Phillippa's Folly By Louise Couper (Poolbeg, £4.99)

Up to now Irish "light" fiction has struck me as having a slightly abashed air, like someone who finds themselves at an opening night at the Abbey in their pyjamas. By way of compensation, the stricken authors clothe their offerings in a couple of layers of meaningfulness of one sort or another - usually historical - which, of course, instantly weighs the whole thing down until the only light in sight is at the end of a long, long tunnel. Louise Couper has no such scruples. Philippa's Folly is souffle-light from start to finish, the transportation of her heroine from a farm in the Slieve Blooms to a mansion in Norfolk is accomplished without a hitch, and if the pace threatens to flag she is never short of a one-liner to liven things up. Pity the characters are such a dull lot still, a welcome addition to the genre.