Original, creative, intriguing, thought-provoking – a wonderful debut novel. Multi-layered and multi-themed, it’s an atmospheric and vivid portrait of life in the 19th century Ozark backwoods, with a cast of unusual characters, full of local colour, often very funny in a dead-pan way, and with a wealth of excellent one-liners. Beautiful and enigmatic Daisy Garfield is at the centre if the novel, a magnet for all the men she meets, and whose pursuit comprises the main plot-line. A fateful decision taken in a moment of desperation changes her life for ever, as well as that of the man who helps and then pursues her. It’s a pity the blurb gives so much away, virtually the whole plot - this is a book best left to creep up on the reader. I wonder at that decision. There’s a lot to unpack here and the novel merits a second reading to explore more fully the themes addressed – faith, religion, beauty, lust and love, truth, grace and possibly redemption. The whole book is a meditation on life and its meaning enveloped in a mystery story. There are many digressions and anecdotes and vignettes, most of which are incorporated successfully into the novel as a whole, although just sometimes at the end I found some of the musings went on too long. But overall that’s a minor quibble and I found this a truly compelling read, one which I heartily recommend.