‘Another refill is needed, I believe. I hope you are a good listener, Iain. This is not the most pleasant of stories.’

This is the first book Ian Rankin wrote, and the last one left unread on my shelves; it therefore marks the end of a reading project that I began four years ago. There isn’t really a mystery here – it’s just a story of adolescence and twisted family dynamics in small-town Fife, with both long-buried and more recent sexual secrets taking their toll on those who have to keep them. I actually found the resolution a bit too easy, but the rest of it shows a great story-teller in the making.