Ireland, 1825. Nóra, bereft after the sudden death of her beloved husband, finds herself alone and caring for her young grandson, Micheál, who cannot speak or walk. In her desperation to discover what is wrong with him, Nóra employs the help of her new maid, Mary, and local healer, Nance. Together the three women will walk a dangerous path in which their folkloric beliefs wrap ever more tightly around them.

Last year I read Kent’s debut novel, Burial Rites, and loved its bleak atmosphere and the beauty of the writing. Second novels are famously difficult beasts and I had doubts Kent would be able to write another masterful story. But she has done just that.

I am in awe of Kent’s writing talent. She conjures the bleak and beautiful landscape of the Irish countryside in carefully chosen language that really packs a punch. It’s the kind of writing that makes you stop and take a breath and then re-read the same paragraph over and over because it’s so startling and moving.

Kent has created an immersive world in which folk beliefs control all aspects of everyday life. These beliefs are an attempt to make sense of a world where bad things happen for no reason. Characters hope that by appeasing the fairies, the Good People, that they can prevent such things from happening. It is a world governed by quiet rituals, with malice lurking just beneath the surface.

The Good People has many similar themes to Kent’s first novel. Like Agnes, Nóra is not always an empathetic character. Nevertheless, her grief over the loss of her husband is heart-wrenching and her desire to help her grandson is realistic and understandable. This makes it all the more uncomfortable for the reader as she begins to take her frustration out on Micheál, a helpless boy who cannot walk or talk and screams throughout the night for seemingly no reason at all.

Towards the end it feels as though Kent loses her way a little, but she manages to bring it all together again for a satisfying ending.

Kent succeeds brilliantly at doing just what historical fiction is supposed to do: plunging you into an entirely different world that somehow feels familiar. I did find it a struggle at first to get used to the rhythm of the characters’ dialogue and the frequent use of Irish phrases, but it didn’t take long for me to get past this.

The Good People is a character-driven novel with a fascinating setting, a haunting plot and lots of tension. This is a book you won’t easily forget.