This is not really a crime book, as there is not a policeman or detective in sight - but a thirty-year old murder is at the root of the plot. Other books by Joanna Hines are decribed by laudatory reviewers as 'psychological thrillers', but there are few thrills in this one, apart from some nastiness at the very end. However, the book is impeccably written and certainly has that 'can't put down' quality, as the unusual plot keeps the reader wanting to know how it's going to work out.
The murder occurred in a country house when it was being used as a kind of commune by a group of free-thinkers years ago. The owner, an artist named Gus, stayed on as the owner and has married Carol, a much younger lady builder, the central figure of the book. Gradually, people from the commune - and their children - come back into the story, especially Jenny, the sullen daughter of Gus's sister. Things go rapidly downhill in the Carol-Gus relationship and when Jenny joins an Atlantis cult started by another former member of the commune, Carol decides to flirt with membership as a means to weaning Jenny away. She spends a fraught week-end at their Cornish base and later another two weeks at the cult's Spanish centre, by which time she is also helping the son of another commune member to rescue his mother and son from their sinisiter clutches - though about here, the story-line makes a volte-face.
Though the plot is complex and not too believable, the characterisation and writing is excellent and makes it a worth-while read.