Dark Shadows

Like much of the young adult fiction dealing with the Ulster 'troubles' this novel chooses to focus on a representative from each side of the conflict and, through a series of events, to take them closer to mutual understanding. The novelty here is that the protagonists are girl cousins, long separated by a family feud but now brought together by a chance meeting and a shared involvement in music. Lingard brings her usual assured and sympathetic touch to the presentation of her heroines' experiences and is particularly good in contrasting the entrenched stubbornness of an older generation with the more open tolerance of a younger one. She is, however, wise enough to avoid the euphoria of easy, or imminent, total reconciliation, a stance which --- sadly --- gives her novel a pleasing credibility.