This is the fourth book set in the fictional town of Malbry and the third set at St Oswald’s, proceeded by Gentlemen and Players, Blueeyedboy and Different Class. I’ve read and enjoyed all the books in the series, in fact, it was the shocking denouement in Gentlemen and Players that inspired the plot of my second published novel, The Trap. Rebecca Buckfast, the ambitious teacher who as the hero (or anti-hero) of the previous books is now the head teacher of St Oswald’s (the first female in the post) and she is making changes.
When demolition begins on the old school building human remains are disturbed and Rebecca (or ‘The Buckfast’ as she is referred as by others) is forced to relive traumatic childhood memories about her brothers disappearance.
We learn of her backstory as she recounts it to her colleague Roy Straitley and I found myself getting increasingly more gripped by the ominous feel of the storytelling, like not being able to look away from the scene of a car crash.
Sarah Wray Writer 