In White’s third book, he has taken a classic crime trope and renewed it by using discussions of satan. His ability to transform suburbia into the setting of a gripping thriller always amazes me!

The satan and cult aspect was interesting, and made the book feel particular dark. This amongst the number of characters we are introduced to made the story slow to start. However after the 60% mark I felt eased into the setting and was a captivated reader. The storyline linear compared to his previous work, which was a bit of a surprise for me.

I was left guessing until the end and was shocked at the resolution, but I wasn’t as enthralled as I was with his previous books. Overall, an enjoyable book from one of my favourite Aussie authors.

This is my third Christian White novel and as with his earlier works I really enjoyed it. I love the way he writes and the little observations he adds while producing a twisty and original story .

Set in Melbourne , Wild Place tells the story of a missing teenager and the quest of her former teacher to find out what happened to her. The twists kept coming at the end and I didn’t predict them . Love this Australian author from my home town !

Wild Place by Christian White

In December 1989 Tracie Reed, a seventeen-year-old goes missing. The Police are convinced she ran away but her mother doesn’t think so, she thinks something terrible has happened to her. Tom Witter, Tracie’s English teacher in high school, agrees with Tracie’s mother and starts snooping around their small town of Camp Hill for clues to what happened to Tracie.

I love reading Christian White’s books, he is an Australian author and he knows how to write great suspense mysteries that keep you reading well into the night.

Wild Place was no different to all the other books I have read by Christian White I could not put the book down as the story kept me on the edge of my seat. The story is fast paced and exciting. The drama and suspense are excellent and I loved the jaw dropping twist on the last line.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Affirm Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

'Wild Place' is a mystery/ suspense set in December 1989 in a semi-rural township, Camp Hill, on the Morning Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Children cycle around and rove around in each other's houses and in the ominous rectangular block of forest, Wild Place, 2 km by 1 km, in the midst of residential streets. Adults hold communal barbecues and neighbourhood-watch meetings. Everyone thinks they know everyone else's secrets. This book exposes secrets even family members didn't know of.

Post-Christmas, high school graduate, 17-year-old Tracie Reed goes missing. A backpack of a few of her clothes is also missing. The police treat it as a teenage runaway, who generally turn up within 2-3 days. But her recently estranged parents, Nancy and Owen, don't believe she has run away.

The novel is told in the third-person POV of several characters, mostly Camp Hill high school teacher, 44-year-old Tom Witter, and also at times, Tracie, Tom's son, Kieran, next-door teen, Sean Fryman, Owen Reed and Detective Sharon Guffey. Connie, Tom's wife, and the innumerable neighbours form the remaining cast. The book started as a whodunnit, the wide cast giving numerous options for red herrings while the reader figures out the culprit, if there was one. Soon, however, the book turned into a thriller.

Tom embroils himself in the mystery of the attractive missing teen. His obvious motives stem from his being a concerned father keen to protect his two teen sons, Marty and Kieran; and teacher who had taught Tracie. He follows his own investigation to try to uncover any sinister reason or motive for foul play. Tom has Tourette syndrome, which gives him facial tics, pronounced when he's stressed or nervous. This neurological disorder serves little purpose other than to gain the reader's sympathy for the character and as a background to the bullying he received at school.

From talking to Kieran, Tom's suspicion falls on his elder son's childhood best friend, Sean. After all, Sean's mother is never home and Sean never leaves the house. Plus, Sean has a morbid fascination with Motley Crue, Ouija boards and pentagrams; and keeps a pet snake in his dark, curtained bedroom. What's not to suspect? Tom drills into Sean, whom he suspects knows more about Tracie's disappearance than meets the eye. The neighbourhood soon falls behind to make Sean their primary suspect.

Former Camp Hill resident and Tom's high school flame, Detective Guffey, is none too pleased that Tom is running a side investigation. But she seems powerless to stop him.

Soon, the book burgeons with secrets and lies, each more devastating than the last. I saw the first twist when the author divulged the one (only) clue about it. The second twist eluded me, but as soon as the author provided it, the third twist was a given. I knew the ending. At that point, the novel resembled a recent thriller with a similar trajectory. But for other readers, the twists might be explosive.

Themes this book explores are apparent fixations of the late 1980s: satanism, the role of heavy metal or punk rock bands in fostering devil fanaticism, pentagrams and Ouija boards. The lack of mobile phones kept some nefarious activities out of the police's domain for the longest time. More universal themes include the "Me Too", discrimination towards those with differences or disabilities (Tom included) and the herd mentality in victimising a supposed criminal.

When the whodunit transformed into a thriller, it lost some of its appeal for me. The characters defied their initial descriptions and ceased to be wholly believable. The satanism could have been delved into more as a plot point rather than as part of the scene-setting, which it ended up being. The countless neighbours didn't add to the plot. Regrettably, the formatting of the ARC on my Kindle lost all chapter headings and replicated the book's title and author's name every second page. This slightly lessened the reading enjoyment.

What was likeable was Christian White's engaging, immersive and immediate writing style. He wrote a page-turning thriller, mystery story. Recommended. #WildPlace #NetGalley

Many thanks to NetGalley and Affirm Press for the advance reader's copy of this book.

Set on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, this is the story of missing school girl Tracie Reed. Full of twists and turns it is easy to zoom through this story especially in the second half. I enjoyed it but did find some of the plot turns towards the end to be unbelievable particularly by the protagonist which left me a bit disappointed.

When Tracey goes missing in a small town, everyone but her parents are sure she has run away. But a boy who listens to heavy metal and dresses in black, plus a neighborhood watch meeting, change all that.

An ex teacher of Tracey’s is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, even if it means researching satanism and cults in the local library. Policewoman Sharon is a local and, although she also believes Tracey has left the town of her own accord, she starts to pay attention to the whispers of the town grapevine and takes over the investigation.

Wild Place was a wild ride that focused on the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the 80s and 90’s – when black clothing and heavy music could equal a slam dunk conviction of wrongdoing in the public eye. The twists and turns kept me glued to the page of this fascinating thriller and I really enjoyed the storyline. The characters were interesting and well formed. Our main character, Tom, has Tourette’s and, as such a stereotypically misunderstood syndrome, the explanations of the true effects on his life were enlightening.

If you’re looking for a wild ride, set at a frantic pace, with enough twists to keep you guessing, make sure you check out Wild Place.

This is an interesting novel. It took me in a direction that I wasn’t really expecting. A girl has gone missing in the local area, a girl who attended the school where Tom, teaches, the school his children attend. Tom and the other local people’s houses back on to a bush area that they call ‘Wild Place’ . Tom is on summer holidays, his wife is working, he doesn’t have much to do. He attends the local neighbourhood watch meeting, is asked to put up some posters about the missing girl. He does this and idly begins to investigate.
The plot of this book is chaotic, all over the place. I was never sure where it was going. I felt the overarching theme was that you never really know anyone, and what their capabilities. This is a novel that keeps you involved and guessing. Thanks to Affirm Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Set in 1989, seventeen year old Tracie Reed goes missing from the suburb of Camp Hill, Australia, that backs onto the forested area known as Wild Place. When Tom Wittner, one of her teachers and neighbours decides to help the local community watch group, he finds himself drawn into the mystery surrounding her disappearance. Uncertain as to whether there are connections to satanic rituals and Sean, the gothic boy next door, Tom’s life starts to spiral.
Christian White’s books continue to enthral. I found myself captivated from the first page until the very last. His ability to interconnect his characters and their actions, as so subtle and flow from one story to the next. Each of the central characters are fleshed out, and I found myself drawn into the suburban insecurities and paranoia. At no point, did I ever feel that I knew how this story would end. I can’t praise this book enough.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wild place by Christian White.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reading copy of Wild Place by Christian White.

Wild Place is set in country Australia during the summer crossover of 1989 into 1990. Seventeen year old Tracie Reed goes missing from her idyllic country town in Camp Hill. Believing her to be a runaway, authorities do little to investigate her disappearance much to the dismay of Traceys parents who believe something more sinister has happened to their daughter. Tom Whitter, Tracie’s English teacher, also believes something foul has happened and involves himself in the unofficial search.

This novel has everything you would expect from a country Australian town. Meddling neighbours, ugly secrets and lots of gossip. The whispered tones of the townspeople are engaging and keep the reader hooked from start to finish.

Having read other Christian White novels, going in I knew to expect some sort of twist. However, the twist in this novel while unexpected and misdirecting, felt a little forced though still entertaining. I enjoyed the pacing of this story and found it to be a quick and entertaining read.

I rate this novel four out of five stars.

Christian White is fast becoming one of my favourite Aussie authors. I thoroughly enjoyed Wild Place and the story had me captivated from start to finish. I did not see that ending coming, the twist genuinely took me by complete surprise.
The Satanic element of this books was also super interesting and definitely something different.
If you love a thriller that will keep you guessing, make sure to pick up Wild Place!

This fully exceeded my expectations. I love a good twist and this had several. I really believe this is the author's best work yet. I will definitely be purchasing this for our library.

I received this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Let’s just start by saying I will read anything Christian White writes. I’ve read all his books including some sneaky Audible ones and they’re all truly fantastic.
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When I saw “Wild Place” floating about on NetGalley I immediately wished for it and I honestly can’t believe they accepted me due to me horribly sad feedback ratio. I could not have been more excited. A new Christian White! The cover! The story! And it’s set in Frankston! (n.b. I have recently moved to Frankston and found this utterly fantastic and hilarious because I can’t imagine any novels ever being set in Frankston)
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Everyone who likes Christian White’s previous novels will certainly enjoy this one. It has the same sort of nostalgic small town feel with a touch of the occult or bizarre that have featured in his other books. Who doesn’t love a bit of satanic panic in the late 80s with latchkey kids kids running around the suburban bush with no iPhones in sight? What could possibly go wrong?? “Wild Place” was indeed a wild ride and I absolutely powered through it because I had to find out what was going on in this quiet Mornington Peninsula neighbourhood! So many secrets and lies and mysteries, what more could you want!
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I loved this book and you bet I will be buying a copy for my collection as soon as I can go to a bookshop this weekend when retail finally opens in Melbourne! “Wild Place” came out two days ago and I highly recommend you all grab a copy too!
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Thanks to NetGalley and Affirm Press for granting my wish for an online advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

The “Who dunnits” are coursing through my brains, the chapters are gripping and the story is taking a sinister turn. Then In true Christian White style THE TWIST came; and I mean it had crossed my mind but I quickly brushed it aside 😳 but just to shake things up a little more, another bomb was dropped 🤯 I mean I feel like after everything that happened, these families will either need severe therapy or perhaps it will never be spoke of again…. If you loved Christinan’s other books, then you are definitely going to love this one! Out now so go get your hands on a copy!

Christian White won the 2020 Ned Kelly Award for his last novel, The Wife And The Widow, and more recently he has garnered praise for his screenplay for the popular Netflix series Clickbait.

Wild Place is his third novel and is another dark journey into the underbelly of Australian suburbia.

Set in December 1989, it revolves around the disappearance of a local teenage schoolgirl from the idyllic Australian suburb of Camp Hill. As rumours of Satanic rituals swirl, schoolteacher Tom Witter becomes convinced he holds the key to the disappearance. When the police won’t listen to his theories, he takes matters into his own hands with the help of the missing girl’s father and a local neighbourhood watch group. Things, however, quickly spiral out of control and Witter soon finds himself questioning the innocence of the suburban life he thought he knew so well:

“He had pierced an invisible barrier that surrounded suburbia and stepped through it. He could see too clearly now, from the outside looking in.”

The opening sections require some patience, but about a third of the way in the pace of the story picks up before heading in a totally unexpected direction. The rest of the book is a wild ride through some dark recesses of suburban life, with plenty of twists and turns and a thudding conclusion.

The characters and dialogue are convincing and believable, and White readily takes the reader back to 1989 with all its attitudes and paraphernalia. The plotting is tight and it unfolds with the clockwork precision that we have come to expect from White.

At the core of the book is the so-called ‘Satanic Panic’ of the late 1980s and the hysteria and moral outrage that went with it. White has said that he has always been fascinated by the ‘Satanic Panic’, but thought that it just seemed so silly, until he experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessed how quickly wild conspiracy theories emerged and grew: “I was witnessing the natural evolution of Satanic Panic.”

The social background to Wild Place is interesting, but ultimately it is the twists and the darkness that will stick in your mind. Much like Harlan Coben’s suburban crime novels, but with a tougher edge, Wild Place shows that the local schools and homes of suburbia can be just as dangerous as the mean streets of any large city.

After reading two Christian White titles in the space of a few weeks I was convinced he was a new favourite author.   Now, having finished <b>Wild Place</b> in the space of two days I'm torn.   I needed to keep reading because it was very good and I loved the twists and surprises his other titles presented.    However,  at the same time I needed to keep putting the book aside because I found myself feeling stressed by these characters.    I was invested in them.   I  liked them but I couldn't tell if I was dealing with an unreliable narrator, a genuinely good person making dumb, even dangerous decisions, or something else altogether.   If I wanted to find out I'd need to keep reading so that's what I did.     I'm glad I did as sure enough there were plenty of twists and oh what an unexpected ending.

Set in Australia in an outer Melbourne suburb in 1989, Tom Whitter was the protagonist.    He's the protective father of two teen boys Marty and Kieran, husband to Connie, and a teacher at the local  high school.    Wild Place is a section of native land in the midst of the homes. When local teen Tracie goes missing the police treat her as a runaway and are fairly lacklustre in their search efforts.   Three weeks on, the local neighbourhood watch steps in to assist by putting up posters and Tom, having taught Tracie at some point,  takes it a bit further beginning his own investigation.     When his youngest son Kieran owns up to having snuck out to use a Ouija board with next door neighbour Sean - a boy who has recently dressed and behaved strangely, listens to dark music, has a pet snake and a tattoo of a pentagram on his arm -  Tom worries.    He heads to the library and finds himself immersed in theories about satanism and from here his suspicions about Sean ratchet up a notch or two.   It was right around this time my own nerves were jangled.

What happened to Tracie on the night she went missing? Could she have run away to get back at her parents for divorcing?    What did Tracie and her best friend fight about on the night she went missing?  Were Tom's suspicions about Sean and Satanism correct?   So many questions and you'll get your answers and  some surprises to boot if you dare to take a plunge into the very well written Wild Place.

My thanks to Affirm Press andNetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this book to read prior to publication on 26th October.
Christian Wild’s new book, whilst set in the recent times of 1989, weaves his trademark storytelling in small town Australia. What happens when a young girl goes missing, neighbours take it upon themselves to investigate and start pointing fingers at one another? With an atmospheric environment, themes of satanic worship and coming of age in this small place, a young girls disappearance means bringing to light many secrets people wanted kept hidden.

I’m conflicted about this book. I really enjoyed the writing style, the tense storyline - but - here is the but.... at a certain point the book took such a turn I felt like I was in a car that had done a hand break turn, and I’m not sure that I enjoyed the direction it took after that point.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.

#WildPlace #NetGalley

I was completely gobsmacked by the ending of this book and it took me a while to even think of words other than profanities.

I love this book as a whole and the way it was written. It was written in a dark, mysterious thriller feel and a slab of satanic beliefs and ideas- somewhat based around the Satanic Panic in the 80s and 90s. This book also covers the question why do good people do bad things?

Set in late 1989, in fictional town Camp Hill and fictional area Wild Place, Australia, a local girl Tracie goes missing. Tom, a local schoolteacher and the Community Watch Group go on a quest to hunt down what exactly happened on that night when Tracie went missing. Is there a satanic essence or is someone/someones taking matters in their own hands?

Book is out now and I highly recommend it if you like the dark, gritty books with the cult vibe added to it. It's a standout for me. I'm pushing The Nowhere Child and The Wife and The Widow further up into my TBR.

Thank you to Netgalley, Affirm Press for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw Christian White speak at the Sydney BAD Crime Writers Festival in late 2019 after his debut book, The Nowhere Child was well received by critics and readers alike (not that I'm implying there's no overlap between the two!). After hearing him talk about the appearance of snakes in the book I gave it a miss (as I'm quite phobic) but very much enjoyed his twisty second book, The Wife and the Widow.

It was only when I started reading promotional material for his latest release, Wild Place, that I discovered White also created the Netflix TV series Clickbait.

'Does his creativity know no bounds?' I wondered. I'm tempted to suggest he's taken more than his fair share and others (*points at self*) would like to borrow some. Please and thank you.

Tom's obsession with the case means he's an obvious suspect however he's our primary narrator and there's no indication he's being dishonest as he tries to learn more about Tracie's disappearance. There is however a whiff of something - the way he keeps remembering her gushing approach to him at the end of the school year... a sense of foreboding perhaps.

The police are fairly sure Tracie's just run away (as there's reference to her packing some clothes) but we also learn she believed she was being followed in the lead up to her disappearance.

I was at Uni at the time and I can't remember whether concern about satanism was in fact a big deal in the late 1980s though perhaps it reflected the arrival of the era of goth-like dressers. From memory we called them 'swampies' but I can't recall thinking they were devil worshippers. (It was more about superficial stuff like their taste in music and clothes and their hairstyles!)

Which of course could be the case here in Camp Hill. And at the heart of this novel is the question of whether there are sinister and macabre factors at play, or if something far more mundane behind Tracie's disappearance.

White creates a great sense of place here. Not just in the desolate and eerie Wild Place but also in the suburban neighbourhood setting and I certainly was drawn into the politics and idiosyncrasies of the close-knit community.

There were a couple of confusing elements for me - and it's likely that I missed something rather than them actually being gaps. The police for example are sure Tracie's run away because clothes are missing, but I can't recall reference to that later... her having clothes with her. Similarly I couldn't quite get some of the timelines right in my mind when we learn more about Tom's son Marty and his fallout with best friend and neighbour Sean (the accused devil-worshipper) and an obsession that continued into the present day. 

And finally there's some emphasis on the reasons for Tracie's parents' separation but I wasn't sure this was pursued as I expected it would be.

That aside, this is well-paced and there are some fabulous twists at the end - most of which I did not see coming - and of course just when readers think the story of Tracie's disappearance is closed, White drops another surprise in at the very end.

Christian White has done it again with this amazing twisty mystery thriller.

Welcome to Wild Place, the book is set in December 1989 in a small town in Australia. 17 year old Tracie Reed goes missing from Camp Hill. Police put it down to a runaway teenager as she had just finished school. Her Mum and Dad know otherwise, they know she has gone missing and will stop at nothing to try and find Tracie. They get the local neighbourhood watch involved and that is when English teacher, Tom Wittter gets involved in trying to solve the case. What he finds is satanic rituals and teenagers who think they have summoned a demon. The evidence he accumulates points the finger at the young next door neighbour, Has Tom worked out what happened or is there more to the story?

I can safely say I enjoyed reading this one and devoured it pretty quickly. This is my second Christian White book and he absolutely did not disappoint with this story. I did not see the ending coming and wow! I recommend reading this one if you enjoy mystery thrillers that are set in Australia.

Thank you Netgalley and Affirm Press for a copy of this book for my honest review.