The Water Theatre, by Lindsay Clarke, Alma Books RRP £7.99, 450 pages

Martin Crowther is seduced while snowbound in his university pal Adam Brigshaw’s family house high on the Yorkshire Pennines. Adam’s passionate and defiant younger sister Marina ensnares Martin while Hal, their bluff, autocratic father, fires the lad’s intellect and imagination. Hal’s role in the struggle for independence in the fictional colony of Equatoria draws Martin into a career as a war reporter – but Hal’s patronage splits him from Marina.

Three decades on, Martin arrives in Umbria to summon the now reclusive Adam and Marina to Hal’s deathbed. Lurching between Yorkshire, Equatoria and Italy, the plot of Lindsay Clarke’s gripping novel acts like a string of emotional incendiary devices as Martin staggers through the history of his conflicted relations with the family.

Bold, tenacious characters and vivid, distinct landscapes give The Water Theatre a strong hold on the imagination as Clarke skilfully draws out the betrayals searing his characters’ lives.