Chalk tracks

Lillian helps people to die. Ruth encounters an unsettling stranger on the towpath. Kathy obsesses over a painting. Robyn puts her trust in a fox. Mags is a forager; he takes the things he wants. Rooted in the landscape of the South Downs, where the chalk hills roll out to the sea, these brooding stories of haunted lives and fragile hopes explore the places where the familiar can become threatening. 'Mesmerised and amazed me in equal measure. How does the author cram such a richly textured narrative into such a small space? How does she manage to say so much with so few words?' Katy Darby