Heatstroke is a tense, atmospheric novel from Hazel Barkworth about mothers and daughters, desire and obsession, trust and betrayal.

It begins when the best friend of Rachel’s fifteen year old daughter, Mia, disappears, but this is not really a story about the missing Lily, it is about what Rachel feels she is losing.... her daughter, her youth, her attractiveness, and perhaps her mind.

Rachel presents initially as a somewhat depressed, slightly overprotective, devoted mother, but as the book progresses Barkworth reveals a complex character, with a searing secret that has the potential to burn her world to the ground.

The author’s writing is evocative and gripping, the fevered, oppressive atmosphere of the heatwave reflects Rachel’s tumultuous emotional state as the tension stretches to breaking point.

Yet I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the narrative, though I can’t quite articulate why. Still, this is an impressive debut, and I’ll be interested in reading what Barkworth writes next.