I have just finished reading "The Long, Long Afternoon"...despite the title, I read it so quickly. It is a fascinating mystery. Once you start reading, it is really difficult to stop. The story flows easily and it is easy to understand. The characters are well explained and you know the way all of them behave. You quickly pick a side and start to hope things get clarified in a fair way. The book is cleverly written. From time to time, the story makes you gasp...in an embarrassing way, as people beside you hear and ask "What is it!?"...My favourite character was Ruby. You feel as if you want to protect her all the time and wish all the best in her quest to improve her life. I felt attached to her, as she epitomises what many women go through. Many times I felt like entering in the story to try to make things right. However, the author knows exactly what she is doing. I would definitely recommend this book. As soon as you finish reading it, you want to start again to take more pleasure out of it. Really brilliant!