This book is by Nicci Gerrard, the 'Nicci' of the husband and wife thriller writing team, Nicci French.

This book was chosen as part of Tesco's monthly book club last autumn, so you may be able to get hold of an edition which features book club questions and an in-depth interview with the author.

However, this is not a thriller, rather a tragi-drama. At the very beginning of the novel, Marnie's life is turned upside down by a phonecall from childhood friend Oliver to tell her that another friend Ralph is dying. Marnie leaves her life in London immediately in order to travel to Scotland and spend Ralph's dying days with him and Oliver in Ralph's country cottage.

As the days unfold, we are told the story of how the three friends met, grew close and then drifted apart. Up until this point the three have not met up for many years and the reasons why for this are unravelled.

The story is told primarily from Marnie's point of view as she revisits teenage years filled with much longing and tragic loss with her mother in the Bed and Breakfast that they ran; and then how things changed for them when Ralph, and later Oliver, entered their lives. There are some sections which contain Ralph's inner monologue as he lies dying.

First off, this is not an uplifting book, so be warned if you are anything less than chirpy. There is a lot of human tragedy and loss within the story to the point where you do wonder how things could get any worse. I have to be honest, I did struggle to finish it towards the end as it was so unremittingly bleak.

I have to say, however, that it is well written. Gerrard's recollections of Marnie's childhood are surprisingly evocative and really engaging. The characterisation is also good, Marnie is a character that you can be largely sympathetic with despite the fact that she is flawed, which does help with the nature of the events that unfold.

The reasons behind why the three went their separate ways are of no great surprise as you work your way through the book and are in essence quite believable. Where my main problem with the story lies is that I was not convinced that Marnie would have dropped everything in her life to run off to Scotland, it troubled me throughout the book and even with the plot unfolding it just did not seem convincing. It was in essence just a plot device to get the story of the childhood told, which I can see but it just did not work.

And, if like me, you do not buy into this plot point, then you will probably find that the long sections at the house drag considerably.