Kathryn Flett's first novel starts off with a text sent to thirtysomething marketing executive Alex  but it is read by his partner, Susie, while he's in the shower. The message, from a woman signing herself "P", says simply: "Start living a different kind of life".

Over the next 400 pages, each of Flett's main characters will find their lives taking different turns. Separate Lives is a novel that embraces the chaos of everyday life with verve and humour. There are unexpected plot twists and dysfunctional families; extramarital flings and beastly in-laws; domestic disputes and misbehaving children. It could have ended up like a particularly confusing episode of Jeremy Kyle but Flett (who for many years was an Observer columnist, writer and TV critic) manages to weave a tightly paced, expertly plotted narrative.

The novel is ostensibly a love triangle, and its success lies in the fact that none of the protagonists is blameless, nor is any more worthy of sympathy than the next. Instead, the characters involved are drawn with real depth and complexity. The result is a novel more grown-up, better written and funnier than anything remotely resembling (dreaded phrase) "chick-lit".