'Addictive. Told with real humanity, warmth, and infectious love' Observer
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It's July 1976 and London is in the grip of a heatwave. It hasn't rained for months, the gardens are filled with aphids, water comes from a standpipe, and Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going round the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't come back.
The search for Robert brings Gretta's children - two estranged sisters and a brother on the brink of divorce - back home, each with different ideas as to where their father may have gone. None of them suspects that their mother might have an explanation that even now she cannot share.
Pages: 305
Genre: Phycological Thriller
Published: 2013
Amazon Rating out of 5: 4.1 from 11,000reviews
| 1. Rating: 7.0 out of 10 (Range 3.5 to 9) |
| 2. Recommended: Two thirds of the members said they would recommend the book. A couple said they would definitely not! |
| 3. Audience: The book would suit middle aged women. It would be particularly appealing to people with an Irish background. |
| 4. Type of Read: It was not that easy a read. It was confusing in places, jumping around between people and events. There was also a noticeable amount of repetition. |
| 5. Quality of the Author: There were some beautiful pieces of text, but some members felt the story line was weak. Half the members said they would not read another book by this author, although this was not reflected in the scoring. |
| 6. Other Observations: The characters all had secrets and most of them were not particularly likeable. However the relationship between the siblings was convincing. The book led to some very interesting discussions about dyslexia and Irish family life. Most people felt the ending was weak and needed more definitive answers as to what happened to all the main characters. |