The Couple Upstairs, by Holly Wainwright, Pan Macmillan
A bold departure for Wainwright as she tackles the dangers of young Brit girls travelling to Australia, partying and mushroom tripping on beaches.
Mel, 40, is separated from husband Simon; their children Eddie, nine, and Ava, seven, live with her. Upstairs a “beautiful” boy called Flynn becomes a grisly ghost of Mel’s twentysomething love Dom, who she met as an English traveller. Backpacker Lori, 21, has moved in with Flynn upstairs. “She was so eager to let loose. He [Flynn] could feel it, had seen it before. Girls who’d been travelling just long enough to feel safe.” When Lori begins babysitting Mel’s kids, the descent and abuse is clear. An important read for naive travellers in search of hedonism.