15 year old Lana reappears after having disappeared on an activity holiday four days earlier but claims to have no memory of where she was or what she was doing during her disappearance. Her mother finds this difficult to cope with.

I kept reading because I wanted to know what had happened, but quite honestly both Lana and Jen sounded absolutely exhausting to be around. ( )

This mystery came highly recommended, and I was very impressed with the well-constructed plot, the pace and the suspense that the author managed to imbue into the story. It's every parent's nightmare: a missing child. In this case it's a teenage daughter who goes missing on a mother/daughter vacation in the country. And although their daughter, Lana, is eventually found, she is unable or unwilling to tell her parents, Jen and Hugh, where she was for four days. Without giving too much away, this novel deals with a number of emotional issues not found in other missing-child stories, and is an excellent exploration of the bonds between mother and child. I know many readers who won't read stories of missing children, but I can recommend this one, as it deals with so many other issues that balance out the trauma of the story-line. ( )

Emma Healey has written an intense novel describing the complex relationship between mother Jen and her mid-teenage daughter Lana. During a painting holiday in the Peak District with Jen, Lana has just been found in a field after being missing for four days and says that she cannot remember what happened to her during that time. As she has a history of self-abuse and has been having therapy, Jen is increasingly concerned for her safety and longs to understand what has happened to Lana. Jen’s husband and elder daughter try to help Jen and Lana through the fraught atmosphere at home. Healey conjures a claustrophobic atmosphere as the distrust and tension between Jen and Lana grows, fed by Lana’s references to religion and superstition which play on Jen’s mind as she appears to be heading for a breakdown and which leads to an intriguing conclusion.

Whistle in the Dark is the study of the relationship between a mother and a daughter, Jen and Lana. The book begins when Lana has just been found after being missing for four days. She's 15 but a grown up 15, struggling with depression. Jen is, understandably, incredibly pleased that Lana is safe but it leads Jen to question everything, especially as Lana won't say where she has been.

Jen is anxious, paranoid, het up and she becomes obsessed with knowing what happened. Lana, on the other hand, is determined that it what happened is over and done with and she doesn't want to dwell on it.

I loved Emma Healey's debut, Elizabeth is Missing, but I don't remember coming to the end of it and feeling quite like I do now. Whistle in the Dark is an extraordinary novel, both beautifully written and incredibly insightful. I thought Healey's portrayal of what it's like to be the mother, the daughter and the other daughter, the one that feels like she's in the shadow of the one that gets all the attention, was superb. What's clever too is that she made me see it from all angles and what was clear was that nobody was right or wrong, it's just about learning to understand others' feelings whilst also preserving your own.

This is a family drama, a story of tension within families, of trying to do your best and still feeling like you're failing. I felt so sorry for Jen, suffocating Lana with her intensity and her inability to let anything go, especially given that Lana knows Jen's weaknesses and plays on them. In fact, I did consider the fact that Lana was almost bullying Jen. But then, I considered Lana's state of mind, her difficulty, her teenage-ness and it was clear that she was coping in the only way she could. I should just mention Hugh here, Jen's husband, Lana's father. He and Meg, Lana's much older sister (by 11 years) are the steadying influences, the rocks, the foundations of the family. As a whole, the family are absolutely fascinating. There are a few other characters but it is this foursome around which the whole story revolves.

Whilst not a comedy by any means, this is a book that has dry wit written through it like a stick of Blackpool rock. It had me guffawing many times or smiling wryly to myself. Healey is a very talented writer, one that made me feel all the emotions. Whistle in the Dark is full of depth and beautifully written. I loved it. ( )

This novel that shares even the most venal and paranoid thoughts of the narrator begins with the miraculous return of a teenaged girl who had disappeared for four days while on a plen air painting jaunt with her mother. Jen, the mom, has a loving and sexually charged relationship with her husband, but daughter Lana has been cutting herself and been miserable and angry for some time before she goes missing. Even though she is found, Lana's relationship with Jen becomes even more fraught as she recovers and refuses to answer any questions about her absence. Jen is wildly imaginative and paranoid and sees otherworldly collusion in every corner. It's too long by about 50 pages, but there's a totally satisfactory ending in store for readers who can stick it out.

Quote: "She'd watched the other women, watched them wincing as they shifted in their chairs, or hobbled to the bathroom. They'd looked so shattered, so bruised, while their husbands had spring-stepped about, showing the babies to their relatives, rosily pleased. It was disturbing to Jen that one half of each couple had become a sacrifice, and she didn't want to be a sacrifice." ( )