Chasing angels

The overall effect is of being at your aunties, of listening to an enthusiastic storyteller, of the fascination of taking a microscope to seemingly ordinary lives, seemingly mundane situations, and bringing them into dramatic focus Scotland on Sunday Henderson writes from a position of uncompromising humanity.

A strong, atmospheric writer with gifts of insight, she has a sharp and tarry black humour, so while she attacks the objects of her wrath, she leavens the battle with a running current of dark and infectious wit Sunday Herald Kathy Kelly, born in the heart of Glasgow's East End, comes from a family torn apart by conflict.

She grows up with a sharp wit and a quick temper, constantly challenging those who cross her: her reproving grandmother, Con, her hard-drinking father, even the local priest Kathy takes no prisoners.

But at least she copes, unlike her older brother Peter, who disappears as fast as he can.

Kathy also escapes to the Highlands. Here she finds work and a home with the Macdonalds, an eccentric, easy-going couple.

But Con's death drags Kathy back to Glasgow, where she is forced to look at things afresh, at past events and the people she knew so well and begin the search for her missing brother, a search which will result in an extraordinary, devastating discovery.