"It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes."

Spell-binding and acutely observed, The Immortalists spans over a hundred years of American history. Centred around the lives of the four Gold children, quiet and reserved Varya, academic and ambitious Daniel, free spirited Klara and romantic Simon, a family brought up with tradition but distanced by differences. 

Intrigued by the fortune teller on Hester Street, the children pool together their pocket money in search of their destinies. But what the mystic has to tell them is not a story of magic or fortunes. She simply gives each of them a date. A date that will irrevocably change their lives forever.

The Immortalists traces not only the personal highs and lows of the Golds, but also of the American people. Following the hippy movement, the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic, the boom of entertainment, the digital revolution and the future of longevity research. Chloe Benjamin weaves the Golds' story into the rich fabric of modern America.

I was amazed at the directions this novel went in, completely different from the Ransom Riggs / Lemony Snicket gothic tome I thought it was going to be. I loved the transitions between the siblings' narratives and the decades of context they each represented. The leap-frog movements through the years felt both electrifying and authentic. There wasn't one stage where I felt yanked from a character or pulled out of the narrative. It's immersive, sublime and above all convincing. This is a very thoughtfully constructed book and one I will remember for a very long time.

How do you rescue someone who has already been found?

Imagine if Labyrinth's Sarah Williams had a Mum who completely freaked out when she went off on an adventure with Jareth. That's the best way I can describe Whistle in the Dark. Emma Healey presents a British suburban family drama with undercurrents of bizarre surrealism.

Main character Jen is at a loss when her teenage daughter Lana disappears. A national search campaign is launched, media outlets pounce on the story and the family is hounded from every angle as the frantic search heightens.

And then Lana is found, returning to her family after a brief spell in hospital. But something has changed. Lana is withdrawn, argumentative and clearly traumatised by her experience -  except that she can't remember what happened.

Jen's powerlessness to console her frustrated daughter is both expertly written and heartbreaking. She yearns to fix her daughter and regain the maternal relationship she cherished with her years before. 

As Jen attempts to piece together the events that took place in those crucial missing days, she pushes Lana further away, at the cost of both her own sanity and the fragile strands of their fraying relationship. With tones of magical realism and a broad cast of fantastic supporting characters (a thoroughly independent and sassy mother, a chakra-conscious, crystal adoring best friend and an emotionally solid and endearing husband) I felt so invested in the future of this family. 

I've not read Emma Healey's work before having missed out on Elizabeth Is Missing, which won the 2014 Costa Book Award, but I will absolutely be going back for a second helping.

I don't know what happened there, I must have been living under a rock...

Whistle in the Dark is published by Viking, out 3rd May 2018.