Her novels are full of the wisdom that comes from a woman who seems comfortable in the world that she laughs easily and excludes a sense of unshatterable calm. Instances of the Number 3 is studied with observations and asides that stop you in your tracks, as if they were ushered from a very knowing but unacknowledged narrator. "The belief that we are worth loving is a blessing granted to very few and with that one blessing all others become redundant,"

There is little action in Instances of the Number 3, but reading it is like having a fine meal with a good wine; you are left with a feeling of deep satisfaction.

Julie Wheelwright, Scotland on Sunday, 29/07/01