Trudy and Bruce’s fear and shock give way to increasing frustration and paranoia. They grow suspicious and resentful of new characters and developments, as well as of each other, second-guessing their motivations, and indeed their own recollections of the attack. A relentless sense of foreboding accompanies the Harrisons’ attempts to disentangle themselves from an increasingly elaborate conspiracy. This culminates in a dramatic final setpiece that turns the notion of a ‘red herring’ on its head.

Brown has a flair for the cinematic, and it is these fast-moving passages of action and reaction that pack the greatest narrative punch. Trudy’s narration is at times clumsy, especially when she is justifying her own actions or those of her largely unreadable husband. That Bruce’s turmoil is withheld from the reader makes him a far more enigmatic and compelling character; it is only in flashes that we see the frightening depth of rage beneath his otherwise stoic exterior. Brown hints that this rage may have deeper roots than the initial attack, but ultimately this is one of a number of thematic undercurrents never fully realised, resulting in a dénouement heavy on exposition and an ending that, after so much tightly woven suspense and intrigue, feels rather limp.