Review by Amanda Hampson

Set in Sydney and New York the story revolves around the complicated relationship between three friends and the subsequent disappearance of one of them. Ralph, Julia and later Ralph’s cousin, Ingrid, are pulled romantically in opposing directions; Ralph longs for Ingrid, Julia for Ralph. Nevertheless all three are close friends until Ingrid inherits a fortune, goes on a trip and falls for American art dealer Gil Grey. 

Grey’s daughter, Fleur, is a former child prodigy revered by the art world. Ingrid develops a close relationship with both Grey and Fleur and, to the dismay of her Sydney friends, soon marries Grey and moves permanently to New York. During, what turns out to be Ingrid’s final visit to Sydney, it is evident  to her friends that Ingrid’s new life is not as happy as she would have them believe. When she goes missing in Manhattan on 9/11 her friends are forced to accept the inevitable truth that she has died in the tragedy but are haunted by many unanswered questions.

At Ralph’s request Julia goes to New York to find out something more of Ingrid’s life in the weeks and days leading up to her disappearance. Julia soon discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Suspense gradually builds, layer upon filmy layer, as the thoughtful and observant Julia notes the fleeting expression or a significant look exchanged between two people.

A literary mystery with an excellent premise which Kirsten Tranter has skilfully developed into a plot is both seductively simple and endlessly complex. It is perfectly paced so that it draws the reader ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Ingrid’s disappearance. A delicious read that will keep you intrigued to the very last page.

Amanda Hampson is the author of The Olive Sisters and Two for the Road and also runs fiction and memoir writing workshops: www.thewriteworkshops.com.