Puccini’s Ghosts.

Joss, Morag (author).

The death of her father brings opera singer Lila du Cann back to her childhood home in a small town in Scotland. Although she has tried to block out recollections of growing up with diffident parents, memories of her fifteenth summer, her Turandot summer, overwhelm her as she goes through the family’s possessions. It was the summer of her operatic debut in a village production of Puccini’s opera; the breakup of her parents’ sad marriage; her first desperate crush on a boy; and her discovery of her energetic, optimistic uncle George having sex with her boyfriend. Relationships between characters unfold slowly, as perceived through the eyes of naive, angry Lila, whose actions precipitate the family’s downfall. The story of Puccini’s opera frames the novel, reinforcing a sense of the tragedy that Joss lays out for her own characters. The author’s richly detailed backdrop and memorable characterizations pull readers into the sad novel, which gradually spins out into a wrenching, sharply delineated climax. Give this to readers who like Minette Walters.