Two gripping novels that begin with an unexpected death in the family: in the first, set in Scotland, it’s the main character’s niece; in the second, set in Australia, it’s the protagonist’s brother. In both cases, the evidence points to suicide, until the deceased’s relatives start poking around. Both protagonists discover more than they bargained for but nevertheless benefit from confronting the truth. Both novels are also about male violence and sibling rivalry.
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Sea of Bones by Deborah O’Donoghue
On election day, Juliet, the power behind the Progressive Alliance party is literally and metaphorically miles from parliament, up in Inverness at the funeral of her twenty-something niece. Even if she weren’t otherwise engaged with family matters there’d be little she could do to salvage the reputation of the party leader, recently exposed in the tabloids for her affair with a married man.
After the funeral, her partner Declan returns to London while Juliet stays on in Scotland, partly to support her twin sister, Erica, and partly to clear out the summerhouse where Beth had been living until she went missing and her body was washed up on the beach. Juliet can’t accept the verdict of suicide but, when she questions the evidence, she’s afraid her suspicions will be dismissed as paranoia, her experience attributed to mental illness as her sister’s has so often been.
Deborah O’Donoghue’s debut novel is a sophisticated thriller cleverly weaving multiple psychological, social and political themes in a manner that’s both chilling and authentic. As someone who isn’t a fan of the genre because of the tendency for characters to put themselves too easily in jeopardy, I found this all too convincing. (Apart from Juliet’s phone calls from Erica’s psychiatrist, which weren’t a big feature of the plot.) It effortlessly encompasses mental health, twinship, childlessness, grief, trust, corruption, scandal, refugees, sexual offences with minors, investigative journalism, politics, vice and blackmail in an honest rather than box-ticking manner. I’m not sure how much I enjoyed it – the issues are too disturbing for that – but I did keep turning the page. Congratulations to Deborah and thanks to Legend Press for my review copy.
After the funeral, her partner Declan returns to London while Juliet stays on in Scotland, partly to support her twin sister, Erica, and partly to clear out the summerhouse where Beth had been living until she went missing and her body was washed up on the beach. Juliet can’t accept the verdict of suicide but, when she questions the evidence, she’s afraid her suspicions will be dismissed as paranoia, her experience attributed to mental illness as her sister’s has so often been.
Deborah O’Donoghue’s debut novel is a sophisticated thriller cleverly weaving multiple psychological, social and political themes in a manner that’s both chilling and authentic. As someone who isn’t a fan of the genre because of the tendency for characters to put themselves too easily in jeopardy, I found this all too convincing. (Apart from Juliet’s phone calls from Erica’s psychiatrist, which weren’t a big feature of the plot.) It effortlessly encompasses mental health, twinship, childlessness, grief, trust, corruption, scandal, refugees, sexual offences with minors, investigative journalism, politics, vice and blackmail in an honest rather than box-ticking manner. I’m not sure how much I enjoyed it – the issues are too disturbing for that – but I did keep turning the page. Congratulations to Deborah and thanks to Legend Press for my review copy.
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Two men meet up at an isolated gravestone a few hours’ drive from their homes in the Australian outback. They’re not concerned about the forgotten settler buried there a century earlier, but about their brother, Cameron, who seems to have spent the last few hours of his life circumnavigating the stone for its scant shade. His vehicle, parked on a rocky outcrop a few kilometres away, is in good repair and well-stocked with provisions, and there’s no sign of foul play. Why should Cameron, who’s grown up on the cattle farm he now manages and is well acquainted with the harshness of the climate, abandon safety and set out, without water, on foot?
Cameron’s death upsets more than the family Christmas, as everyone, from his mother to his five-year-old daughter, from the hired hand with the role of paterfamilias to the itinerant backpacker staff, tries to reconcile the man they thought they knew with the facts. The main focus is on the brothers: the younger, Bub, who still answers to the nickname they gave him as a baby, and is considered not too bright; and particularly the eldest, Nathan, divorced, in debt and persona non grata in the dispersed community for the past ten years.
I really enjoyed the gradual uncovering of Cameron’s secret, and the insight into the pressures of outback life. It’s extremely perceptive regarding the dynamics of dysfunctional families and the chess-board manoeuvres around but each person knows and/or assumes about the others.
I was aware of the buzz around Jane Harper’s two previous bestselling novels but, with a more peripheral role for the police in The Lost Man, I think this was the best place for me to start. Thanks to Abacus for my review copy.
I thought I’d pair these reviews with a reading from my short story collection, Becoming Someone. Like both of these novels, “I Want Doesn’t Get” features sibling rivalry around a family funeral. Enjoy!
Cameron’s death upsets more than the family Christmas, as everyone, from his mother to his five-year-old daughter, from the hired hand with the role of paterfamilias to the itinerant backpacker staff, tries to reconcile the man they thought they knew with the facts. The main focus is on the brothers: the younger, Bub, who still answers to the nickname they gave him as a baby, and is considered not too bright; and particularly the eldest, Nathan, divorced, in debt and persona non grata in the dispersed community for the past ten years.
I really enjoyed the gradual uncovering of Cameron’s secret, and the insight into the pressures of outback life. It’s extremely perceptive regarding the dynamics of dysfunctional families and the chess-board manoeuvres around but each person knows and/or assumes about the others.
I was aware of the buzz around Jane Harper’s two previous bestselling novels but, with a more peripheral role for the police in The Lost Man, I think this was the best place for me to start. Thanks to Abacus for my review copy.
I thought I’d pair these reviews with a reading from my short story collection, Becoming Someone. Like both of these novels, “I Want Doesn’t Get” features sibling rivalry around a family funeral. Enjoy!
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