I really enjoyed this novel. Having a good knowledge of the town in which the story was set made it interesting. M. G. has a way of writing that makes landmarks seem bigger than they actually are, and the many characters each seemed real, even the bit-part background characters, and it was good to see the return of Monica, from the previous novel, "Blood". I loved the talking ravens, the tunnel connecting the town to overseas, the theft of the display ship, and the cliff collapse. The plot was a simple one: strangers arrived, strangers left. Yet M.G. managed to keep my attention and adapt this plot into an adventure full of mystery and development. Various subjects too were explored; pandemics, reliance on technology, racism, evolution, climate change, all of which added to the appeal of the story. The magic/fairy tale aspects of talking animals, super-humans, genetic immunity to viruses, and mass impregnation made use of the one thing a great story should be - fictitious. I learned the names of plants and some history of Gibraltar. The running of the local grammar school, the influence of the Wetherspoon pub, the lifeboat volunteers, the local craftspeople helped create an overall enjoyable, optimistic story, and an accurate analysis of how outsiders are absorbed into a local community. ( )