Eileen Dunlop is an unassuming yet disturbed young woman who lives with her alcoholic father in 1960s Boston. She works as a secretary at a local prison for boys, and has sexual fantasies about one of the guards, dreaming about escaping to the big city. Deeply introverted, and burdened with caring for her father – with whom she endures a difficult relationship – she shoplifts at the weekends and daydreams of a better life. But when a new counselor arrives at the prison, the beautiful and charismatic Rebecca Saint John, Eileen becomes enchanted by her. It’s a budding friendship that spirals out of control, pitching Eileen into the darkest of crimes.

Eileen is a rather downbeat book, which feels rather like a debut novel (although it isn’t). I was surprised to see that it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Not that I didn’t like it, but I perhaps was expecting a little more. The character of Eileen is captivating, if not wholly original, but the setting and 60s era add an extra element of repression to the proceedings. It’s set at Christmas, but isn’t very festive, and the wintry prose chills to the bone. The morose tone makes it at times a difficult read, but the pace picks up more towards the end as the almost Hitchcockian reveal propels us off in a different direction.

There has recently been a feature film adaptation of this novel, one of which I am keen to see as I think the subject matter offers a lot cinematically. As a novel, it’s steady and decent, and one I can recommend, but nothing groundbreaking enough for me to search out more of this author’s work.