Lights flash in the skies above Scotland. Many who see it have a stroke and never recover. But three victims recover almost suspiciously quickly, and when there are reports of an octopus-like creature washing up on a shore, they feel an instant and odd connection to it. It turns out it’s an alien – and the government are very interested in tracking it down. Can Ava, Lennox and Heather save it…? A chase across Scotland ensues.

This is a compelling and easily accessible science fiction novel. I don’t know enough science to know how much is plausible and how much is hand wavium, but it doesn’t really matter for the story. It’s not really about ‘this will happen’ but rather ‘if something like this happened, how would humanity react?’ which I always find interesting. The point-of-view characters are all distinct, with sympathetic stories that make you want to spend more time with them. And the aliens are very cool.

It’s important to note that a sequel is available for this book and this title ends on a bit of a cliffhanger – enough is resolved for you to feel satisfied, but to want to read the next one if at all possible. And that’s exactly what I did!