This assured debut from Charlotte Williams is perfect for fans of the psychological thriller very much on a par with Erin Kelly, Sophie Hannah et al. Focusing on the professional and personal life of psychologist Jessica Mayhew, balancing the demands of a difficult family including a wilful teenage daughter and a snake-in-the-grass husband, Jessica’s life is further complicated by the arrival of a troubled new patient, Gwydion Morgan. Morgan places many demands on Mayhew emotionally and professionally, as events from his childhood reveal a dark tale of jealousy and murder.

Williams skilfully interweaves this two disparate areas of Jessica’s life into a fluid and engaging narrative, and although for me personally, the guilty party was quite evident in the murder plot, I was carried along quite nicely by the dilemmas facing Jessica. There was a good intergration within the book of psychological detail and the professional treatment of psychological disorders which made for an interesting curve in the central plot as Jessica’s professional life plays such a central role. Her family life, focusing on the demands of a difficult teenage daughter and the rebuilding of trust with her husband after his sexual indiscretion, also had an extremely authentic feel leading the reader to feel great empathy with Jessica’s woes. Her relationship with Gwydion Morgan also makes for an interesting dynamic, professionally and personally and likewise her interaction with other members of the Morgan clan, a family steeped in jealousy and untruths. One aspect of the book I felt was particularly good was William’s depiction of place and atmosphere especially in relation to the central setting of the rugged west coast of Wales. She captured perfectly the wild beauty of the area, and there was also a nice little sojourn in Sweden as Jessica attempts to untangle the complicated threads of Morgan’s troubled family history. All in all a good thriller and certainly an author I would read again.