Kate Legge’s second novel focuses on a group of fifty-something female friends and the state of their marriages, most of which have lasted (not necessarily happily) for 30 years or more. Leith Kremmer has remained in a loveless marriage to a high court judge, but without her friends or husband knowing, she plans to make a fresh start – until her death on the eve of leaving. Leith’s death and the circumstances around it throw her husband and her friends into turmoil. While the police conduct an investigation into her death, her friends are forced to examine their own marriages. Also in question here are the bonds of friendship, as each new discovery of Leith’s ‘secret life’ makes the group wonder what they really know of each other’s lives.

This is a meditation on marriage, friendship and secrets. While the characters are not particularly sympathetic, and the overall message about the long term prospects of marriage is pessimistic, readers who enjoyed Legge’s debut novel The Unexpected Elements of Love will find this follow-up very different, but riveting all the same.