I love the author’s first two books and this one appears to be just as intriguing. Just reading this first chapter makes me so anxious to get the rest of the story. Diane Setterfield’s characters are so well written that you immediately feel that you know them. And she does it with so few words that the story develops quickly and grabs your interest. In just the first chapter the reader is introduced to the boy Jonathan and his parents along with residents of their small village and finally the stranger and the child. The mysterious stranger lays the foundation for what will likely be a story within the story. I would challenge any book lover to read this chapter and not want to finish this story.