Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; a girl with her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous. When Lydia’s body is found in a lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable. Lydia’s brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is involved. But it’s the youngest in the family - Hannah - who may be the only one who knows what really happened.

There is much here that might impress Pulitzer and Man Booker judges. Mark Lawson, Guardian