Kate Mayfield is a middle-aged, outwardly respectable woman with a secret.  Ever since that summer in 1972 she has kept this hidden from everybody, but what about those who were present at the time?  When Mrs. Ivanisovic writes to her out of the blue and wishes to speak to her, she has no choice but to drive up to the nursing home where Mrs. Ivanisovic lies dying.  But just how much does the old lady know?

Told alternatively in flashbacks and present-day events and wholly by the narrator Kate, this is a psychological thriller in the Barbara Vine style.  The author excels at very tactile descriptions, and you can almost feel the heat of a vanished summer, hear the strains of Cat Stevens’ music, taste Kate’s awful cooking and smell the stale air of the old house.  A sense of impending doom permeates throughout, making this is a real page-turner.  It is all rather easy to guess what is going to happen, and I managed to guess every scrap of it without breaking a sweat, something that renders the novel less of a treat.  This sort of story needs a twist in the tail; but if this relatively minor omission is corrected then this author’s next novel is going to be quite something.  A good, solid debut.