THE INCENDIARIES

(Virago £14.99, 224 pp) When Will Kendall, a ‘child evangelical’ who has lost his faith, arrives at edwards University, he invents a new history for himself in order to fit in, not admitting that he waits tables and relies on staff meals because his scholarship funding isn’t enough.

he meets Phoebe Lin, once a musical prodigy, whose grief and guilt following her mother’s death dog her existence. her initial friendship with Will becomes a rewarding, but difficult, affair. Also in town is John Leal, an alumnus of edwards turned leader of the Jejah movement. he deliberately targets Phoebe, drawing her into his sect and removing her from any outside influence.

When Jejah commits explosive acts of violence against abortion clinics, Phoebe is implicated in the deaths of several people — then she disappears and Will is left trying to trace her.

What an intriguing novel. Told in spare, revealing prose from the three central characters’ points of view, it makes the reader look again at faith, fanaticism and identity.