Book blurb...

Set on the magical coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula and inspired by true events, Things We Cannot See is Dianne Maguire's second domestic suspense novel - a compelling story of children and families, love and betrayal. Laura Nesci has found her forever partner - until he leaves her for no apparent reason. It is only in the wake of a family tragedy and the unearthing of her husband's secret life that things fall into place, including Laura's burgeoning attraction for local artist Flynn. Fighting against the temptation of another possibly disastrous relationship, Laura channels her energies into her work as a victim support officer with the police. Fifteen-year-old Alex is a girl with secrets. Her best friend Maddi believes it's wrong, but Alex knows that what she has with their science teacher is special. When Alex is attacked, Maddi and Laura become locked in a silent battle of wills: Laura suspects that Maddi is keeping secrets for her friend, and Maddi must decide whether to speak up or remain silent. But the final telling of Alex's deepest secret is met with shock and disbelief from everyone, including Laura, who thinks she has seen it all - until now.

My thoughts…

I enjoyed this story as much as Dianne Maguire's debut novel, What Matters Most. While Things We Cannot See has a lot going on, it is the type of story you can put down when life gets in the way, but is easy to pick up where you left off.

The main character, Laura, manages to not only deal with her own life and marriage troubles but is very dedicated to her day job as a victim support officer. I liked this character, however, she needed to demonstrate her frustrations to me a little more, especially in dealing with her work colleague when he joined a boys club with the boss. As a character I thought she managed things too well and needed to get more emotional, so I became more invested in the story.

Overall this novel did not disappoint and I would recommend Things We Cannot See to go onto your to-be-read pile. It is an Australian author and we need to ‘buy more Aussie made’ and that includes books!

I received a free electronic copy of this novel on Feb 21, 2017 from Netgalley, Dianne Maguire, and HarperCollinsPublishers AU in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

Things We Cannot See takes place on the Fleurieu Peninsula of Southern Australia. Laura is pushing 60, a victim’s support advocate with the local police department who has not had great luck in her personal life. In her professional life, however, she has it all under control.

And fifteen year old Alex needs all the help she can get. Alex’s abusive situation is classic in detail, yet still more often than not overlooked in our society today. This is an excellent novel with a quietly spoken heads up for us all. This type of abuse is rampant and should never be tolerated. Dianne Maguire is an author to watch for.

3 stars
Read and reviewed 6 March 2017
I chose this because it’s set on the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia, which sounded interesting, and the publisher calls it “domestic suspense”, which I don't remember hearing before.

The author has a background in social work, and it shows, with her description of how Laura, a 60ish police victim support officer, manages the many personalities in a fairly large cast of characters involved with the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl.

We get lots of back stories for all the characters:

*Alex, her best friend Maddi, and their parents

*Roger, the 28-year-old social misfit who lives across the street from Alex and watches her (while a suspicious old lady watches him)

*Isaac, with whom Laura works at the shop, but whom she thinks of as only a brother

*A handsome science teacher all the girls adore (except Maddi, who finds him creepy)

*Laura and her second husband who’s just walked out

*Laura's daughter Tara and grandson

*Flynn, the handsome young guy on the beach with whom Laura’s begun flirting, and his dog and bird (and paintings)

And more. Some are doubtless meant to raise our suspicions, as these girls are often left to their own devices by parents too busy with shift work or too distracted by high-powered jobs. But many are irrelevant.

After school, Alex works part-time at a shop and usually walks home unconcerned, but one night seemed different.

“The stagnant silence of night did not usually bother Alex Holt. But on this night she sensed a disturbing stillness from the very moment she stepped out through the store’s back door.”

She tried to get Isaac, her co-worker, to offer to walk her home with his bike, but no luck. So off she goes and is attacked in a laneway across the street from her house. She’s found and revived and remembers nothing. There was a clue error, as well. (I did put it under a Spoiler alert in my goodreads review.)

She has sudden flashbacks and freak-out episodes, this one walking home from the shops with Maddi, when they see their science teacher (the handsome creep).

“Maddi stared in disbelief as Alex stopped talking, her eyes staring ahead like a zombie’s, the colour draining from her face as though someone had pulled a plug. Turning to her, Maddi grasped Alex’s arms but still her friend’s avid gaze did not alter. She grasped tighter, anticipating from the look of her that Alex was about to collapse on the pavement.”

As everyone tries to calm Alex down, more information about her life is revealed. Through it all, the real brick is Maddi, who remains loyal and caring and aware. She pays attention.

I think this was intended to be Alex’s story, not Laura's, about the risk of sexual predators taking advantage of susceptible underage kids. It is, certainly, a cautionary tale and reminds us not to take anyone’s reliability for granted. Teen-aged girls, particularly, can look older than they are and think they’re more mature than they are, which is why we worry about them.

I thought Laura’s story was unnecessary. There was no connection to Alex and the subject, so I didn't need to know so much about her and her love life and her daughter's love life. It feels like two or three stories slotted together to make a novel.

I also felt the way her attacker was identified had little to do with the investigation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins / Impulse for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotations may have changed).