Maria in the Moon

Louise Beech Orenda. Out Saturday It’s 2008, and life isn’t treating Catherine well. Her house was wrecked in the flood that engulfed her home town of Hull the previous year, her ex is getting married, she’s stuck in a dead-end job, and her relationship with her mother is a minefield. In addition, gaps in her memory confuse her. But when she begins volunteering at a Flood Crisis phone line, a voice from the past provides a horrifying explanation. Quirky, darkly comic, but always heartfelt, this original and sad story has wonderful characters and will linger long in your memory.

DEIRDRE O’BRIEN