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A compelling if at first unassuming read. Blackwood pulls you in effectively. Some might find the early sections slow, but I enjoyed it. Characters all well drawn and suitably, or subtly, odd. Nadine and Mrs Blunt, I especially enjoyed. Some nice surprises toward the end. I did think the ramping up of plot developments and pacing might have been faster early to midway, the first half felt like it might have been tightened or sped up a smidge. On the other hand, I thought the last 1/4 or so rushed a bit, through scenes and time periods that might have gotten more time. I understand this was Blackwood’s last book (she wrote nonfiction and novels both), and wasn’t comparatively successful, but I enjoyed it. It wasn’t set in a specific time, but it felt like it might be anywhere from 1950s-1980s when the novel came out. Mrs Blunt and Mrs Murphy felt a bit old fashioned, in a Barabara Pym or Elizabeth Taylor (the novelist not the film star) kind of way. And I love that period and those writers.