Eveless Eden, by Marianne Wiggins (Flamingo, £5.99 in UK)

A great many journalists would give their eye teeth, if they had any, to have written this novel

A great many journalists would give their eye teeth, if they had any, to have written this novel. Set in the tumultuous times surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism, it is the story of a tempestuous romance between a London war correspondent, Noah John, whose hands have been ruined by new technology, and a French American photographer called Divi (because her name is Da Vinci but she doesn't want to trade on it, OK?). Just as Noah is about to pop the question, however, Divi runs off with the Romanian Minister for Trade - some kinds of trade, clearly, don't bother her unduly - and her infatuated ex is forced to follow her trail around an increasingly unstable Europe. This is upmarket pop with a bright, breezy feel; Wiggins has quite a gift for comic writing, and her characterisation of the sometimes sleazy, sometimes sinister Romanian politician is absolutely brilliant.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist