The Christmas Postcards by Karen Swan

And this year, the queen of epic romances sweeps us away on a journey of fate, love and lost souls that takes us from the picture-perfect rural charms of a Cotswolds village and the bustling streets of Vienna to the majestic heights of the Himalayan foothills.

Author of big festive hitters like Midnight in the Snow, The Christmas Party, Christmas Under the Stars and The Christmas Lights, Swan is an expert at delivering sack-loads of love, mystery, and drama… and this enchanting story about finding connections in the most surprising places sparkles like a frost-filled morning.

It had been a make-or-break holiday for their marriage, but Natasha and Rob Stoneleigh’s rekindled romance in the Maldives is short-lived when their toddler daughter Mabel’s beloved soft toy cow Moolah disappears in Vienna on the long journey home.

As Natasha comforts the distraught child, she turns to social media for help. Miraculously, the toy is found, but it has become the lucky mascot of a man named Duffy who just so happens to be thousands of miles away, trekking the Himalayas.

When Duffy promises to keep Natasha updated with pictures for her daughter, the pair begin a correspondence that quickly intensifies into something more meaningful to both of them. Sometimes, Natasha feels this stranger understands her more than the man lying next to her.

But as the weeks pass and Duffy heads deeper into the mountains, Natasha begins to notice a change in him. Then one day, the messages stop. Too late, Natasha wonders why he had ever needed a lucky mascot at all.

Swan is on top form in this gorgeously romantic and drama-packed story which follows the fortunes and misfortunes, connections and misconnections of two people whose lives become linked together through a series of accidents and coincidences.

From first page to last, this is a captivating and sometimes heartbreaking wintertime odyssey filled with tears, laughter, a dazzling array of superbly portrayed characters, page-turning suspense, and unexpected twists and turns.

Sprinkled throughout with Swan’s trademark insight, natural warmth and eye for comedy, this is the perfect reading warm-up for the Christmas season.

(Pan, paperback, £8.99)