A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty (Faber, £16.99)
Doughty’s 10th novel is a slow burn: for quite some time we have no idea why fiftysomething Heather, also known as Bird, has left a meeting in her Birmingham office to go on the run. Using multiple disguises, Heather hides out in a variety of locations in Scotland, Norway and Iceland, with the story taking us back and forth in time until we understand what has brought her to this point: her mysterious father; her army career; the severing of her most important and enduring friendship; the bad decisions that led her into jeopardy, and her essential aloneness. The “hunted woman” narrative is certainly pacey and propulsive, but A Bird in Winter is also a compelling study of trust, and the contradictory desire both to escape and to be found.
