Christobel Kent

Part a haunting and part a mystery, the action mainly occurs in a sleepy and remote East Anglian coastal town, hemmed in by fenland. Rosie unexpectedly receives a call from Evan, to say that her sister, Kate, his wife has died from cancer. The sisters have only been in contact sporadically over the past few years and Rosie returns from Italy. She moves in to Kate and Evan’s isolated cottage to help look after Jamie, their young son, and Kate’s stepdaughter, Serena. From this point on events take a sinister turn, as Rosie begins to suspect that all is not as it seems on the surface. However, given Rosie’s past history, her mothering instinct for Jamie and Serena seems somewhat unlikely, and seems to be brought about as her guilt over her treatment of Kate comes to the fore. This rather weakens the plot of the book, which is nonetheless a gripping read.… (mer)