Can there be anything more properly British than a weekend house party in the country? The down-on-their-luck Torrington siblings, who with their mother and stepfather make up the household, have great hopes for this weekend for many reasons; it would appear that the few invited guests have motives of their own for coming. It is the entirely unexpected and somehow unusual group of passengers from a railway accident, foisted on the household, who will provide a catalyst for true change by the end of the novel.
VERDICT Excellent characterization combines with a plot sprinkled with hints of secrets to be revealed to produce a page-turning read that blurs the edges of the country house mystery. In her third novel (after the Costa First Novel Award-winning The Outcast and Small Wars), Jones demonstrates a talented writer's versatile imagination and originality. [See Prepub Alert, 11/21/11.]
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