1920 : in a a small city in a colonial empire, Soraya starts work as a maid to the eccentric Mrs Hattingh. As Soraya settles in, she discovers that the house is alive with spirits. Mrs Hattingh offers to help Soraya stay in touch with her fiancé by writing him letters on her behalf, a ritual that binds the two women and eventually threatens the sanity of both. A page-turner set in a haunted house containing a big secret.
Her face is open, waiting, and I puzzle over what it is she wants me to say in response; it cannot be praise for only children want praise for taking the right course. But still, the smile, the nod, the waiting, and I realise the true wonder of these people is this: they are perfectly at ease with doing the wrong thing for centuries and then expect congratulations for doing the right thing for a moment.
