Debbie D. (debbiemd) reviewed on 1/11/2018

Clare and her two daughters, Grace and Pip, move into a flat that backs onto a large communal garden shared by the surrounding residents. The girls become friendly with a group of kids in the park including three sisters who are homeschooled by their mother Adele. The book starts with Pip finding Grace half unclothed and passed out in the garden after a party. Then the book is divided into the before and the after. The before sets the stage - the kids in the garden, lots of odd characters, and a death of another young girl 20 years before. The after is the "what happened?" part of the book. At the end the reader knows what happened to Grace as well as to the girl who died 20 years earlier, but there is no real resolution among the garden residents. It was a good story with lots of quirky characters but not particularly suspenseful. The ending was a little flat - Clare and her family move away and Adele has lots of unanswered questions but buries them and moves on with her unorthodox lifestyle.

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