Clarke in Aussie Readers

Jan 06, 2023 Bree T rated it liked it

Shelves: crime, mystery, library-reads, fiction, australian

This was the January pick for my online bookclub and I read it early because it was available through one of my online library catalogues so I figured I might as well. I quite like slow-paced crime/mystery novels but this one I feel, was just a bit too slow paced for my liking.

It centres mostly around Leonie, a woman who is… I’m not sure, maybe late 30s? Who lives in a quiet street in a rural town somewhere I think, around the south coast of NSW with a 4yo boy named Joe. Next door, a man named B This was the January pick for my online bookclub and I read it early because it was available through one of my online library catalogues so I figured I might as well. I quite like slow-paced crime/mystery novels but this one I feel, was just a bit too slow paced for my liking.

It centres mostly around Leonie, a woman who is… I’m not sure, maybe late 30s? Who lives in a quiet street in a rural town somewhere I think, around the south coast of NSW with a 4yo boy named Joe. Next door, a man named Barney has moved in and shortly after he does so, the police arrive with a warrant to search the property. A few years ago, a married couple lived there until the young wife disappeared in mysterious circumstances, leaving her husband and young son behind. Leonie, who would chat to Ginny occasionally, has always felt like something (probably Ginny’s husband Lou) happened to Ginny but the police at the time seemed very keen to run with either Ginny taking her own life, or taking off for parts unknown. It seems that some more information has come to light now and the police, with someone new in charge, are taking it more seriously in believing that Ginny may have met with foul play.

This is one of those books where the actual crime (if there is one, there’s still some that are in dispute as to whether or not anything actually happened to Ginny) happens off page, before the book begins and it’s more about the aftermath or the attempt of getting answers and the characters who have been affected: Leonie and her neighbour, who felt like the police never took them seriously as well as Barney, who’s new existence after his life was turned upside down, is now dominated by the police search in his backyard.

There were things about this that I did enjoy – particularly the character of Barney and his story. The information about Barney is dribbled out slowly, mostly the reader puts things together before the author tells them. I also very much liked the portrayal of Leonie and Joe. Joe is in her care but he isn’t Leonie’s child and she hasn’t always had care of him either. Although Leonie loves Joe fiercely, she is also very much grieving the reason Joe is in her care and she’s trying very hard to hold a lot of things together. Joe is only 4 and has some trauma of his own and the book does showcase quite well, the monotonous routine of caring for a small child: breakfast, daycare or preschool, snacks, dinner, bedtime etc. Finding things for them to do that are not just cartoons (this is set in 1991, so prior to devices). The lack of action on domestic violence by the police was also touched on but like a lot of other things, I felt like more could’ve been done with this. I know this book is set 30 years ago and there were struggles, but I wanted a deeper dive into so much of this.

I also liked the portrayal of the street, the very early 90s way of neighbours calling each other and exchanging tiny bits of information whilst they can basically see each other in their houses. It’s so very different to how people would communicate now but it’s definitely the way I remember my mother and her friends communicating during this time. This feels like a really accurate portrayal of early 90s Australia in a small town.

But honestly, this was very slow. Really, really slow. A lot of the book feels repetitive, with Leonie just going through the minutiae of every day life with Joe, navigating her grief and I just felt like I wanted a bit more. I know the answers aren’t always easy but so much was established about Ginny and her disappearance and new evidence and it just kind of…fizzled out….only then for the ending to just feel kind of shoehorned in and very random. I feel like a different choice regarding the ending would’ve elevated it as a read for me. I feel (I’m not 100% certain but it seems that way) that the author took inspiration from a very real case and sometimes you just don’t get the neat ending that solves all the riddles but something about this one just lacked for me.
...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2022 Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, australian-author, australian-women-writers, australian, cultural-australia, crime-fiction, bookclub-lib-too-busy, libby, 2022-aus-release, 2022-audiobook

A really good audiobook. Loosely based on the murder of Lynn Dawson by her (now convicted) husband, Chris Dawson. There are recognisable similarities but the story is told from the point of view of the current resident of the home where she was murdered and from the neighbours and local community who knew them. The police are digging at that residence looking for a body and that provides a focus for all the interactions. A well told story. Should be a good bookgroup discussion for this one.

4 likes · Like · see review

May 03, 2024 Rhoda rated it really liked it

Thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book to review!

In 1991 in the fictional regional town of Clarke, Barney is woken by a contingent of police wanting to search his backyard for the body of a missing woman who lived there prior to him. Next door, Leonie and her young nephew Joe watch the police out their window. Leonie has been waiting six years for this day and is certain that her friend Ginny has been buried in that backyard by her abusive husband.

The disappearance of ...more

Like · see review

Jul 01, 2023 Gaynor rated it liked it

Shelves: australian-titles, 2022-australian-titles

I kept thinking how much this book reminded me of the Lynn Dawson case and then in the acknowledgements I read that the author had made a deliberate connection.
The humdrum of daily life is a feature of this title and with the Hills Hoist on the cover, there is no doubt as to the setting.

Like · see review