This book falls in the category of gradually increasing their allure with every flipped/ swiped page. On the surface though it seems to be another teenage romance story which is not heading in the expected direction of ‘and they lived happily ever after’ but there is much more nuance to it added skilfully by such an accomplished writer.

The story takes place in an idyllic village which is famous for a specialist boarding school and hiking in the woods. We get acquainted with the new headmaster for this school- Shaun and his girlfriend- Sophie. Sophie who herself is an accomplished mystery-thriller author is initially excited and then bored by the prospect of spending her life in such a small place without the presence of any social circle or activities. Although she is working on her next novel in the successful detective series, she is seriously challenged by a writer’s block partially due to her new surroundings and mainly due to her unsettled relationship status with Shaun.

But not for long as she becomes aware of a real-life missing case which has been unresolved for over a year. Eventually Sophie is pulled into the drama and mystery involving the disappearance of teenage parents Zach and Tallullah as she notices an intriguing ‘dig here’ sign in her backyard. Giving away to her curiosity, she soon discovers an intimate object related to the missing couple and gets acquainted with Tallullah ‘Lula’s mother Kim Knox.

It’s not long before the inexplicably empty mansion called Dark Place in the Upley Fold becomes central focus of this missing people investigation. Readers meet other related characters who all were present on the night of the teenage ex-couple’s disappearance. Till this stage, this story revolves around the expected who-done-it in a limited space of time and space.

But viewers are in surprise when they come across the real nature of Lola and Scarlet’s relationship. That relationship with all the undercurrents of destroying Lola’s idyllic life including the future of her child- Noah, finally implodes on the night of that ill feted party at the Dark Place. And finally, the puzzles of this carefully crafted story starts falling into places.

It certainly takes time to adjust ourselves as a reader to understand the timelines, get the overall perspective of the story line and look at this from the shifting narratives given by multiple narrators. Once we do that, the story becomes intriguing bearing all the hallmarks of Lisa Jewell’s exhilarating writing, attention to detail to carve out so many plots/ subplots and fleshing out remarkable characters.

At this point, I have read more than few of her books to turn myself into an appreciative fan of her work. Indeed, this book also fulfills all the expectations from such a celebrated and marvelously gifted author. It’s highly recommended for all the old fans as well new to grab this book for their next read.