An entertaining gem of a novel with echoes of Big Little Lies and a small town Ireland setting.
This twisty mystery opens with the over-involved parents and staff of sought-after Glass Lake primary school congregating at the police station following the discovery of a body in the nearby river on the eve of the school musical’s opening night before rolling back fifteen days. Involving, terrifically witty and wonderfully well-observed, I had a blast reading this immersive novel full of subplots, secrets, sexting and other surprisingly serious issues.
The book is expertly plotted with Eithne Shortall juggling the stories of multiple characters and weaving them together to paint a compelling picture of the small town of Cooney in West Cork and the diverse community who call it home. Queen Bee of the Glass Lake parents and a former pupil herself is Beverley Franklin who has not only cast her youngest daughter, Amelia, as the lead in the school musical, but also pulled off the coup of bringing TV camera’s to Cooney to film it. Determined Bev is all for keeping up appearances but with marital strife and an older daughter whom she struggles to communicate with things are a lot more complicated behind closed doors. When Bev catches Amelia taking a naked photo of herself with the intention of sending it to classmate Woody Whitehead, whose father has recently been convicted of a drink driving tragedy that has devastated the neighbourhood, she is quick to demand the boys expulsion from school, all whilst intending to keep Amelia’s involvement hush-hush. But nothing stays a secret in Cooney for long..
It is the events of this car crash, which left the son of Glass Lake’s headteacher in a wheelchair, that reverberate through the entire novel and although events begin with the town focused on the Whitehead’s they soon spill over into all of the locals lives, including Bev’s school mum frenemies. Meanwhile Bev’s older daughter is engaged in a clandestine romance with the other Whitehead son, Arlo, who is doing his best to prove his detractors wrong after being given work at Glass Lake by the school caretaker. Local journalist, Christine, has an anxious child of her own keen to be involved in the musical but has her own hands full reporting on the sexting scandal and trying to resolve the problem of a neighbour having nabbed the family cat, and not even the other teachers are without problems of their own.
The narrative is intercut with occasional glimpses of the witness statements being compiled by the Gardaí but the actual identity of the deceased is not disclosed until over eighty percent of the way through the novel, keeping my mind working overtime as the suspense really kicked in. Although the cast is sizeable Shortall’s characterisation is superb and I felt that I knew, and was able to appreciate, every characters individual predicament in a pacy narrative of multiple perspectives. Whilst much of the humour is tongue-in-cheek and there are gossipy goings-on and grudges aplenty to get drawn into, the novel also has a weightier component with Shortall bravely touching upon several serious issues from sexting to drink-driving and eating disorders with real compassion. Whilst parts of the novel do stretch credibility with a rather campy vibe to the backdrop, it very much fits with the spirit of this big-hearted novel of acceptance and understanding.
The book is expertly plotted with Eithne Shortall juggling the stories of multiple characters and weaving them together to paint a compelling picture of the small town of Cooney in West Cork and the diverse community who call it home. Queen Bee of the Glass Lake parents and a former pupil herself is Beverley Franklin who has not only cast her youngest daughter, Amelia, as the lead in the school musical, but also pulled off the coup of bringing TV camera’s to Cooney to film it. Determined Bev is all for keeping up appearances but with marital strife and an older daughter whom she struggles to communicate with things are a lot more complicated behind closed doors. When Bev catches Amelia taking a naked photo of herself with the intention of sending it to classmate Woody Whitehead, whose father has recently been convicted of a drink driving tragedy that has devastated the neighbourhood, she is quick to demand the boys expulsion from school, all whilst intending to keep Amelia’s involvement hush-hush. But nothing stays a secret in Cooney for long..
It is the events of this car crash, which left the son of Glass Lake’s headteacher in a wheelchair, that reverberate through the entire novel and although events begin with the town focused on the Whitehead’s they soon spill over into all of the locals lives, including Bev’s school mum frenemies. Meanwhile Bev’s older daughter is engaged in a clandestine romance with the other Whitehead son, Arlo, who is doing his best to prove his detractors wrong after being given work at Glass Lake by the school caretaker. Local journalist, Christine, has an anxious child of her own keen to be involved in the musical but has her own hands full reporting on the sexting scandal and trying to resolve the problem of a neighbour having nabbed the family cat, and not even the other teachers are without problems of their own.
The narrative is intercut with occasional glimpses of the witness statements being compiled by the Gardaí but the actual identity of the deceased is not disclosed until over eighty percent of the way through the novel, keeping my mind working overtime as the suspense really kicked in. Although the cast is sizeable Shortall’s characterisation is superb and I felt that I knew, and was able to appreciate, every characters individual predicament in a pacy narrative of multiple perspectives. Whilst much of the humour is tongue-in-cheek and there are gossipy goings-on and grudges aplenty to get drawn into, the novel also has a weightier component with Shortall bravely touching upon several serious issues from sexting to drink-driving and eating disorders with real compassion. Whilst parts of the novel do stretch credibility with a rather campy vibe to the backdrop, it very much fits with the spirit of this big-hearted novel of acceptance and understanding.