Lucinda Hayes, a high school student at the top of the social ladder, is found dead in the elementary school playground. She is lying on a carousel, covered with a light dusting of snow.

This novel covers the first three days after Lucinda’s death, and on each day it delves into the secret lives of three main characters. Cameron is a 15-year-old local misfit who secretly loves Lucinda and stalked her. He becomes a prime suspect. Jade, a rebellious girl who hates Lucinda and practises a witchcraft ritual to make people disappear, is consumed by guilt, even though she never believed that the ritual would work. Russ, the policeman investigating Lucinda’s death, is trying to keep a promise to look after Cameron, who is the son of his ex-colleague.

Each of these three characters has layers of complications in their lives. For a 24-year-old, author Danya Kukafka has keen insight into their minds.

Two themes are presented to ponder. The first is whether evil exists; are some people intrinsically evil, or are they just trying to be good in unorthodox ways? The second theme is the exploration of the fine lines between friendship, love and obsession.

Kukafka writes poetic, thought-provoking and refreshing descriptions. If you like a fast-moving crime plot, you could still enjoy the intensely evocative language and the introspective revelations of the characters’ lives and vulnerabilities, even though this tantalisingly slows the action.

I cared about these realistic characters and how their lives worked out at the unpredictable end.

Reviewed by Judith Grace