Literary reviews by Tim Love.
Warning: Rather than reviews, these are often notes in preparation for reviews that were never finished, or pleas for help with understanding pieces. See Litref Reviews - a rationale for details.

Friday, 26 September 2025

"The Girls on the Shore" by Ann Cleeves

An audio book - a short story.

Matthew Venn, a Devon detective married to Jonathan, sees from his house 2 public-school girls on the beach. It's a cold, school day. He gets them into his house and calls his colleague, Jen, asking her to come. The younger girl Imogen has bruises. The older girl, Olivia, says their mother left them in the car after receiving a phone call. Their father left a few days earlier. Matthew finds the car abandoned, with half a bottle of vodka. He finds the mother. She hasn't been drinking and suspects the bottle is Olivia's. She explains that Olivia's been a problem for years. It's she who's been bulling Imogen. They return to the Matthew's house. He's prepared to let the family go, but Jen (an ex-battered wife) has done some research and doesn't want it to end there.

It feels unfinished.

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