Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

It’s doesn’t take long with a new book before you can relax with the knowledge that you’re in safe hands – the manner of narration, simple details expanded to instil curiosity, characters beyond the cliche and the tropes. With Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield establishes her quality on the first page.

The novel, based in Victorian days and centred around a local’s pub on the Thames, follows the discovery of a young girl – who is she, and where was she from? Several conflicting theories ar...