Managed to get some reading done - it was a cold weekend for a change so a curl up in the chair was much appreciated.
Finished off:
The Corrector, Kim Hunt (2026 Ngaio's)
What Rhymes with Murder by Penny Tangey
Started on:
The Corrector
Be careful who you cross.
Evin leads a quiet, orderly life as a classic motorcycle restorer in a small seaside town. Until she witnesses a gang-affiliate’s nasty little secret. A body washes up on the coast several days later, dragging her further into a dangerous maelstrom. Turns out Evin was one of the last people to see the victim alive.
For a humble and reserved character this is wholly unfamiliar territory. Though skilled and capable when tinkering with old bikes, her life swerves into bewildering chaos as she confronts the violence and increasing darkness of her situation.
Forced to take perilous counter-measures this reluctant hero risks everything, descending to places she’s never imagined and entrusting her ultimate survival to one of the machines she herself has created.
What Rhymes With Murder?
When exhausted new mother Frida attends Baby Rhyme Time at the local library, she feels a sense of purpose that has been lacking in her anxious, apartment-bound, sleep-deprived life. But at the end of the session a piercing scream is heard, followed by the thump of a body, and the library becomes a crime scene.
Before long, Frida finds herself part of an unlikely group of sleuths investigating the murder. Between gossip and cups of magic at their local cafe, they are too busy having fun to realise how close they are to danger . . .
What Rhymes With Murder?, Penny Tangey
Featuring new mother Frida, WHAT RHYMES WITH MURDER? is a cosy, baby focused story about a body in a library, with a bit of social commentary along the way.
The basic premise is that Frida attends her first ever session of Baby Rhyme Time at the library in her inner Melbourne suburb - a trendy place with cafe's / come local stores and a hefty quota of women pushing those huge prams that seem to be all the go nowadays. As the session ends with a group of new parents, including Frida and new friend / parent Josh, there's a loud thump and a woman has died falling over a barrier to the floor below.
Right from the start you're going to have to be a reader that utterly and completely empathises with the sort of new mother who suffers from considerable anxiety and simultaneously wants to describe everything about having a baby. Nappy changes, feeding times, lack of sleep, pram envy - they are all here in massive amounts. Buried within that there is a bit of social commentary about anti-abortion groups, and the trials and tribulations of dealing with extreme religious groups. There's also a lot of sitting in the local cafe drinking coffee and gossiping.
Needless to say a book targeted at a particular audience, which I freely admit, isn't me. Particularly as the balance here is tipped (hefted?) to the baby side of things - the talk about all of that is extremely forward in the entire novel, taking up a lot of text space, so you're going to have to be the sort of reader that "gets" that, or you may find yourself wondering whether the shelf next to you could stand a bit of a dust....
Of it's type, this is definitely a bit of fun, with a slight edge in the way that the abortion argument is drawn in, although the comparisons to ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB didn't work for this reader - being a fan of both the later outings which feel more inclusive, less self-involved. Having said that the topics of motherhood, anxiety and life pressures will undoubtedly resonate with some readers.
Stay Buried
The claustrophobia of Room meets the camaraderie of Yellowjackets with a touch of Picnic at Hanging Rock in this dark, immersive, psychological thriller debut with a speculative/lite-horror edge.
Christmas Eve, 1974.
As Cyclone Tracy tears through Darwin, four girls disappear into the heart of the outback. No tracks. No bodies. No answers.
Decades later, one returns.
She claims to be one of the missing. But is she? There is no proof of who she is, only a keepsake that once belonged to another missing woman - Sally, a teen mother whose disappearance never mattered to anyone but Von, the daughter she left behind. Sally's return rekindles the cold case, as desperate families plead for answers - and a dark mystery begins to surface.
A hidden bunker ... a ghost ... scratches on a concrete wall ... pictures inside a View-Master ... and the little girl who understood the darkness better than anyone.
Inspired by true events, Stay Buried is the darkly thrilling tale of secrets unearthed, the will to survive and a legend that refuses to die.
Stay Buried, Jane R. Miles
Compelling, gripping, claustrophobic, and creepy as hell, STAY BURIED was a roller coaster of emotion from start to finish.
On Christmas Eve in 1974 Cyclone Tracy tore through Darwin, creating havoc. Thinking back to that time now, it's frightening how little we knew about it in either the lead up to or the immediate aftermath - communications have changed a lot. But in this story, it's important to remember that nobody knew for sure whether Tracy would hit Darwin, and the size that it would be when it arrived. Hence four young girls, teenagers and younger, went camping on Christmas Eve, in the bush on their own and post the cyclone - they had vanished. No tracks to be found, no bodies, nothing. The families took to referring to them as "The Angels".
There was also a known killer in the area - the bodies of two women had been found, and a third teen mother, Sally, had disappeared around the same time as well.
In the current timeline, Sally's daughter Von is now a young woman, desperate to remind everyone that her mother could also be an "Angel". Slightly different in age from the other four, and definitely different in lifestyle, Sally had been a bit of a wild child, a single mother, prone to working away from Darwin, and somebody that nobody seemed all that interested in searching for - except her daughter Von, who purposely inserts herself into every discussion about the Angels, every update from the police, and every media chance she can get, just to ensure that nobody forgets her missing mother.
Until the day that a woman is found, on the side of the road, near to where the bodies of the two women were dumped years before, naked, and barely recognisable. Is she the missing Sally, and can she cast any light on the fate of the Angels for their grieving (and complicated) families and loved ones?
This is one of those books that readers will find incredibly compelling, as well as decidedly discomforting. Especially if, like this reader, you're very claustrophobic. In that case, some of the earlier timeline might mean you're never going to turn the lights off again - it's very well written, very descriptive and realistic, without being exploitative. Suffice to say, what the four young girls go through is the stuff of nightmares. Balanced against that is the determination that all the women in this story exhibit. In the current timeline Von is as determined, and yet somehow incredibly vulnerable and engaging.
A debut novel, the writing in this is very assured, the dual timelines handled deftly and the inspiration, as explained in the author's notes, very sobering. There's a strong sense of Darwin, the people that live there, the weather that's part of their everyday lives, and the differences in social groupings and standings. There are also very timely reminders of the amount of restoration and recovery that was required post Cyclone Tracy.
It's very sobering to think that the basic premise of STAY BURIED was inspired by true events. Whilst it's mostly about the secrets that won't lay low and the legends or stories that refuse to go away, it's the sheer gritty determination of loved ones like Von, and her small group of collaborators and supporters, that will stay with me. The things that push people like them to work so hard to find an explanation, understand the past that has affected their lives so much, and find their own future.
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