When Annie Thorne was eight years old, she disappeared. Of course, her family were beside themselves with fear and worry, and there was police involvement and an extensive search. And then she came back, but she was not really the same as before …

The narrator of this unusual and gripping novel is Joe, Annie’s big brother, who is lured back to his childhood village by an anonymous email that hints that someone knows exactly what really happened to Annie. Joe has considerable issues of his own in his adult life; he is a compulsive gambler who owes serious money to some unpleasant people, he has never had any relationships or close friendships, and he had to forge a reference to get a job at the local school as an English teacher. To add to his misery, his former gang, who were bullies he palled up with to avoid being bullied himself, are now the adult equivalent but with adult power, and they do not want him back in the village again. The village itself is bleak and nothing happy ever seems to happen there.

The story moves along at a fair pace and the characters are well drawn and interesting, even if none of them, including the narrator, are particularly likeable. And the mystery is certainly engaging – you really do want to know what happened to Annie all those years ago and why she returned a very different creature. But here is the rub; this isn’t a standard whodunnit. There are hints of supernatural matters in the narrative that seemed forced and simply didn’t sit well with the story for me.

Tudor is a clever writer, but her debut novel The Chalk Man is a far superior book.

Reviewed by Lesley West