Wow this novel takes the reader on a journey of twists and turns and a surprise ending! When her old friend Lily is murdered, Marlowe is led to believe many of the adults in her town are part of a cult and her death was because she knew too much. In her attempts to uncover the truth, Marlowe pushes boundaries and puts her life and the lives of others in danger. What is real? What is a lie? All is not as it seems in Kiama and I was shocked by the ending!

‘The truth is out there … somewhere …’

Kiama, NSW provides the physical setting for this atmospheric and twisted tale full of secrets. For Marlowe ‘Lo’ Robertson is an ambitious young journalist, keen to escape what she sees as the suffocating confines of Kiama. Reluctantly covering the annual show for the local newspaper, Lo is horrified when she finds the body of her best friend, and the reigning showgirl, Lily Williams. Lily has been murdered, and Los sees seven strange symbols carved onto her back. Why, then, does Lo’s father, the local police chief, tell Lo not to mention those symbols when she is interviewed as part of the murder investigation? Lo wants answers.

Lily’s murder makes national headlines, and the media descend on the town. While upset about the death of her friend, Lo sees an opportunity to make a name for herself for trying to track down the killer.

What follows is a tale full of twists and turns, of possibilities and red herrings. A secret cult is said to be involved. The more Lo investigates the more convoluted the story becomes. Is there a secret cult? Are the symbols a manifestation of mental illness? Just who is involved? Who can be trusted? There are many different questions and more than a few possible answers. Ms West peoples the novel with some interesting characters, many of who have secrets of their own and this serves to maintain the tension (mostly) from beginning to end.

I was drawn into (and occasionally thrown out of) this novel until near the end. The conclusion may work for others, but it left me cold.

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

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Catch us the Foxes - Nicola West
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set in a country town, local journalists turns investigator when her friend is brutally murdered and her mutilated body is found.

Sublime characters, quintessential to the story and loaded with quirky intrigue and surprises. I thought this was an incredibly well written story, designed to keep the reader in suspense and on this it definitely delivers.

I’ll be watching the writings of Nicola West, intrigued by her first publication. Great story bad brilliantly developed characters.

Debut novel by Australian author Nicola West.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

The story centres around Marlowe "Lo" Robertson, who becomes involved in the mystery of her friends murder. Lo decides to use her journalistic knowledge to find out who killed her friend, and why many of the small town's occupants seem to have something to hide.

This book started off strong, it held my attention and kept me wanting to know what happened next. It had many twists and turns throughout. It was an entertaining, quick read. The one negative I have was that it left me with some questions that I would have liked to have had answered. I felt like some parts of the story could have been expanded on.

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marlowe Robertson is a young photojournalist looking for the big break to get her out of small-town Kiama. She has a sort of rivalry going with Lily Williams, who was once her best friend. Lily has just earned herself a cadet-ship and is on her way out of the town and Lo is just a bit envious. It's while working for the local paper as a photographer that she discovers' a murdered Lily's body at the local show. Soon she is trying to solve the murder and find justice for her one-time friend and goes on an interesting journey along the way.

I won't go into any more specifics here but this story has multiple red herrings and the twists and turns are enough to make the reader a bit dizzy. That said, it is certainly an easy book to read and I finished it in less than three days. While reading I had a certain uneasiness about the story. Sure, it's meant to be creepy but I still struggled with the plot at times and questioned some of the twists and turns. Marlowe is definitely a complicated character but I don't feel it's explored as well as could be. Her relationship with Lily is definitely unclear. I mean it's mentioned repeatedly they were best friends as young children but then they weren't and there's another story that isn't explored. I can only guess they are rivals of sorts at this stage. And yet they don't seem to be that either. And that's just one relationship that doesn't feel like it's properly fleshed out. Other characters like her best friend, Dan, her father, and star journalist Owen are relationships that never feel quite right to me. They just don't make sense when placed against the background provided.

I understand that Kiama is a real place and I am at a loss as to why this was used in a story that shows the town as being narrow and close-minded. I can only say that perhaps the reader needs to think of this as an alternative universe, otherwise, this could easily provide a false perception of this very real place.

I wanted to like this more but it just doesn't sit well with me and I can only give this two stars. I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for sharing an advance reader copy with me. I have voluntarily provided this review.

I found Catch Us the Foxes a confusing read. At times it felt like a young adult novel but then some of the themes introduced were inappropriate for that genre.
It begins with Marlow - a young female journalist- being interviewed about her novel, supposedly a crime novel about her real life investigation, and solving of, her best friend’s murder. Then we are presented with the novel. There are many twists and red herrings and there seems to be a resolution. The epilogue returns to the interview and more information is revealed ( it is hard to review without spoilers!)
Overall the plot is ambitious and maybe too clever. I liked the characters and the setting - the use of the small country town added to the suspense- but this book was not for me.

I really enjoyed this book the pace was really nice and it was quite a fast read. The mystery element was really well done but a little predictable. But overall I love supporting Australian authors and this book was good.

While covering the fair in her small town, aspiring journalist Marlow is horrified to discover the mutilated body of her best friend. Upon reporting the crime to her Dad, the local police chief, she is told to keep quiet about the state of the body. But she sees this as her big break. If she can catch the killer she will be able to leave the small town behind and move to the city, where she will no doubt become a big name.

Oh my goodness, I was on the edge of my seat reading this! The ending was brilliantly written and totally unexpected.

It’s devastating when Marlowe, or ‘Lo as she’s known, finds her best friend Lily’s body at the fairground, in the horse stalls. There are symbols on Lily’s body and Lo is sworn to secrecy by her father, the Police Chief!

Catch Us the Foxes unfolds to be a novel with the novel ‘The Showgirl’s Secret’ written by Lo, intertwined, it is a little difficult to get into. Lo is a journalist trying to solve Lily’s murder case. Mystery, deception and cult theories are woven into the history of a small Australian town.

Old friend Jarrah provides Lily’s journals, apparently the cult is run by prominent town leaders who dress up children as foxes and hunt them.

I found Lo to be a loner who isn’t quite sure of where she fits into her own family, who or what to believe, or how to deal with Lily’s suppositions. Lo needs to overcome the resistance she faces from the police force and town friends, solving the crime is not going to be easy. The town riots and hospitalises the main suspect of Lily’s death, a carnival worker.

Lo believes her suppressed memories, Lily’s details of a cult and her own investigations, all lead to a town she needs to escape from. I found the storyline to be difficult to follow and believe.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In the seaside township of Kiama the locals are a close knit group who happily encourage the tourist dollar. When one of their own is murdered, the popular Lily Williams, suspicion immediately falls onto the travelling carnival group. Marlowe ‘Lo’ Robertson, local journalist and Lily’s best friend knows things are amiss. Having discovered the mutilated body of Lily and with no-one investigating the symbols carved onto her body, Lo suspects that members of the town are hiding the truth. With a take no hostage attitude Lo rattles the town establishment to find out what really happened. Is this a murder of passion, a young woman’s descent into mental illness or a conspiracy that involves the upper echelons of the town?
The reading of the Catch us the Foxes relies on the relationship you form with the narrator Lo. Her whip smart, gung-ho attitude shows a woman fully in control, who knows her destiny is to escape the confines of a small country town. That on the surface is Lo, yet, things quickly become less black and white as you read deeper into the story. Lo is difficult to pin down as to whether she is reliable or not. The death of her friend gives Lo an opportunity to both solve the murder and a catalyst to further her own ambition. It is a fine line we tread with Lo.
The supporting characters create further murkiness. Each time they appear they push their agenda to fore, then slink into the background and re-emerge to create further doubts. Thus makes it difficult to determine who is telling the truth and having the right influence on Lo Their continual interference makes you wonder if Lo has an over active imagination, she has mental health issues or whether she is being manoeuvred into a direction against her will.
Nicole West cleverly sprinkles throughout the narrative layers of doubt, mixed with dubious personal agendas and subtle manipulation. You begin to query who is really in control of the situation. Catch us the Foxes will cause controversy and will be a great read for book clubs. The ending will have you either flinging the book across the room in rage or jumping up and down knowing that was the way it would end.

I don't tend to wax lyrical about a book but in this case I will make a rare exception.

I am going to put this forward as one of my must read psychological thrillers for the year - right up there with two of my past favourites - [book:Killing The Girl|45356361] and [book:The Creak on the Stairs|49015634].

I - and probably much to the angst of the publisher - recommend having a physical copy of this book as you will often find yourself moving backwards and forwards, thinking you have missed some little clue, as the author dangles much before you, only to snatch it away at the last moment.

This book is - to use a colloquialism - an onion. There are so many layers that the reader really does need to pay attention. The synopsis really does give the reader a slight inkling as to what to expect - but you are being deceived. And don't think that by skipping to the end you have the whole story - you don't! You will find yourself sucker punched a number of times before the ending is revealed.

In the words of our protagonist: " ...... I know better than anyone just how alluring a conspiracy theory could be ..... I had fallen for it's allure ... it was a better story than the truth ..." - but what is truth, what is conspiracy and what is delusion ....... well, I for one won't be revealing that!


All I will add, is someone had better snap up the film rights to this one rather quickly!

It took me a little while to get into Catch Us The Foxes, but things picked up and I was hooked. The majority of the story is made up of a novel written by Marlowe, based on the Lily's murder and the aftermath in trying to solve the crime. The prologue sets up the background of the novel where Marlowe is interviewed on the 7th anniversary of Lily's death. The epilogue ends out the interview and answers some questions. I enjoyed the suspense and went through all the feelings and emotions with Marlowe - it was hard to know who to trust! I found the final twist in the epilogue unexpected and it made me think back over the whole book. Enjoyable read.

In a quintessential small Australian country town, the young journalist hero of "Catch Us the Foxes" stumbles upon the ritualistically mutilated body of her best friend, and embarks on a crusade to track down the killers. Debut author Nicola West sends the plot spiraling into deep dark corners of this hidden rural world, deep into the lives of her friends and family, and the brisk plotting is one of the highlights of this entertaining novel. But it is difficult to empathize with a crime solver who seems to oscillate between robust competence and trembling anxiety, and one of the plot machinations had me guffawing in disbelief. Catch Us the Foxes is pleasant, if flawed, reading

The start of this was a little grating with the constant negative comments in relation to Kiama. I feel as though the point was well and truly put across and got a bit much. However once I got a bit further into the book, I feel that the writing really took a step up and I got hooked in. There were quite a few twists and turns and I didn't see a single one of them coming. I really appreciated the comments and evaluations on the mental illness aspect of the book as well which felt well researched.
Thank you Netgalley, Nicola West and Simon and Schuster for the ARC for an honest review

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this one through NetGalley. A new Australian author, Nicola West. A different read for me, but I received the info via email, and I was pre-approved, so I gave it a go, especially with a tag line like, Twin Peaks meets The Dry in a deliciously dark and twisted tale that unravels a small town.

This is in fact a book within a book. The opening of the novel introduces us to Marlowe, who is about to speak at an event. She is there to speak, as she has written a book about the murder of her best friend, and the mystery surrounding it, that story forms the main part of this novel.

This is a book that is twisty and turn-y and will keep you guessing until the end. It's one of those books where you think you know exactly what is going on, who the good guys are and who the bad guys are...then find out you had it all wrong.

The age of the main character, early 20s, could have this book sitting on a YA/new adult shelf, especially as the main character is still living at home with her Dad. It's the content and language, that makes it more palatable as an adult read. It's quite a dark, with themes of cults, harm against children, mutilation, homophobia.

As a different kind of read for me, I enjoyed it, but part of me feels that the author may have tried too hard to lead us down the wrong path.

From my bookselling side of things, this is not something we would stock it is most definitely something I will be promoting in my other avenues, Book Clubs and Instagram.

When I first saw “Catch Us the Foxes” by Nicola West on NetGalley, I knew it was riiiiight up my alley. Give me a small Australian town, atmospheric rural scenery, townspeople who are backward in their views, then chuck in some murder, whispers of a cult, small town gossip, and I’m hooked.

All of the above is set in the very real NSW town of Kiama, which was a bit confusing due to the nature of the story. Sadly I’ve never been to Kiama, but everyone in Sydney seems to rave about it and how lovely it is! Not sure if this book is helping the Kiama tourism industry, as it is painted as a pretty bleak place full of craziness and quite frankly horrible people.. which I’m sure it’s not in real life!

While I had a few issues with this book and it certainly won’t be for everyone (fair warning: there’s some problems surrounding mental health and homophobia), I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the story’s twists and turns and the pacing of it kept me reading well into the night. The idea was certainly there (I love a cult, love a small town mystery), but parts of it just weren’t executed fully and I found myself a bit confused with the back and forth of the “whodunnit” moments. That being said, it was an enjoyable story with a lot of the mystery/thriller elements I look for in a good book.

I think this is a worthy debut novel - anything that keeps you hooked and makes you want to keep reading is a good book to me! I will certainly be keeping my eye out for Nicola West’s future works.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

An absolutely thrilling read. I couldn't put it down!
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys being kept at the edge of their seat. It was like being on a rollercoaster, not knowing being able to anticipate what's next.

Catch us the Foxes is the debut novel by author Nicola West. I have been reading a lot of books by Australian authors so this one was appealing to me.

Marlowe, daughter of top police officer in the small town of Kiama, finds her childhood best friend murdered. She also discovers some strange symbols carved on her back. She takes things in her own hands to find out who is the murderer. As secrets are revealed, she finds how the small town’s high and mighty could be involved. There are a lot of suspects, they are all unreliable and each have a possible reason to be the killer. It is so hard to decide who to believe.

It was a bit tricky to review this book. Apparently, there is a book within this book and that one is good in itself. While I enjoyed the story and the plot twists, I did not find the language appealing.

However, this book has certainly made me want to visit Kiama again and see all the places mentioned in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mixed feelings about this one.

I enjoyed the premise, and found it an addictive read. The fact that it was set in nearby Kiama gave it a familiar feel.. I liked our lead character, Marlowe ('Lo") and her narrative flowed in a very readable style. I liked the fact that Marlowe didn't know who she could trust with the facts she was finding in investigating the death of her once closest friend Lily - including her father, her boss at the paper, her friends. They all seemed to be doubted at various stages and this kept the reader off balance.

Plenty of twists and turns in the story, again a feature I like. Where my disappointment came was with the element of "This happened" and then a little later on reading "No, that didn't happen". As a reader, I'm OK with this when the change comes from new facts coming to light, not so when the narrator knew all along and just changed the story for the reader. Kind of feels like cheating.

That said, still worth the read for all the positive aspects I highlight above.

I was so happy to have the opportunity to reveiw this debut novel - suspense novels re my go-to holiday genre and I love local fiction done really well.
The setting in the coastal town of Kiama avoided being paraochial and while there were enough plot developments to drive the pace well, the author resisted the temptation to play with unnecessary complications, making this a simply enjoyable read. Having a young adult protagonist meant I could forgive he for silly decisions and knee-jerk reactions. I felt I needed to suspend belief for the cult practises - some of the details of this were only lightly fleshed out, but this helped it feel less creepy than it otherwise might have been. I would have been happier if the story had concluded a few pages earlier (no spoilers!), but then I woudn't have been thinking about it for several days afterwards.
Highly recommended for those who enjoy Aussie fiction and suspense/pyschological thrillers