Sophie Beck

Sophie is in many ways the most relatable protagonist: a curious outsider who, like the reader, becomes absorbed in the novel’s central mystery without (at first) having any personal investment in it. Her involvement therefore runs alongside the details of her everyday life, which remains free from tragedy. Sophie’s relationship with her partner is not perfect but neither is it abusive; she likes children but has none of her own to hold her back; she is successful but not outrageously rich or pretentious; she enjoys the novelty of her rural surroundings, but her true home is London. In her mid-thirties, she is old enough to bond with Kim and Kerryanne, and young enough to bond with Liam and Lexie. Sophie, in other words, is an everywoman. And she is only passing through.

Sophie’s main significance, however, lies in her authorial profession. As P. J...