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The Accusation

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Member Reviews

This story had sucked me in completing. A girl appears and claims to have been kidnapped and held in the basement for a few weeks of a high school teacher, a woman. This was a gripping story which kept me enthralled. In the light of the me too movement and the generation of being famous for being famous, this story had a very contemporary feel for an age old reason. A rollercoaster ride well worth taking!!

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What I loved: the writing style, the characters, the plot (which reminded me of Josephine Tey's book The Franchise Affair.).

What I struggled with: the book is clever and disorienting at times - which is not a bad thing

Recommendation: A must-read for all mystery lovers

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“It was all so utterly strange, so far beyond my experience, that there was no possible way to orient myself. I felt as if I had fallen into some crazy experimental film, where I was the only actor without a script, the only player who had no idea what was going to happen next.”

The Accusation is the eighth novel by award-winning Australian author, Wendy James. High school drama teacher Suzannah Wells is as surprised as anyone in Enfield Wash when eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning turns up in a farm hut, barely clad and half conscious. She claims to have escaped after being kidnapped and held captive for several weeks by two women somewhere near the town.

When the Police search her house, along with others in the area, Suzannah’s not worried: she and her mother Mary have nothing to hide. But no one is more stunned that Suzannah when she is arrested for abduction and imprisonment. She can’t understand how, but the evidence (and there’s a lot of it) seems to overwhelmingly implicate her and her demented mother.

Having only been in town since the start of the year, Suzannah hasn’t made a lot of friends, but the one she thought she could rely on, celebrity PR agent Honor Fielding has become the unofficial guardian for Ellie, managing her interactions with the press, and Honor can’t (or won’t) talk to Suzannah.

Soon enough social media and online press are digging up anything they can about her past life, none of it flattering and, as the tide of public opinion turns against Suzannah, Ellie quickly becomes a media star, very much flavour of the month, an inspiration for teenaged girls claiming control of their lives. As Suzannah awaits a committal hearing, she faces the very real prospect of jail with no idea how this awful situation arose.

This is a cleverly constructed mystery and even the most astute reader will be formulating and then discarding a number of theories before the truth finally begins to crystallise. Narratives from several perspectives, clearly dated, are supplemented by transcripts of dialogue forming a documentary titled Abducted: the Ellie Canning Story.

James populates her novel with a cast of very relatable characters. While many are busy looking out for number one, most temper this with kindness towards others. But when a certain character films something rather than acting on it, readers will be gasping at the utterly calculated selfishness of it. Mary's semi-demented utterances are often hilarious and occasionally quite insightful, and these are not the only instances of humour: much of the dialogue is blackly funny. This retelling of an 18th Century English case is a riveting read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia.

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Book blurb...

Somebody is lying.
After eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, her bizarre story of kidnap and escape enthrals the nation. Who would do such a thing? And why?
Local drama teacher Suzannah Wells, once a minor celebrity, is new to town. Suddenly she's in the spotlight again, accused of being the monster who drugged and bound a teenager in her basement. As stories about her past emerge, even those closest to her begin to doubt her innocence.
And Ellie? The media can't get enough of her. She's a girl-power icon, a social-media star. But is she telling the truth?
A powerful exploration of the fragility of trust and the loss of innocence, from the author of The Golden Child and The Mistake.

My thoughts…
Another well-crafted novel by this talented Australian author.
What I enjoy about Wendy's novels is the way she uses social media as both subject matter and as a tool to inform the reader.
This story had me from the beginning and whilst I had my doubts about the accusation against Suzannah I was torn.
Domestic noir at its best.

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After reading The Golden Child last year I was keen to read Wendy's latest offering. This story is quite bizarre - a young girl is found in a disheveled state, wearing only pj's and claiming that she has just escaped from being kept captive in a basement.

Susannah Wells is a drama teacher at the local school and lives with her mother who is in early stages of dementia. Its hard work but they cope, until the world falls apart around them.

This girl Ellie, claims that Susannah and her mother are the ones that have kept her imprisoned and drugged in their basement - only problem is that Susannah has never seen or met this girl, yet the descriptions of her imprisonment and its surroundings exactly describe the basement in her house.

Ellie becomes somewhat of a celebrity because of her "abduction" and Susannah is arrested. Someone is lying - but who?

This book kept me turning the pages and the plot was interesting and had me questioning 'who did it' many times whilst reading. The author wove a very intriguing plot which I believe was based on an actual case from years ago. How easy it was to manipulate people and situations and make them totally believable to the outside world - quite scary in fact!

Thank you to Harper Collins and Net galley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.

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I was in the mood for a mystery novel and came across The Accusation by Wendy James. This book I learned after reading the author's note was based on a case that took place in the 18th Century in the UK called The Canning Affair, which later was developed into a novel set in the post-war by Josephine Tey called The Franchise Affair. Wendy James took both accounts and then added her twist to create The Accusation set in modern times in a small Australian town. The book starts with a young teacher who loves her work and wants to make a difference in the world, after her break-up and her mother's break. She moves with her mother to a small town and gets a job at the school. During this time, she meets her neighbors, including one who used to be a big-time TV Star and is now a Social Media and Agent for celebrities. After a failed relationship, Susannah - our main character also starts to form a relationship with her landlord, Chip. In the town, she also is befriended by Honor - our Celebrity Agent. Soon the community is rocked when a young teenaged girl is found wandering the rural backwoods with claims she was kidnapped and tortured. The young girl Ellie Canning at first can't recall anything but soon becomes a celebrity when Honor takes her under her wings and makes her into a TV star and inspirational model to all. As the story goes along, Ellie starts recalling things, and all the evidence points to newcomer Susannah. How can this be if Susannah has never met her in her life? Soon it will become the world against Susannah as Ellie's story, and the evidence becomes damning? Who is setting Susannah up and why? Will the real truth ever be revealed or by the time it does - what will be left of Susannah's reputation and life? Find out in this Australian hit - The Accusation by Wendy James.

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I'd seen reviews of this book popping up in a few places and was surprised it hadn't been on my radar. Fortunately I was able to access an online review copy and meet established Australian author Wendy James - for the first time - in my case.

This book opens in the voice of Suzannah though we don't know it at the time. The person is assessing Ellie's online persona, wondering how it is they can't tell if the young woman is lying or not. James does it cleverly though so we're not certain if the voice is guilty of the accusations levelled against them.

We learn then, of Ellie's escape and slowly (through interspersed true crime documentary type snippets) start to learn more about her kidnapping.

We spend most of the book inside the head of Suzannah. She's certainly a likeable character though she's got her secrets, skimming over certain aspects of her life... even with we readers.

She was a teenage soap opera star, we discover, before quitting that life to become a teacher. She's hit a few snags in the road since then, the biggest her mother Mary recently re-entering her life 35+ years after Suzanne had last seen her.

Suzannah was raised by her grandparents while the heavy drinking, drug taking and possibly mentally-ill Mary appeared briefly at various intervals. 

Now she's living with her daughter while Suzannah waits for a place at a nearby nursing home to become available. Most assume Mary has dementia but Susannah explains it's more likely Korsakoff's syndrome - an alcohol related illness.

It has to be said though, Mary is a hoot. I mean, she would drive you bonkers if you had to look after her but she's very much like a sweary and sexually explicit toddler. James does a great job of writing Mary's character and gets a good balance between the things that make her daughter cringe and the occasional insightful observation. Young Mary must have been interesting when sober or capable of conversation and it's obvious Suzannah knows little of the life her mother's led.

Obviously this book is centred around the fallout of Ellie's recovery and accusations. Initially the details of her 'incarceration' are scant. It seems to make no sense. Even the town gossips and school students can't work out what the motive for her kidnapping could have been.

James takes us back to the months leading up to Ellie's appearance. We meet Suzannah and Mary when they first arrive along with neighbours (celebrity agent Honor) and a potential love interest for Suzannah, Chip, as well as Suzannah's school colleagues. Suzannah's becoming relatively contented with her new life when Ellie is found and accusations start flying.

Ultimately this book becomes a he said / she said. (Well, she said / she said, in this instance.) We know from the beginning there must be a reason to suspect Ellie isn't telling the truth - though in retrospect, it's only from Suzannah's perspective we're offered that opinion.

But, we've gotten to know Suzannah and it seems unlikely. Doesn't it? Why would Suzannah kidnap 18yr old Ellie? Alternatively, we're forced to ask ourselves what motivation would Ellie have for lying and pointing a finger at Suzannah?

They obviously can't both be telling the truth. 

James paces this novel well, so we readers are fairly bamboozled by the time some twists are revealed. And I definitely didn't see the who and why coming. I'm not sure it was completely believable as it seemed a bit extreme, but it's definitely something that will come as a surprise.

The Accusation by Wendy James was published in Australia by Harper Collins and is now available.

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I loved The Accusation. From the beginning Wendy James had complete control of this roller coaster ride.
Suzannah Wells (ex TV soapie star now high school teacher) lives with her eccentric befuddled mother in the country town of Enfield Wash. The town has been recently rocked by the discovery of an 18 year old girl, Ellie Canning, who claims to have escaped from being abducted by a woman and her mother. The media moves in and Ellie is gold. She identifies Suzannah and her mother as the culprits- but how can that be? The reader is convinced of Suzannah ‘s innocence but there is overwhelming proof that Ellie has been in her cellar.
The book is tightly woven with some chapters through the eyes of several main characters and some from transcripts of a “ documentary “ made about the abduction.
The characters are believable and well rounded with the stand-out being Suzannah’s mother Mary who adds some welcome black humour.
An excellent psychological drama with a big nod to the impact of social media on our society.

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It’s been a while since a book has kept me up late into the night, but I was so entranced with this one that I read it in one day and couldn’t tear myself away until all was revealed. Anyone who knows my obsession with getting enough sleep will know that it takes a special kind of story to have that sort of power over me!

Darn, this book was good! From the very first page, I was totally and utterly hooked. I’m not sure if it was the premise of the story, or the characters, or a combination of both, but I felt that James really touched the very core of me, like a fisherman using the perfect bait to catch his dinner. I will be very careful not to give anything away here, but basically the story revolves around an eighteen year old girl who claims to have been abducted by a middle-aged woman and her crazy old mother and held hostage in their basement for weeks before being able to escape. Being a small town, the pool of suspects is limited, and soon suspicion fall upon highschool drama teacher Susanna and her mother Mary, who live in an old farmhouse just out of town. Suzannah denies ever having laid eyes on the girl, and yet Ellie seems to know a lot of details about the house and the couple of older women. So who is telling the truth, and who is the liar?

This was a story of a thousand theories – the unreliable narrator theme as its best. I really liked Suzannah and wanted to believe her, but Ellie also makes a convincing case against her. My imagination soon started to run riot. S was guilty, S was innocent, S had multiple personalities, S had an identical twin, aliens had landed in the yard and taken possession of S’ body to commit the crime. One of those surely had to be right! But no matter whether either was right or wrong, here we have the media and the public who have already elevated the young pretty Ellie to celebrity status and condemned the two reclusive women as being the guilty party.

To say I loved James writing style is an understatement – I was mesmerised. Both the setting and the characters came to life for me, painting vivid pictures in my mind and playing out movie like in front of my eyes. I particularly enjoyed the character of Mary, Suzannah’s mother, who suffers from a type of dementia and is extremely eccentric. Whilst Mary would undoubtedly be quite hard work to look after in real life, here she livened up the story and added not only a bit of humour but an additional thread to sow doubt in the reader’s mind. Do her crazy ramblings contain some truth?

I can firmly say that THE ACCUSATION is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year, and features amongst other greats of Australian crime fiction to have hit our shelves recently. There is a special quality to Australian mysteries that captures the effects of a vast and isolated land on the human psyche, and ratchets up tension. James has used all of these elements with perfection to create a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere that kept my heart rate up and my mind churning in an effort to solve the mystery.

If you like a good psychological thriller, then you cannot go past this one. I was even more intrigued to learn that the story had been inspired by a true 18th century crime, which gives it additional depth and meaning. Giving the historical “Canning Affair” a 21st century setting, with the ensuing media circus and social media storm, was a clever way to bring this old mystery back to life. THE ACCUSATION is Australian crime writing at its best, showcasing the great talent of Australian women writers out there today. It deserves all the hype! A brilliant book, very highly recommended.

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The Accusation is a contemporary take on the ‘Canning Affair’, one of the most famous English criminal mysteries of the 18th century and is by Australian author Wendy James.

The story is of a bizarre abduction with no credible motives for the accused. Significant evidence is found in the house basement for a guilty verdict but who is lying!

Pretty 18 year old Ellie Canning is found on a country road in a shepherds hut, barely conscious and clad in ill fitting pink pyjamas. She claims to have been kidnapped and held prisoner for a month by two women and has escaped. Ellie is the perfect victim and survivor and quickly grows an expanding fan base on social media with opportunities flowing in from her ordeal fame.

Suzannah Wells, the accused is a local high school drama teacher, in her younger years she was a starlet on a popular TV soapie. She cares for her mother, a colourful character who suffers from a form of dementia.

This story is of trust, betrayal, guilt and innocence, it will keep the reader in suspense to the end. Although I guessed the guilty party early on, the story still engaged my attention with unexpected twists and turns. A well paced and engaging read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC in return for an honest review

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‘Everything added up – but not to the truth.’

Near the town of Enfield Wash in New South Wales, eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found unconscious by a local farmer in a disused shepherd’s hut on his property. After she regained consciousness, she told the police that she had sought shelter in the hut after escaping from a nearby farmhouse. Ellie Canning claimed that she’d been abducted by a middle-aged woman and chained to a bed in a basement for a month. The woman, Ellie said, had a crazy old mother. The woman, Ellie said, had given her drinks from an old baby’s sippy cup.
Who was this woman, and why did she abduct Ellie?

Local high school teacher Suzannah Wells is accused of abducting Ellie. While she claims never to have seen Ellie before, the evidence seems to point to her guilt. Suzannah’s mother, Mary, has dementia, Suzannah’s house has a basement, and Ellie’s DNA is everywhere. Suzannah loses her job and most of her friends, especially after stories from the past emerge. Few people believe that she is innocent.

Ellie becomes a social media star. Everyone is interested in her story. But what really happened?

I picked this and found it hard to put down. Was Suzannah innocent or guilty? What role (if any) had Mary played? Could Ellie be mistaken? If Suzannah was innocent, why was Ellie’s DNA in her house? The evidence against Suzannah grows, public opinion is firmly against her. The only person who seems to believe Suzannah is her lover Chip.

The story unfolds over a period of about 12 months and is told from the perspectives of Suzannah and Honor Fielding, the celebrity PR agent who is Suzannah’s neighbour, was Suzannah’s friend and is now Ellie’s agent. There are also excerpts from a documentary prepared about the case.
Who is telling the truth? And why, before the case is heard, is everyone so quick to condemn Suzannah?
What role has the media played?

This novel is Ms James’s contemporary revisiting of the Canning Affair, an eighteenth-century criminal case and cause célèbre, which is also the subject of Josephine Tey’s novel ‘The Franchise Affair’. It’s a novel which makes the reader think about the power of the media and of how easy it can be to shape public opinion.

Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

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The Accusation by Wendy James iis a book that I read in 2 sittings, struggling to put it down. Once you start it you really want to know what is going to happen next and how it will all unfold. Another great Australian author that I have discovered this year. I loved his this was written, in 3 parts, from multiple points of view and featuring interviews and newspaper articles. Set in a small Australian town where everyone knows everyone and their business, the story gets more twisted as it goes along.

Ellie Canning claims to have been kidnapped in Sydney and brought to Enfield Wash and held captive in the basement of a house by 2 women for a month. She escapes and becomes an instant media sensation, the nation is enthralled. But who would do this to a young girl and why? Local drama teacher Suzanne Wells is as appalled as everybody else but then police come knocking and arrest her for the crime. There is so much evidence making her look guilty but she did not do this. Why does it look like she has and how can she prove herself innocent when the victim is a media darling?

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

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When a young girl is found in a shepherd's hut having claimed to have escaped from the basement of a farmhouse where she was held captive for a month, she becomes a media sensation. Especially as her kidnapers were female with an unsavoury reason for kidnapping her. Soon a local school teacher, Susannah Wells and her elderly mother, Mary Squires in the town of Enfield Wash are identified by the girl, Ellie Canning, as being her abductors. She has a lot of evidence to back up her claims but is she telling the truth or spinning a web of lies?

Wendy James has re-imagined an infamous case from the mid 18th century where a 18 year old maidservant called Elizabeth Canning claimed to have been kidnapped by two women (Susannah Wells and Mary Squires of Enfield Wash). The case attracted a lot of public attention, especially in the media of the time (pamphlets and news sheets), especially during the trial and later retrial. In this contemporary retelling, James has highlighted the power of social media and the press to form and manipulate public opinion. While Ellie becomes a talk show celebrity and admired victim, Susannah is suspended from work and painted as a monster by the media and public.

James has written an engaging and gripping thriller with complex characters. This is definitely a book that demands to be read in one sitting to see how it all turns out!

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The Accusation is author Wendy James’ contemporary take on the Canning Affair, an eighteenth-century criminal case that titillated the Victorian public, a compelling story of trust and betrayal, guilt and innocence.

Susannah Wells, a high school drama teacher, has been living with her mother in the small rural community of Enfield Wash for a just a few months. It’s a quiet life, her mothers dementia driven outbursts aside, in contrast with the years she spent as a young starlet on a popular TV soap.
Susannah, like the rest of the residents in Enfield Wash, expresses her shock when news breaks that a frail, bedraggled young woman has been found on the outskirts of town, claiming to have been abducted, drugged and chained to a bed for more than a month. When presented with the initial results of the police investigation, Ellie tearfully confirms the identity of her captors- Susannah Wells, and her mother, Mary.
Susannah vehemently denies the accusation, but with her arrest, her friends, even her closest friend, her colleagues, the townspeople, and the public at large, judge her guilty. Only her lover, Chip, is willing to believe in Susannah’s innocence, but even his faith begins to waiver as seemingly irrefutable evidence against Susannah builds.
If Susannah is innocent, why was evidence of Ellie’s ordeal found in her home? If Susannah is innocent, what possible motive could a stranger, especially a beautiful and bright young woman like Ellie, have to accuse her? If Susannah is innocent, who is guilty?

I raced through The Accusation, utterly engrossed by the question of Susannah’s guilt or innocence. James skilfully keeps the reader guessing, even while probing the possibilities of truth and deceit.

The story is structured in three parts, covering a period of about 12 months, for the most part progressing linearly, with the occasional slip backward and forward in time. Primarily the narrative unfolds from the perspectives of Susannah, and Honor, Ellie’s PR representative, with brief excerpts from a documentary produced about the case, after its resolution.

Of particular interest is the way in which James explores the role of ‘spin’ and social media in contributing to Ellie’s new found celebrity status, and Susannah’s public vilification. It’s an all too real scenario that demonstrates how easily the public can be manipulated, and how easily truth is dismissed.

The Accusation is provocative and gripping, a contemporary psychological thriller that should be moved to the top of your reading list.

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Suzannah Wells had not long moved from Sydney to the small town of Enfield Wash with her mother Mary. She was a drama school teacher at the local high school as well as her mother’s carer. When she heard in the news of a young woman, Ellie Canning, who’d been found, barely clad and semi conscious on a nearby country road, she was suitably shocked and saddened about the story of Ellie’s abduction. Who would do such a thing – and why?

As Suzannah’s friendship with the nearby farmer, and original owner of her home, Chip Gascoyne deepened, Suzannah found she enjoyed his company. Mary liked him as well; he seemed able to control and calm her when she became confused. But it was when the police appeared at the door to Suzannah’s home, then brought the warrant to search the house that lives changed; trust fractured; truth was suspected of being lies. Suzannah was shattered…

The Accusation by Aussie author Wendy James is based on an 18th century English criminal case where the guilt or innocence of a certain party remains a mystery. Ms James has woven an intriguing, fascinating story of betrayal, evidence that can’t be denied and a web of dark secrets around a likeable and seemingly trustworthy woman. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

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