Astonishing Splashes of Colour

Kitty Wellington the narrator of Clare Morrall''s absorbing sure-footed first novel has been brought up in a large family by her painter father. Surrounded by older brothers she has no real recollection of either her mother who was killed in a car crash or her sister who ran away from home. The great strength of the novel is Kitty herself. Morrall has provided her with a compelling narrative voice - wry confiding perceptive. Echoes from JM Barrie''s disturbing masterpiece are quietly sounded with particular emphasis on missing mothers and "lost boys".