Böcker av Jennie Ensor

In March 2020, the Covid pandemic hits the sleepy English village of Brampton. At the start of lockdown, local busybody Tara Sanderson sets up a community group to help vulnerable residents through the crisis. Elderly Elspeth Chambers, her longstanding neighbour and friend, accepts Tara's offer to buy food and collect medicine for her. But it isn't long before neighbourliness and community spirit turn sour. Tensions arise when Tara becomes jealous of Elspeth's emerging friendship with Ashley Kahn, a recent arrival in Wilton Close. Suspecting there is more to Tara's hostility toward them than meets the eye, Ashley and Elspeth start to uncover their neighbour's long-buried secrets...

Neuroscientist Bea Hudson fears she is a bad mother and that her career will be thwarted by family life. When her husband suspects Bea of having an affair with her best friend, a chain of events is triggered, leading to a crisis in Bea's life.Bea Hudson, a neuropsychologist living in Godalming, is struggling to cope with the challenging behaviour of her obsessive husband Kurt and their disruptive four-year-old daughter Fran. On top of this, her boss is pressuring her to get results from her research. Bea has her work cut out.Things come to a head when Kurt goes away on an extended business assignment. While sacking staff and drinking heavily, Kurt's insecurities run amok and he becomes convinced that Bea's close friend Madeleine is seducing his wife and unduly influencing his daughter.Meanwhile, childless artist Madeleine sees her friend torn between the demands of work and offers to help with Fran. But when she reveals a startling desire to her unsympathetic therapist Mr Rowley, he advises her to focus on the attention of Colin, a man she met in a lift.Can Bea survive the demands of her career and the turmoil in her marriage without having a breakdown? Can Madeleine survive Kurt's anger and find happiness with Colin? And can love survive marriage, middle-age, alcohol and ambition?Not Having It All is about a scientist torn between her stalling career and the demands of her family. With themes of trust, deception and obsession, it is a mercilessly playful take on modern friendships, relationships and family life.