There’s a sense of light, colour and sunshine throughout this novel, set in southern France. The characters – from the heartless Hannah to the chatty Mathilde – are all vividly alive and real. It’s just a pity the central characters – Ella Tournier and Isabelle du Moulin – are such victims. Ella, who suffers from seriously low self-esteem, is annoying in the extreme, while her distant relation, Isabelle, who lived in the 16th century, is equally downtrodden and trapped. Isabelle, shunned by her neighbours, is raped and brutalised by her husband, and horrible things happen to those who are closest to her. But there’s something addictive about her story as the saga of the Tournier family unfolds against the backdrop of Calvinism. Equally, Ella’s whining as she leaves her husband, falls into the arms of the delighted Jean-Paul and journeys to uncover her long-buried French roots, which ultimately lead her to the sad Isabelle, is an intriguing mix of detective tale, ghost story and infidelity all rolled into one.