Joe, Dilys and their son Sean are all outsiders in the small English town where they live. Joe because of insidious racism, Dilys because she suffers the remaining stigma of her alcoholic mother and mentally ill father, and Sean because he seems slow. As Dilys and Sean become increasingly and unhealthily co-dependent, Joe is pushed to periphery of their lives. So much so that when he vanishes, Dilys is neither surprised nor concerned. Then Joe's identical twin brother Neville arrives from Jamaica. Despite what Dilys tells him, he refuses to believe that Joe simply walked out on his family. And so he begins a painstaking investigation into Joe's disappearance. What he discovers changes him forever.
Industry Reviews
Thompson's second novel is as rich in dialogue and detail as it is in intrigue . . . the cultural clash and the inclusion of such strongly drawn characters as Neville, now coming to terms with middle age, ensure that Thompson's storytelling impulse has enough energy to carry the reader through these quietly dramatic landscapes.
