I'm a sucker for Margaret Forster's novels and eagerly snap them up as soon as I spot a new title. This one snook up on me though - I hadn't seen it in hardback, still having "Keeping the World Away" on my "to read" pile. I was immediately hooked from the first page, as usual and though it's a slow, thoughtful tale, I found it hard to put down.

The pace of the book is considered, the events few. Written in the first person, Lou's point of view was clearly going to be the most persuasive. I sympathised entirely with her from the start and when, three quarters of the way through the book, she was dealt a cruel hand, I fully expected an altogether different turn of events. But family relationships are not straightforward; shared history and experience - and love - create strong bonds and the eventual outcome was not unexpected (or contrived).

Another satisfying read in a week when distractions have been more than welcome.