This is an atmospheric novel set in the forest revolving around four very different people. The first two, Ann and Thomas, find themselves forced to live in the forest as it is the only place their child will stop crying. There is also Raymond, a lonely and shy farmhand, and Keith, an angry and down on his luck man. A traumatic event in the forest changes their lives forever in different ways. Williams creates richly layered characters and explores the themes of fear and regret in different ways. It's a quietly stunning character-driven novel written in a crisp and clean style. I really enjoyed this and I read it quite quickly because it was so riveting.

When their apparently healthy baby won't stop crying, and they have exhausted all the usual solutions, sleep deprived parents Thomas and Ann become desperate. By chance, Thomas discovers that if he takes Harriet into Bleasdale forest she calms. Raymond, a giant of a man who works as a farm hand, walks the forest at night, glad to escape his damp smothered home in Etherton. Keith goes to the forest for entirely different reasons. From each of their perspectives Williams shows how their lives become entwined. I worried at the start that there’d be some mystical forces at play, but thankfully no, this is a very real story, shot through with Williams' customary insight into the human condition. Unexpected strands are brought in and woven seamlessly into the narrative. Williams does a grand job describing Ann’s first love and the passion that’s missing from her marriage. It was Raymond and his awkwardness who captured my heart though. I know a Raymond or two, and the author’s understanding of what it is to be an outsider, to feel that alienation in the world, is quite beautifully written. It’s a terrific exploration of fear in many of its guises. There’s no fussy writing here, just clean, clear prose. Williams’s best novel yet.