ANITA SHREVE is known for her sparse language and seaside tales. Although her novels may look like typical summer beach reads, there is more to them than sizzling sex and sunshine. Her previous novel, The Weight of Water, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for fiction.

In Body Surfing, Shreve evokes the feel and sensation of an exclusive summer beach house, and the family that owns it, through her use of changeable weather and sparse description.

The story is told through the perspective of Sydney, a 29-yearold woman who has been hired to tutor the family's slightly slow 18year-old daughter Julie.

Once divorced and now recently widowed, Sydney has had more life experience, and particularly married experience, than most her age. She is quite the opposite of a drama queen, though, devoting time and attention to Julie under the hostile eye of matriarch Mrs Edwards. Sydney is still working through her grief for her second husband, who died suddenly about a year before.

Other than being very fond of Julie, kindly and wise patriarch Mr Edwards gives Sydney another reason to stay.

Whilst he treats her as an extended member of the family, Mrs Edwards . . . who is antisemitic . . . makes it clear she is merely the hired help.

Enter the Edwards' two older goodlooking sons, home for the weekend to vacation with their sister and parents. To borrow from a better writer than this reviewer, Jeff has all the appearance of goodness, whilst his brother Ben, a boastful property agent who drinks orange juice out of the carton, seems arrogant to Sydney.

Ben tries to engage the slim and good-looking Sydney's attention at first but academic Jeff is far more attractive to her.

Unfortunately his stunning girlfriend, Victoria, is on her way for a visit.

It makes sense that in her state of mourning Sydney would find the unavailable Jeff a safer attraction. That is, until Jeff suddenly dumps Victoria. Very soon afterwards she finds herself rolling around during a thunderstorm in the sand with him.

"Jeff is upon her without a sound. When she turns, gasping, he puts his hand inside her hood.

His own hair is wet and matted.

He has been running. 'This might be a mistake, ' she says. He kisses her, his mouth wet with rain."

Throughout the novel, Shreve is focused on her subjects. Her paragraphs remain short but communicate depths of feeling and reactions intimately.

After a year and moving in together, Jeff suddenly pops the question. Surprised by it but pleased Sydney agrees and they arrange to marry at the Beach House.

With her Ross-from-Friends marriage history behind her Sydney is nervous about taking the plunge a third time but also hopeful that she can make a family with Jeff. But Jeff is behaving oddly. . .

Like most good reads, this novel picks up about a third of the way through and won't let you go until you've reached the last page.