One Puzzling Afternoon

LoveReading Says

It’s 2018 and poor Edie is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend, Lucy. She vanished over sixty years ago and Edie knows that deep down she holds a secret that could help solve her puzzling disappearance. As an increasingly forgetful 84-year-old, there are many memories Edie struggles to keep hold of – but the mystery surrounding Lucy isn’t one she’s prepared to give up on easily. Utterly compelling, darkly unnerving and a joyful masterclass in storytelling, Emily Critchley’s debut adult novel hits the mark on so many levels. The wonderfully fragmented narrative echoes Edie’s growing state of confusion, and the menacing build-up of tension towards the novel’s dramatic climax is almost unbearable at times. But what shines most is the portrait of Edie herself; you can’t fault her loyalty, wisdom and kindness as a young girl, and you continue to admire her resilience and determination over sixty years later. She’s an absolute diamond – and one of the most sensitively drawn characters I’ve had the pleasure to meet on paper in a long time. Critchley’s portrayal of her as a young girl is painstakingly authentic, capturing the emotional ups and downs of teenage life to a tee. And as an adult in the throes of dementia, her character is just as multi-layered … and endearing. Memory loss is an emotive subject for any writer to tackle. It could be easy to create a story that drifts towards the negative, but by wrapping it up in such a gripping mystery, with heart-warming characters, One Puzzling Afternoon manages to keep the full range of emotions in play – you’ll cry, you’ll chuckle and there are times you won’t dare turn the page.

Lindsay Quayle

Find This Book In