This was a fantastically crafted thriller, full of twists and turns and thought provoking questions. What I especially loved about this one is that even at the start of the novel, things are not alright. Everything is fragile but still managing to function, and it doesn't take much to bring everything crashing down.

There are multiple POVs through this book, and while at the start of the book I was worried it was going to be overwhelming, all the voices are distinct and easy to differentiate. I especially loved the bonds of friendship that the characters shared, despite all the tension and the awful events happening. It seemed so realistic, and you could see how the characters kept tangling themselves in knots trying to protect one another.

I love that the wildness of the Australian landscape is front and centre in this book, and it even serves as its own character - wild, claustrophobic, menacing. The discussion of land rights and how nature can be weaponised felt very timely, and really helped to immerse me as the reader into the story.

If you're looking for a thriller read, definitely consider giving this book a try! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is one of those books where everyone has something they’re hiding and it’s just a matter of time before everyone knows everything…

When a group of friends buy a property, they decide to go out for a weekend away. But I won’t lie…I’m unsure if any of these people actually like each other.

And then things go wrong. And we don’t talk about some of those things for most of the book…but we talk about all the other things happening.

Anyway - I did enjoy reading this book, but I also didn’t love the characters, and I found the ending was a bit skipped over and I was left feeling like “what happened…”

In Kate Mildenhall’s latest, we’re introduced to a group of friends who have gone in together to purchase a rural property in country Victoria. They spend a weekend camping on it with their families to celebrate the purchase and plan all the fun times to be had in the future. Within hours, someone is dead, they find a strange family of squatters on the land, there is something disturbing about the wildlife spotted and relationships are put to the test.

Alternating between the different perspectives of the cast of characters, this is another genre-bending tale that I think she is so good at crafting. It’s a little bit murder mystery but without the usual tedious tropes, and there’s a whole lot of complex domestic drama that unfolds. This was such an addictive read. It had me turning page after page - I had to know what was happening, who was thinking what and how it would all turn out. The catastrophic ending was genius in its simplicity.

The writing had such a wonderfully familiar quality to it like Australian fiction often does, particularly in terms of the landscape, time and the characters. Big recommend from me!

This is a wonderful story set in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales where some family and friends have bought a property in the bush that they can use as a getaway from the rat race on weekends. In total four families set off for their first weekend away at their new property where they will camp. But before the first night is over, someone will be dead. We get to know each of the characters and how they handle stress in this situation which unfolds in a way that no one expects. There are multiple layers to this story which explores moral quandaries and hypocrisy amongst these people who seem to have good intentions. Great story for a book club. Well written and fascinating.