Wheels coming off

First-time novelist takes readers along with four young expats on a satisfying if tense Italian road trip.

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Freddie Gillies's bio reads like the epitome of the ideal OE- musician, round-theworld cyclist, travel writer and now debut novelist - but he takes pains to undercut the idyll in this story of four young expats coming undone on a jaunt through Italy.

Twenty somethings Andrew and Jess are settled in London and slowly grinding upwards at work (he sells carbon credits, she's a recruiter), while their relationship gradually stalls. By contrast, Andrew's best mate Jaryd and his glamorous partner Liv seem to have it all figured out, living the high life in Paris at the intersection of the startup and fashion worlds, making their reflected glamour and the chance to rekindle old friendships on an Italian road trip hard to pass up.