Seeing Things

A lazy, domineering uncle, a dreamy younger brother, a constantly fretful baby and a well-meaning but overstretched grandmother mean that Miranda gets little attention. After the deaths of her parents she's become used to shutting herself off from relationships, fearful of being abandoned again. Her need for self-esteem leads her to invent a psychic gift and she's suddenly centre-stage - rather too much so when her sister's criminal boyfriend wants to make use of her 'talent' to commit a crime. The plot sometimes appears contrived -events become convenient rather than credible and some characters, notably Uncle Bernie, lean towards caricature. Less able readers would find the slow pace of the first few chapters discouraging, but would probably welcome the inevitable happy ending.