McFarlane is a master at just about everything: dialogue, setting, comic timing ... I had to resign myself to reading each story from beginning to end without leaving my chair. They are that gripping, though not in a thriller kind of way. You have to know what happens to these people, and how they confront losses that no one should ever have to suffer.
A welcome literary addition to this subgenre ... Highway Thirteen is a masterclass in reflection and refraction. Fiona McFarlane is interested in what we choose to see and what we choose to ignore.
