Changes

|title= The High Places

|sort=High Places

|date= May 2016

|isbn= 9871444776713

This was the first time I had read anything by Fiona McFarlane, who had her first novel, [[The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane|The Night Guest]] published in 2014, to wide acclaim. I can see why she is hailed as an exciting new writer: her prose is beautifully crafted at times, and she conjures up some interesting and original characters. The first story in the collection, ''Exotic Animal Medicine'', introduces a young female vet and her partner, who have just been married in secret, and is an engaging story from the beginning. The story has some good characters and some wonderful short descriptions; ''the beat of the trapped bees against glass that shook as the buses moved by''. There feels a real connection to animals and nature throughout this story, having at certain points, even the viewpoint of the cat who is awaiting the vet's return.