Miller's world is turned upside down when his father is arrested for the murders of three teenage girls. At first Miller believes in his father's innocence but when the girls' bodies are found hidden on Fidra, Miller's world falls apart. While his sister, brother and mother maintain Douglas's innocence even after he is found guilty and sentenced to prison, Miller faces the inevitable. As soon as he is old enough he leaves home, leaves behind the bad memories, and starts a new life elsewhere.

More than thirty years later Miller returns on the death of his father, his mother having died a few years before. In spite of never forgiving or contacting his father, Douglas has left the house and the island to Miller. Douglas has also left a letter in which asks Miller to re-assess the evidence against him. Grudgingly at first, Miller starts to re-investigate his father's case and soon becomes convinced that the whole story has yet to be told. With the help of his childhood friend, Catriona, and Duncan Alexander, a monk who was a close friend of his mother's, Miller sets out to unearth the truth of the triple murders once and for all.

It is good to read a book set, in literary terms, in a more unfamiliar part of Scotland. Sue Walker creates a strong sense of place in her descriptions of the East Coast with its rugged coastline and the brooding presence of the ruined Tantallon castle perched high above the sea.

The conflict between Miller the boy who loved his father and Miller the man who believes in his guilt is well drawn. His confusion is understandable, as is his gradual decision to investigate his father's case. Miller's inability to sustain his relationship with his wife while trying to be a good father to his two children has echoes his own parents’ relationship although Miller only finds this out much later.

As a child Miller had had a not-so-secret crush on the slightly older Catriona, the daughter of his father's close friend Dr. Buchan. The embers of this young passion begin to flicker and Miller finds himself more and more attracted to the fiercely independent Catriona. Meanwhile Duncan Alexander, christened Dunc the Monk by Greg, Miller's older brother, tries to help Miller find the truth of what happened to the three girls.

Walker paces her story well and manages to keep the reader guessing as to the outcome. Several of the main characters seem to have had the opportunity to murder the girls, including Douglas McAllister, and this keeps you turning the pages. Miller's struggle to understand the motives of those around him until it is almost too late leads to a dramatic denouement on Fidra, Miller's beloved island.

There is a little too much in the way of exposition in this book, as if several scenes have been cut from the manuscript and the writer has been forced to condense vital story points into a few sentences. The dialogue, at times, is rather clunky with exposition too and this affects the flow of the story. Overall though, this is a good read.

Shirley Whiteside is a Glasgow-based freelance writer who has contributed to The Herald, Herald Magazine, The List and the Scottish Daily Mail. She has also worked as a film/tv publicist on a variety of projects including Orphans, Mrs Brown, The Crow Road, Cardiac Arrest, Takin' Over The Asylum, Small Faces, Ex-S and Bookmark. She is currently working on short screenplays and short stories.

© 2005 Laura Hird All rights reserved.