Family Friends by Chloe Ashby

 

Family Friends by Chloe Ashby.

Published 9th July 2026 by Fig Tree.

From the cover of the book:

Since they first met at university twenty years ago, Maggie and Will have spent the last two weeks of every summer in France with their close friends, Lydia and Roland. Both families have been looking forward to this cherished annual ritual. But this year things are different.

Will has been hiding something from his wife, and is struggling to keep his deceit from seeping into the cracks in their marriage.

Maggie is worried about their withdrawn teenage son.

Roland is grappling with grief over the death of his first wife.

Lydia is trying to ignore past chemistry with an old friend while learning to play second fiddle to a ghost.

And then, into this conflicted fray steps Issy, Roland’s beguiling, irrepressible daughter from his first marriage.

As the August heat beats down, and the children find new ways to entertain themselves, it starts to feel as if the fault lines in these relationships might widen; that it might be harder to hide secrets here, under the bright sun.

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For twenty years, married couple Will and Maggie have spent the last two weeks of summer in France, with their friends Lydia and Roland. The holiday has become a tradition they all look forward to, since their meeting at university, throughout all the changes that have come with marriage and parenthood.

But this summer, things are different. Each of them is struggling with the emotional toll of secrets they are keeping, and the added presence of Roland's daughter, Issy, from his first marriage, is an ingredient that just might set this holiday on fire...

Chloe Ashby's novel is a literary triumph of beautifully portrayed drama between old friends mired in worries about the secrets they are keeping to themselves. The story flips between the present in France, where the two families meet for their traditional holiday, and moments from Lydia, Roland, Will and Maggie's pasts which build up a picture of the complex relationships between them all.

Ashby sets the scene by delving into the thoughts that occupy each of their minds - Lydia's concerns about the distance between her and Roland, the arrival of his sullen daughter, the sale of their holiday home, and the unexpected resurfacing of old passions; Roland's preoccupation with the funeral he has to organise for his late first wife, his guilt over the way their relationship ended when he met Lydia (a former student of his) and the fractured relationship with Issy; Will's whopping secret he has been keeping from Maggie, and how this has enmeshed him in complications; Maggie's worries about her and Will's withdrawn teenage son, Sam; and Issy's conflicting feelings about the turn of events that make her feel like an outsider here.

As the story winds its sinuous way through tension you can cut with a knife, the voices of the four friends and Issy totally immerse you in their troubles, anxieties, and the things they cannot say to each other. When Will is forced to confess his secret to an incredulous Maggie, the dynamic between them all shifts to set in motion as chain of events that affects everyone.

Ashby's writing is stunning, and she really knows how to use a weighty silence to effect. Rarely, have I read a book which brings the experience of characters coming together at a pivotal moment in all their lives so vividly, in a way that gives such attention to the history between them. She sets this against the simmering heat of their location with such skill - using the two to enhance atmosphere and discomfort to perfection. The revelations drop with well-judged precision, and the exploration of many facets of marriage, motherhood, friendship, love, coming of age, guilt, and divided loyalties is so well done.

This is a book that provokes a visceral response. Being immersed in the lives of characters with dilemmas it is not always easy to sympathise with sometimes makes for uncomfortable reading, but I have nothing but praise for the way Ashby pulls this off with such accomplished style. Absolutely compulsive reading.

Highly recommended if you also enjoy Kate Sawyer's excellent books.

Family Friends is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Fig Tree for sending me a review copy of this book.

About the author:

Chloë Ashby is an author and award-winning arts critic.

She is the author of three acclaimed novels: Wet Paint (2022), Second Self (2023), and Family Friends (2026).

She writes and reviews for publications including The Times, the Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, and the TLS. She regularly interviews artists and writers, and has written a Guardian column on the delights and dangers of introducing small children to art.

She is also the author of two non-fiction books on art history: Look At This If You Love Great Art (2021); and Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes (2022), a Times best book of 2022.