternative seems to be an expensive, soulless private home, unless Eloise can win a massive bonus by taking a tip from an old lover. Immediately after taking the biggest gamble of her career, Eloise takes Joan on an extravagant trip to South Africa, where she was born. The past catches up, but not in the way that you might expect. A beautifully crafted novel, with two superbly drawn women at its heart.

Times Recommends

• Superfreakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• Vincent van Gogh’s letters show the soul of the artist