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I was drawn to this novel because its theme echoed the situation of two friends. Each of them had his life dramatically changed when a small child dashed out in front of his car, leaving him no time to brake. In both cases, the inquest completely exonerated the driver, but in both cases the feelings of guilt led to years of self-hatred.

Maude, in Tania Kindersley‘s novel has punished herself for ten years when Sadie comes into her life and encourages her to contact a famous author, Alexander Dent, who is in a similar situation, having accidentally reversed his car into his own wife on exactly the same day that Maude killed a small boy.

Maude drives to the north of Scotland and runs into a deer. For me, this was the moment the pace of the novel quickened. The relationship with Alexander Dent leads to another plot line and a well-crafted final scene.

This is a novel to read if you enjoy books that look into peoples’ mental turmoil and the way they deal with crises. The Daily Mail calls it ‘A beautiful and moving novel’.

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