Sue Pickard

Should Pride and Prejudice be banned? Absolutely yes, according to Laura because it results in Mr Darcy syndrome, the futile pursuit of totally unsuitable men in the hope that they'll turn out all right in the end, like Mr Darcy.Laura's unsuitable man is the mysterious Mr Hunter who betrays and abandons her, leaving her not only broken-hearted but also in serious trouble. At least she's been cured of the syndrome though. Or perhaps not.Will she find her Mr Darcy? Follow Laura's adventures and misadventures as she continues her quest, unearthing long held family secrets on the way. Feel free to offer her advice as she faces an agonising dilemma. And discover, as she does, that where Mr Darcy syndrome is concerned, there really is only ever one cure.

This is not a cookbook so don't expect multiple shots of Nigella looking all doe-eyed and comely in a dressing gown with a few recipes thrown in or Delia telling you how to boil water. The Lovers Cookbook is a novel about food and love (the clue's in the title) Characters in the book show some of the same attitudes to love as they do to food, craving it, avoiding it or using it to get their own way. The novel is set in a Home Counties village with all its petty snobberies and subtle class distinctions, (if you've ever lived in one you'll know what I mean)where intrigue, deception and adultery lurk beneath the apparently respectable surface. The Lovers Cookbook, compiled for fund raising purposes, proves to be a controversial project and throws into sharp focus divisions in the village. The social order is slowly overturned and the veneer of respectability is stripped away, revealing uncomfortable truths and changing lives forever.