This book is told by Eve as she prepares for motherhood and reflects on her childhood.
When she was seven, Eve's mother died and she went to live with her grandparents in a tiny Welsh village. Here she discovers things about her mother and her mysterious father who has left so many bad memories in the village that she bears the brunt of the left over ill-feelings because of her resemblance to him.
But it's not only the past that provides drama and confusion in Eve's new home. She meets Daniel, a farmworker who kindles her interest, and Billy, the local oddball who lives alone in the countryside after taking a horse kick to the head. All this in the shadow of the tragic disappearance of another local girl which throws the village into fear and suspicion.
So a lot happened to little Eve in one year and the way it is told from her adult perspective tints the story with nostalgia and also offers little extras to the reader as Eve now comments on things that her younger self thought were all important but proved to be just fleeting moments. It also makes you really feel for Eve because you have so much access to her thoughts and feelings, both now and then.
So this is a book about the drama of people's everyday lives pretending to be a crime thriller. The dissapperance of the other girl pervades the narrative whilst never taking over and the way Eve tells her story, with little hints to future events like reference to a scar from "the fire", leaves the reader constantly guessing. But you never stop guessing. Because the mysteries aren't the focus of the book they aren't ever developed properly. You know loads about Eve but some of the dramatic events are skimmed over a bit or limited by her child's perspective. And the missing girl is presented as it was to Eve at the time, as something that had happened but didn't really affect her that much.
So the telling of the story is clever and you get really close to Eve as a result but if you like closure and answers you will be sorely dissappointed.
When she was seven, Eve's mother died and she went to live with her grandparents in a tiny Welsh village. Here she discovers things about her mother and her mysterious father who has left so many bad memories in the village that she bears the brunt of the left over ill-feelings because of her resemblance to him.
But it's not only the past that provides drama and confusion in Eve's new home. She meets Daniel, a farmworker who kindles her interest, and Billy, the local oddball who lives alone in the countryside after taking a horse kick to the head. All this in the shadow of the tragic disappearance of another local girl which throws the village into fear and suspicion.
So a lot happened to little Eve in one year and the way it is told from her adult perspective tints the story with nostalgia and also offers little extras to the reader as Eve now comments on things that her younger self thought were all important but proved to be just fleeting moments. It also makes you really feel for Eve because you have so much access to her thoughts and feelings, both now and then.
So this is a book about the drama of people's everyday lives pretending to be a crime thriller. The dissapperance of the other girl pervades the narrative whilst never taking over and the way Eve tells her story, with little hints to future events like reference to a scar from "the fire", leaves the reader constantly guessing. But you never stop guessing. Because the mysteries aren't the focus of the book they aren't ever developed properly. You know loads about Eve but some of the dramatic events are skimmed over a bit or limited by her child's perspective. And the missing girl is presented as it was to Eve at the time, as something that had happened but didn't really affect her that much.
So the telling of the story is clever and you get really close to Eve as a result but if you like closure and answers you will be sorely dissappointed.
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