Everyone and everything is suspicious, as Pomare’s lead character embarks on her turbulent journey to find her missing son Samuel. I found the protagonist needy, overbearing and in general unlikeable which might be a ick for some readers, but I don't mind especially if they're interesting and it's a bonus when it all makes so much sense at the end. Nineteen year old Samuel lives with his mum, Lou, who waited patiently for Samuel to come home before the 8pm curfew but Samuel is a no show. Set in suburban Victoria during the 2020/2021 covid lockdowns, the story centres around Lou and her son Samuel.

Her unhelpful ex-husband doesn’t believe her concerns but will they join forces and track him down together? Her ex-husband is dismissive when she phones him, accusing her of being overbearing, among other things, but Lou is certain there is something wrong. With a fair plot, the revelations are moderate and the cast is underdeveloped, it just doesn’t hit the mark for me. I noted a few authors were doing something similar – releasing audiobooks or even novellas in the form of ebooks. The story continues to tell us Samuel's side even when he's gone missing, giving you insight into what is happening to him as he slowly discovers his parents' deepest dark lie.Twists come out of nowhere and the high drama of the final few chapters is edge-of-the-seat stuff' New Zealand Women's Weekly'A twisty small-town mystery with a protagonist I didn't want to let go' IAN RANKIN'The pay-off is criminally good .

Purchase from Booktopia* *As an affiliate of Booktopia I may earn a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you.The plot twist was great and the book ends up getting really gritty and dark but I don’t think the plot twist is worth putting yourself through everything before that. It is one that I would highly recommend come along for the journey and discover all of the secrets from the past that caused lots of suspense and drama in the now.