Out of the blue, a former schoolfriend arrives asking if Klein can counsel her teenage daughter, who is behaving unusually (even for a teenager). Klein agrees, reluctantly, and finds not only is she having to deal with the daughter's trauma but also with a similar event that happened to Klein 23 years earlier, and which has all the hallmarks of being the work of the same man.
A number of characters from the previous books appear, and, without having read the other three, I occasionally felt on the back foot. It isn't essential to have read the others, however, and I don't think reading this one first will affect your enjoyment of the earlier three.
Nicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, and they write in a pared-down style which at first seems rather thin. However, the characters are revealed through sharply written dialogue, and the book's 418 pages move along at a good pace, with plenty of twists and turns.
- Mike Crowl is a Dunedin writer, musician and composer.
