Night voices

the long version

"A seemingly peaceful village at the edge of Oxford seethes with the unspoken tensions and frustations of a group of neighbors. A disparate group of women including a visiting American professor's wife, a school headmistress, a young recluse, a hairdresser and a fanatic churchgoer, react in wildly different ways to their enigmatic young male neighbor. As in all her novels, Helen Hudson's theme in Night Voices is about the tragedy that befalls the most vulnerable among us when good people lack the courage to reach out to them. Once again she depicts with compassion and humor the struggles, doubts, and fears of a cast of characters so authentic we are certain we've met them in our own lives."--Pub. Website.