Astonishing Splashes of Colour

Kitty Wellington, the narrator of Clare Morrall''s absorbing sure-footed first novel, has been brought up in a large family by her painter father. Surrounded by older brothers, she has no real recollection of either her mother, who was killed in a car crash, or her sister, who ran away from home.

The great strength of the novel is Kitty herself. Morrall has provided her with a compelling narrative voice - wry, confiding, perceptive. Echoes from JM Barrie''s disturbing masterpiece are quietly sounded, with particular emphasis on missing mothers and "lost boys".