A fantastic and compelling debut novel by Kate Hamer which I read in one day because I could not put the book down!
The story is related via two first-person narrators, Beth Wakeford, and her eight-year-old daughter, Carmel, with aspects from each narrative overlapping through the author's clever use of motifs (the colour red, spiders, fog, open fields, and "strings"). That a chilling event has occurred is evident from the beginning of the novel with Beth setting the scene for the suspense and emotion which increase as the narrative gathers momentum. The book is extremely well-written, with identifiable and likeable characters - even the 'baddies' elicited a degree of sympathy from me.
There are gaps in Carmel's narrative at certain points which, although I found a little confusing, actually serve the purpose in reflecting the character's disorientation very well as she, and the reader, adapt to life after her fateful trip when life changed forever for her and her family.
It's thrilling, it's exciting, and it is heart-wrenching - a real roller-coaster which keeps you turning those pages.
** Thank you Waterstones and Faber & Faber for sending me an Advance Reader Copy to read in exchange for an honest review. **
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