Set in the small Irish village of Kinlough, this story traces the return of some old friends to the village where another friend, Kala, disappeared without trace as a teenager.
Two sisters, Theresa and Helen with friends, Joe and Mush, are the adults living out their lives scarred by the memory of that event but the return of two of them triggers the uncovering of some dark secrets before what happened to Kala is resolved.
The book moves between events in the 'now' and in the past telling the story through the eyes of different characters. The device works well but sometimes you are not quite sure where past and present get confused.
It's also complex in other ways with a number of village characters - some of them related, some of them feuding - and there's additional back story as the novel hurtles along - it's fast! Everyone also seems to be carrying some unpleasant baggage from the past which makes it dark and violent at times.
The climax is dramatic and unexpected but also so complicated that it needs one of the characters to summarise what you've read in the final chapter. There are certainly some twists which this reader had missed!
Along the way, it's a good read if you don't mind being slightly lost at times and simply let the book carry you along.
(Kala is published by Atlantic Books. Thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for an advance copy.)
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