Every family holds secrets: kept from daughters, sons, parents and partners, they become as much a part of the web of our relationships as those truths that are shared.

In Afterwards, Rachel Seiffert examines the tangled truths and silences in the relationships between a young couple, a grandfather and granddaughter, and a brother and sister.

At the centre is a love story between nurse Alice and painter and decorator Joseph. Their relationship grows in time, but not necessarily in trust. Although Alice shares all her hopes and fears, Joseph is silent when it comes to his Army service in Northern Ireland.

This is Seiffert'se second novel and forgoes descriptions and lack of speech tags seems too harsh for the story she tries to tell in Afterwards. The gem of a decent read is there, but the lack of flesh and emotion could leave readers with a heavy sense of frustration. Amy Crowthe