The Boy In The Field by Margot Livesey

I really liked this is a quiet, beautifully rendered mystery of a sort, that is peopled with kind, decent characters who are sincerely doing their best for those around them. The warmth it offers is reinforced by its pastoral English sensibilities and all the characters are likeable--something that doesn't seem to be in fashion, but which I enjoy. As in a classical Greek drama, the event around which the book is centered takes place offstage; it is the characters’ reaction to the violence and its effect upon them that propels the narrative. Three siblings find Karel in a field as they are walking home from school. He has been stabbed and while he isn't someone they quite know and he lives, the trauma ripples through the family. Matthew, the eldest, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened and who did it, which sounds unhealthy, but he comes to see things differently as a result. Zoe, the middle child and the one who first spotted Karel, starts to move away from her family and find her independence. Dustin, the youngest, is adopted and he starts to dream about his birth mother and finding her. They all have bumps in their journeys, but come out of it. I was thoroughly captivated from start to finish; the story pulled me in and drew me effortlessly along.