The Australian Women's Weekly

Hannah Richell REVIEWS

HANNAH RICHELL IS AN AUTHOR AND AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD FINALIST

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AN ISOLATED INCIDENT BY EMILY MAGUIRE, PICADOR.

The discovery of an attractive young woman’s body on the outskirts of a remote Australian town marks the start of a highprofil­e criminal investigat­ion, a media storm and a devoted sister plunged into grief. An Isolated Incident is a gripping psychologi­cal thriller from the much-lauded Australian writer Emily Maguire. It follows two very di erent women: Chris, the victim’s older sister, is searching for anything that might make sense of such a horrifying act of violence; and May, the Sydney reporter sent to cover the case, who is determined to seize the opportunit­y of a career-making story. It’s a crackling thriller that delves far below the usual layers of the genre to grapple with topical issues such as violence against women and the pain of grief. An intelligen­t and compelling read.

SING FOX TO ME BY SARAH KANAKE, AFFIRM PRESS.

This impressive debut from Australian Sarah Kanake tells the story of two teenaged boys who are abandoned at their grandfathe­r’s house in the mountainou­s wilds of Tasmania. Jonah is resentful to be left with Clancy, a grizzled old man as remote as the surroundin­g landscape, but Samson, his twin brother and a boy with Down syndrome, finds delight and unexpected friendship in his new surroundin­gs. For Clancy, however, the arrival of his two grandsons is deeply unsettling, for he is still obsessed with the disappeara­nce of his daughter, River, many years ago and the presence of the boys in his home triggers the pain of unhealed wounds. Sing Fox To Me is a compelling novel about landscape and nature, and how unresolved trauma from the past can rise up to haunt a family afresh.

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