Set in a small South African farming district in the Transvaal during the 1929/30 Great Depression, The Thorn Child is a story of star-crossed lovers living in the stifling confines of a conservative community where colour-prejudice and social intolerance prevail. With skilful use of dialogue which is one of the author’s strengths, and finely drawn characters, the action moves at a fast pace drawing the reader into the turmoil that ensues from a long suppressed family secret that emerges many years later, demanding complete commitment to the narrative until the last page is turned.