It’s the middle of winter and a young teenage girl holidaying with her family in the English countryside goes missing. Local villagers join the police to search for her. They check barns, fields, caves and the reservoirs that dominate the landscape – with no success.

The police revisit the case over time, reminding everyone of the mystery and tragedy, and yet life goes on for the locals in the village. The novel follows the lives, loves, successes and heartbreaks of the locals.

The large cast of characters slow the story down at first and, it took me a while to remember them and how they fitted into the complex life of the village. This frustrated me a little as I like a more intimate relationship with book characters. But as the book progresses you start to see a more satisfyingly complete picture of their lives.

The story is beautiful in places, where the rhythm of nature in the surrounding woods is described and when love and contentment blossoms for some characters. The reader is gradually drawn into everyday village life, accompanied by the occasional jagged reminder of the loss of the girl.

This is an unexpectedly gentle novel, although it begins with an apparent accident or act of violence. But as a reader who likes to know more about the main characters, I wanted more insight into their lives and loves.

Reviewed by Lesley West