Many, if not all, of the shortlisted titles for this year's Booker Prize have been included in the Christmas recommendations in newspapers and magazines. Though this novel didn't get past the longlist, it was popular with our book group.

The story of a mother searching for the daughter she gave up as a baby, it spans Trinidad, Venezuela, Tobago and London.

It's 1980 and Dawn Bishop has to leave her home in Trinidad to give birth in Venezuela. She's just 16 and at the mercy of the nuns in the nursing home. They are responsible for handling the adoption of her baby.

It's quite a harrowing opening. 

Forty years have passed when we meet Dawn again. She has moved to England, married and divorced, had two sons and pursued a career.

She still thinks of the daughter she gave up, and makes tentative efforts to find her. Then a woman from an internet forum gets in touch. She believes she is Dawn's child and this triggers complicated feelings. 

This is a beautifully written book which I couldn't put down. The narrator is hugely engaging and there are a wealth of strong emotions and events powerfully conveyed. I was sorry to come to the end.