CRUSHED

by Kate Hamer

(Faber £12.99, 416 pp) It’s IMPossIBlE not to be impressed by kate Hamer’s expert control of language. there are whole passages of interior monologue that are worthy of being called prose poems.

But it’s harder to get the hang of her characters and her very particular approach to building tension. the award-winning Hamer’s acclaimed book the Girl In the red Coat will guarantee her an audience who are primed to be wowed once again. But firsttime Hamer readers might struggle a bit.

Her focus is on the power and toxicity of a three-way female friendship group. the plot pivots on one girl’s belief that her thoughts can actually alter reality.

add a touch of witchcraft, failing motherdaughter relationships and more than a dash of horror and you have a clever, if not always convincing, tale.