The Ten Best Beach reads
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1 Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier
Thisis addictive and breathtaking. Its blending of melodrama and subtlety is ingenious. The Cornish setting never quite leaves the imagination.
Virago Press, £7.99
2 The Talented Mr Ripley Patricia Highsmith
The Italian coastal scenes, beautiful cast and sense of summer languor that disguises evil impulses make this a disturbing but gorgeous read.
Vintage, £7.50
3 The House of Sleep
Jonathan Coe
In an old house, now a sleep clinic, characters reunite. The novel's gothic trappings and romantic longings suit its frenetic plot. Funny and beautiful.
Penguin, £7.99
4 Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen
This is by far the silliest of Austen's novels - a hilarious gothic spoof. It's so mocking, yet forgiving, of the foolish excesses of youth.
Headline Review, £4.99
5 The Story of You
Julie Myerson
A story of bereavement and love for a man who may or may not be real. The weaving of the mundane and the possibly supernatural is superb.
Jonathan Cape, £14.99
6 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Maggie O'Farrell
A dark 1930s story of a wasted life and family secret. The handling of different time periods is amazing.Published next month by Review, £14.99
7 The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins
No wonder 21st-century novelists are influenced by the great Victorian serial writers with their rip-roaring plots. A twisting detective thriller.
Penguin, £5.99
8 The Light Years
Elizabeth Jane Howard
The first part of the Cazalet Chronicles is a thoroughly juicy read in its own right. Light but well observed, you can't put it down.
Pan, £6.99
9 What I Loved
Siri Hustvedt
This novel about love and loss is dark, tragic, - andunputdownable. It's also amazingly good on the intricacies of relationships.
New English Library, £6.99
10 The Secret History
Donna Tartt
An old favourite but a great one. This story of aspiration, murder and guilt among Classics students pays re-reading for its sublime prose.
Penguin, £7.99
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