★★★★☆

Magpie Lane is a confidently atmospheric take on the domestic thriller with suggestions of ghosts and dark academia, and a sumptuous unfolding of character histories. The novel follows nanny, Dee, as she is questioned by the police about the disappearance of the young girl she cares for, selectively mute Felicity, the eight-year old daughter of an Oxford College Master. Interspersed with her police interview are Dee’s recollections of how she came to be Felicity’s nanny and their daily routines before her disappearance.

As a narrator, Dee is not obviously sympathetic: she is judgemental, anti-social, almost strict. What unites her with the reader and makes her such an effective vehicle for the narrative is her genuine concern for Felicity and the wholehearted desire to protect her from her self-absorbed parents. She doesn’t invite the reader in, so details of her character and past gradually unravel, causing you to constantly reassess her intentions. The other characters also ring very true. Atkins captures the awkwardness and tensions of the dynamic of inviting Dee into their home, not part of the family but deeply enmeshed within their lives – in the life of their anxious and vulnerable child especially.

Set in Oxford, the novel maintains a perfectly grey and intimate, even claustrophobic, atmosphere. I loved Atkins’ focus on the forgotten crevices of Oxford life, of the people on the edges, ignored by the looming institution that dominates the city’s identity. She highlights the vigour and enjoyment of learning and knowledge for its own pure pleasure, outside of the scrutiny and structure of the university. Atkins tackles the rigid traditions of Oxford, in particular its elitism, classism and misogyny. This environment perfectly hosts the novel’s commentary on the way that being different translates to being dangerous in the eye of the media, and the impact of judging people for their quirks and eccentricities.

Magpie Lane is beautifully original and absorbing, so it’s a shame that there were a few odd threads that I think needed either deeper exploration to solidify the narrative and to justify their inclusion. Nonetheless, after a dip in my reading, Atkins’ original premise, solid sense of detail and flair for authentic characters sucked me in and held me for the duration of the novel, making her an author I’d readily pick up again.