I was delighted to see that convincing groundwork had indeed been laid for these problems in the novel, and so they needn't have been in the TV version at all, had it not been for the need to fit something slightly more complex around ad breaks. However, there were things I personally found preposterous in the telly version (to give one example, without wishing to add spoilers, I will just say the NHS was actually already heavily computerised by '97).

The telly version stuck to the plot, and certainly tightened elements of it to make it into a far greater tragedy, yet simply did not have the time/space to fully mine the richness of the tragic love triangle(s) present in the novel. But if I hadn't already bought the book before seeing the TV version, I wouldn't have bothered, and this would have been a shame. I had bought the book before seeing the TV version, so I then read it to compare the two. There is also an ITV version, which, while also interesting in many ways, did not, in my view, really capture the most interesting elements of this novel. But if, like me, you've a soft spot for novels which are more squarely in that Vinesque territory, where a character with a secret past tries to gain greater insight into her role in terrible events from many years ago, and the way in which these events are suddenly a new threat to the life she's built from the ashes, then the Poison Tree does what it says on the tin. So if you're after a campus novel, then this really isn't it. They could just have easily been working in offices and/or theatres and events could have unfolded in much the same way.

The fact that the central characters happen to be students when the back-story begins is neither here nor there. This felt much more Barbara Vine to me, which is also excellent company to be in. I saw no signs that the author was attempting to retrace Donna Tartt's steps. Not too sure where this could have arisen from, but it feels a bit unfair to me. I've read other reviewer which comparing it to The Secret History, yet feeling let down when it fails to measure up as a campus novel. As well as a story that carries you along, the writing is generously peppered with interesting observations and compelling description. I enjoyed this, and will certainly look for others by this author. SPOILER possibility.proceed with caution.

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly