Amateurs: Family drama by Gill Oliver

Beth Collier, up-and-coming composer, is shamed into acting as accompanist for her mum's amateur choir. And yes, they have a lot to teach her. There's no monopoly on talent, though; Alice, her brain-injured twin, has quite a voice, and leads her own band. But as the truth about the sisters' upbringing unfolds, Beth confronts big questions about her own identity.

Set in the months before lockdown, against the backdrop of the bars and church halls of a great musical city - where everyone makes art and joking is a serious business - this novel takes you back to where the music started. In the heart.

With amateurs and professionals from formal and informal musical traditions, the playlist ranges from Rachmaninov to Mersey Beat. Alongside music, there’s the word, and Beth will have to overcome some issues there... The thrills and spills of language - loved, shared, sometimes lost, often misunderstood, but never owned - are constant themes, as a wide range of characters from different cultural tribes stumble around in search of what connects them.