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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wild Place was the first book I have conquered in day in a very long time. One of my favourite thrillers ever is The Wife and The Widow so I was thrilled (pardon the pun) when I discovered Christian White's new release Wild Place.
Australian Suburbia at the close of 1989, High School English teacher Tom is enjoying the long holiday break when he receives the news at his street Neighbourhood watch gathering that an ex student of his Tracie, has gone missing. Tom cannot help but become entangled in the investigation - especially after learning about the dangers of Satanic cults - revealing secrets, lies and heart break along the way.
There are often times in my career as a teacher when I feel the need to play detective so it made sense to me that Tom would be invested in finding out what happened to Tracie through interviewing other students and his local community. So many teachers, especially those who are charged with dealing with student behaviour issues possess the skill of a good detective.
The teacher turned detective was just one of the reasons why I liked this story, along with the shift in perspectives, the late 80s nostalgia, Australian setting and the plot twists (I have to say I picked a few of the plot twists but was still shocked when they did eventuate from tiny musings in my mind on to the page in front on me) along with an explosive ending all made this thriller a particularly memorable one.
Whilst the ending wasn't as 'hooky' as I would normally like in a story, there were so many other elements to the story that I liked.
If you loved The Wife and The Widow, The Dry by Jane Harper, In the Clearing by JP Pomare or The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix you will also love this fast paced, heart pounding, palm sweaty thriller read.
Australian Suburbia at the close of 1989, High School English teacher Tom is enjoying the long holiday break when he receives the news at his street Neighbourhood watch gathering that an ex student of his Tracie, has gone missing. Tom cannot help but become entangled in the investigation - especially after learning about the dangers of Satanic cults - revealing secrets, lies and heart break along the way.
There are often times in my career as a teacher when I feel the need to play detective so it made sense to me that Tom would be invested in finding out what happened to Tracie through interviewing other students and his local community. So many teachers, especially those who are charged with dealing with student behaviour issues possess the skill of a good detective.
The teacher turned detective was just one of the reasons why I liked this story, along with the shift in perspectives, the late 80s nostalgia, Australian setting and the plot twists (I have to say I picked a few of the plot twists but was still shocked when they did eventuate from tiny musings in my mind on to the page in front on me) along with an explosive ending all made this thriller a particularly memorable one.
Whilst the ending wasn't as 'hooky' as I would normally like in a story, there were so many other elements to the story that I liked.
If you loved The Wife and The Widow, The Dry by Jane Harper, In the Clearing by JP Pomare or The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix you will also love this fast paced, heart pounding, palm sweaty thriller read.
I loved both of Christian White’s previous novels, so I had to get my hands on this one as soon as it came out - and it did not disappoint.
It’s 1989, and a seventeen year old girl disappears from a close knit community. Teacher Tom Witter is convinced he can find out what happened. With the help of a local neighbourhood watch group, he sets out to bring the missing teen home.
Full of dark twists and turns, looking at relationships, stereotyping, and trust, this novel had be hooked the whole way through.
Don’t hesitate - read this one ASAP!
It’s 1989, and a seventeen year old girl disappears from a close knit community. Teacher Tom Witter is convinced he can find out what happened. With the help of a local neighbourhood watch group, he sets out to bring the missing teen home.
Full of dark twists and turns, looking at relationships, stereotyping, and trust, this novel had be hooked the whole way through.
Don’t hesitate - read this one ASAP!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I hate to say it, but somehow I was expecting more.
I have heard such fantastic things about this author's first two books, but this was my first read of his and it fell a little flat for me.
I would call it a domestic suspense, and it centres on Tom, a middle aged man who becomes a bit obsessed with the disappearance of a local teenager.
Tom has Tourette's and I just don't really know why?? What did it add to the story? Why was he characterised that way? I'm just scratching my head a little over that choice.
The author admits in the back that his hook that inspired this story was the Satanic Panic of the 80s, when people started freaking out about Satanism being a real threat. This is an AWESOME concept with so much potential, and I feel like the surface of this potential was not even scratched here. Like, barely tickled.
There were some fairly decent twists I guess, and it read easy and fast paced, but something about this one just left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
I have heard such fantastic things about this author's first two books, but this was my first read of his and it fell a little flat for me.
I would call it a domestic suspense, and it centres on Tom, a middle aged man who becomes a bit obsessed with the disappearance of a local teenager.
Tom has Tourette's and I just don't really know why?? What did it add to the story? Why was he characterised that way? I'm just scratching my head a little over that choice.
The author admits in the back that his hook that inspired this story was the Satanic Panic of the 80s, when people started freaking out about Satanism being a real threat. This is an AWESOME concept with so much potential, and I feel like the surface of this potential was not even scratched here. Like, barely tickled.
There were some fairly decent twists I guess, and it read easy and fast paced, but something about this one just left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved The Wife and the Widow, but this was a bit bland and predictable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Medical content, Stalking
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book from NetGalley on exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book. I loved The Wife and the Widow by Christian White but this book surpassed the sheer creative power that White showed in The Wife and the Widow.
This book centres around the disappearance of a teenage girl from a seemingly perfect Australian suburb in 1989. It begins deceptively simply, but soon draws in so many different characters, all connected in one way: they lived in the suburb and they had varying connections to the missing girl.
I read this as an E-ARC, and I highlighted so many sections that at one point my kindle rebooted itself. There are so many quirky 80s references, funny one liners and witticisms it was easy to forget the crux of this was the disappearance of a teenage girl, and then White would ratchet the tension up and you’d be thrown back into the high stakes mystery with your head reeling.
With the addition of a callback to the Satanic Panic of the 80s and too many twists and turns to count, I read this entire book in one 6 hour sitting and then immediately picked up my iPad to write this review.
Every single character served an intricate purpose in the plot, nothing is wasted, every single word counts.
If I had one criticism I would say that at the halfway point 2 characters make a decision that derails things and I did wonder if the plot would get back on track, but it did and that plot choice led to several “what the f*ck?!” Plot twists that made me love this book. Christian White is the new master of books that make you gasp right until the very last line. I can’t recommend this book enough.
I loved this book. I loved The Wife and the Widow by Christian White but this book surpassed the sheer creative power that White showed in The Wife and the Widow.
This book centres around the disappearance of a teenage girl from a seemingly perfect Australian suburb in 1989. It begins deceptively simply, but soon draws in so many different characters, all connected in one way: they lived in the suburb and they had varying connections to the missing girl.
I read this as an E-ARC, and I highlighted so many sections that at one point my kindle rebooted itself. There are so many quirky 80s references, funny one liners and witticisms it was easy to forget the crux of this was the disappearance of a teenage girl, and then White would ratchet the tension up and you’d be thrown back into the high stakes mystery with your head reeling.
With the addition of a callback to the Satanic Panic of the 80s and too many twists and turns to count, I read this entire book in one 6 hour sitting and then immediately picked up my iPad to write this review.
Every single character served an intricate purpose in the plot, nothing is wasted, every single word counts.
If I had one criticism I would say that at the halfway point 2 characters make a decision that derails things and I did wonder if the plot would get back on track, but it did and that plot choice led to several “what the f*ck?!” Plot twists that made me love this book. Christian White is the new master of books that make you gasp right until the very last line. I can’t recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse