This is a surprising book from Rachel Joyce, I feel. It wasn't what I was expecting from her, having read all of her previous novels, I think. 

Goose and his three sisters have all been worried about their father, a famous painter, who has embarked on a new relationship with a much younger woman whom they have yet to meet.

They are distressed when he suddenly announces that he has married and moved to Italy to finish what he has called his masterpiece. 

Soon after, they are told he has died suddenly, drowned in Lake Orta. 

They decamp to Italy where there is no sign of the painting he was working on. Their suspicions grow regarding the motives and culpability of their father's new wife. The siblings respond differently as they seek answers and as the summer goes on they come to discover things about themselves, their father and their stepmother which will transform all their lives. 

I was intrigued by this book - Rachel Joyce is an excellent storyteller, of course, but there was a melancholy mood with its tale of troubled souls and fractured relationships. There wasn't quite the life-affirming, uplifting tone or message that I associate with her novels. But in exploring memory, identity, grief, healing, and the sibling bond, some intriguing characters and a glorious Italian setting, there's still plenty to ponder and it's a good read!