Can be thought of as an atmospheric tale of macabre multitasking. Kent serves up a twisting and complex plot, but the novel’s chief appeal lies in the tense character of Bridget, who learns that a life lived under the radar can’t protect her from the creepy-crawly things that live there, too.
Kent’s writing has always possessed literary elegance, and that is fully in evidence here. Her earlier work maintained a balance between tense frissons and the allure of sultry foreign climes, but her subject now is the limit to which human beings can be led by the behaviour of others. Few readers will miss the baking sun of Italy, given the suspense Kent engenders these days in her own rainy stamping ground.
This is not a mystery, though there is a big twist at the end, nor is it a thriller, though there is much psychological tension. Rather, this is a novel of the #MeToo era; a story about all the jagged fragments that so many women have kept hidden in shame, about the moments they remember from their pasts that make them wonder, 'Did I deserve this? Did I ask for it?' This book, through Bridget’s story, unequivocally answers, 'No. You are not damaged, you are not unlovable' ... A slow-paced novel that builds empathy; thought-provoking rather than entertaining.
