It was the level of enthusiasm from both presenter and guest on a podcast that sent me straight to my library's website. A copy of Magpie Lane was on order. This isn't a genre I usually read but we were off to a good start with its setting of Oxford, despite meeting the main character in a police station interview room.
They are waiting for an answer. What do they want me to say? Perhaps they think I am a stalker, targeting the president of an Oxford College on his early morning jog. I have an urge to laugh which is inappropriate. There is nothing funny about this, nothing whatsoever. Felicity is missing. The whole country is looking for her.
Dee has spent more than half of her life working as a nanny for visiting professors at the university. Short term commitments work best as there's less chance of a family getting too close. Dee prefers her relationships at a distance. As the story develops, snippets of her backstory reveal episodes of sadness in her family life back in Scotland; one in particular clings with a relentless hold.
A serendipitous meeting with Nick Law, the new College Master, results in Dee agreeing to meet his family. It's more a case of being polite than keen. Nick and Mariah are desperate to find someone with experience to look after Felicity, an eight year old with selective mutism. Also, Mariah is expecting a baby, has an intense schedule as a wallpaper restorer in London, and supporting Nick through endless social events. The family's new residence swirls with chaos, renovations and high expectation. At the top of the house, Felicity's bedroom is a refuge....a refuge with an eerie priest hole cut into the wall hundreds of years ago. Dee is intrigued by the little girl, sensing Felicity could benefit from a constant in her day.
An interesting man called Linklater is hired by Nick to write up the history of their new home. Taking on research assignments and leading guided tours of Oxford provide an income while Linklater works on his thesis. Decades of archival material reveal some things about the house that are both fascinating and sinister. Being somewhat socially inept, Linklater thinks nothing of sharing a few dark details with Dee about the project within earshot of Felicity. Dee is horrified but then she notices a look of interest on Felicity's face. A strange way to make some progress but Dee is thankful for the flicker of trust.
This is a book best read with minimal prior knowledge so I will leave the plot there. When I finished Magpie Lane my husband picked it up, read 114 pages in one sitting and couldn't wait to get back to it after dinner. The story is brilliantly paced and has an ending so gripping that I read it three times. Find a copy before the film comes out because I would be shocked if someone hasn't bought the rights already.