Title: Little Secrets
Expected
publication: 23 October 2017
My
Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description (blurb):
What happens when ambition trumps the truth?
A town reeling in the wake of tragedy…
An arsonist is on the loose in Colmstock, Australia, most
recently burning down the town’s courthouse and killing a young boy who was
trapped inside.
An aspiring journalist desperate for a story…
The clock is ticking for Rose Blakey. With nothing but
rejections from newspapers piling up, her job pulling beers for cops at the
local tavern isn’t enough to even cover rent. Rose needs a story — a big one.
A bizarre mystery…
In the weeks after the courthouse fire, porcelain replicas
of Colmstock’s daughters begin turning up on doorsteps, terrifying parents and
testing the limits of the town’s already fractured police force.
Rose may have finally found her story. But as her articles
gain traction and the boundaries of her investigation blur, Colmstock is seized
by a seething paranoia. Soon, no one is safe from suspicion. And when Rose’s
attention turns to the mysterious stranger living in the rooms behind the
tavern, neighbour turns on neighbour and the darkest side of self-preservation
is revealed.
My musings:
I think that over the last decade or so, Australian mystery
& crime fiction has really come into its own, with authors using unique characteristics in
their stories and creating a niche market for themselves that draws readers from all
around the world for an Aussie interpretation of “noir” . For me, these are books
that have a strong sense of place, using the harshness of nature and the
remoteness of the setting to create tension and a constant undercurrent of
menace and danger to the story. Little Secrets definitely falls into that
category! Snoekstra has done a wonderful job in creating not only a setting,
but also characters that captivate and terrify at the same time. The dying
little country town of Colmstock is so quintessentially Australian that you can
literally feel the heat and hear the flies buzzing in its dusty, deserted
streets! Not only does its remote setting make for a perfect background to a
chilling mystery, but Snoekstra includes some seemingly insignificant but
terrifying elements that make the streets of this particular country town even
more creepy: such as the smoking ruins of the courthouse, or the spooky
presence of the paper plate kids – and those creepy dolls of course! I had
goosebumps reading it!
In Rose, Snoekstra has created a wonderful main protagonist
– one you cannot help liking, even though she definitely has her flaws. Young
and ambitious, Rose’s main dream is to get out of the dying town she has grown
up in, and yet has limited means to do so. An aspiring journalist, Rose knows
rejection only too well, even though this latest one threatens to put all her best-laid
plans to rest. Like any creature trapped, Rose is not afraid to fight for her chance
of an escape. Her friend Mia, on the other hand, has long resigned herself to
living and dying in Colmstock, which makes her both adore and resent Rose in
equal measure. The dynamics between the two best friends was fascinating and
very well drawn, and held a few unexpected surprises.
I really don’t want to give anything away to spoil this
wonderful mystery for anyone, so won’t be delving too much into the storyline,
except to say that it had me captivated from beginning to end. If it hadn’t
been for the reality of having to go to work, and catch a few hours sleep, I
would have devoured this book in one giant read-a-thon. I couldn’t tear myself
away! As things start heading south, and the small community of Colmstock is beginning
to unravel like a pack of wild dogs
snapping and snarling at each other, the tension was almost unbearable. I loved
how the author slowly strips each and every character of their masks, revealing
their true personalities underneath. There were a few surprises there! Snoekstra’s ability to give all her
characters true-to-life personalities and flaws made them come to life for me. As
tensions grow, and neighbours turn against neighbours, friends against friends,
there was a palpable sense of menace that had my heart racing and my knuckles
turn white as I gripped the book tightly in my hands, wanting, needing to find
out how this would all end – what more can you ask from a good mystery?
Summary:
Little Secrets is Australian crime fiction at its best –
this is the type of psychological thriller that makes me come back for more,
and I can’t wait to read more from this talented author. Highly recommended!
A big thank
you to Harlequin Australia for the free copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment