I was hoping for something more focused on the experimental school, but this is more like a straightforward police procedural and the interesting themes are left undeveloped in favour of following a whodunnit about two missing children, which itself doesn't have a very satisfying conclusion. The book is too short to support so many side characters so you never get to know any of them that well; there's no obvious motive behind a lot of their actions other than, 'this is how a Bad Person acts,' or, 'this is how a Cop acts'. 

This book wasn’t for me. I felt that it didn’t live up to the intrigue I felt after reading the blurb. The writing was a bit clunky and it didn’t capture my attention. There were two separate plots running through the book, and I spent most of the book wondering how they were connected. Isobel’s story centres around her living with her past and of what happened at The Schoolhouse in 1975. Then we have the story of a missing schoolgirl in 1990, with Isobel randomly appearing as the only witness to having seen the girl. It just didn’t really make sense, something done more to force the two plots together. The diary sections which are told from the point of view of an eleven year old are quite jarring, and didn’t quite fit with the writing of the other sections. I’m sorry for quite a negative review but this was a disappointing read and I was happy to reach the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.