Never Greener

Ruth Jones

Bantam, $32.99

Co-writer and actor in the popular British sitcom Gavin & Stacey, Ruth Jones has produced a debut novel that seems to get lost in the freedom of the form. The constraint of writing screenplays removed, discipline goes astray, and the result is a novel that doubles down on cliche and contains much loose writing. An adulterous affair between actress Kate and an older married man, Callum, ended in heartbreak when Kate was in her early 20s. Nearly two decades later, the former lovers meet again, and must confront whether to rekindle their old flame at the cost of breaking up both their marriages. Kate is the only strongly drawn character in what proves to be a hackneyed romance full of longueurs.