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itputsthebookupontheshelf's review against another edition
4.0
A twisty psychological thriller told through the view points of past and present.
In the beginning, I found the narrative confusing and slow, but it picked up for a decent finale. I'll be honest, I started this months ago and put it aside because it wasn't holding my interest. Upon reading a few reviews on it and how good the ending was, I decided to give it another go, and I'm glad I did.
Once Amy and Freya's stories start to come together, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened. I needed to understand why Freya was so protective and how all these missing kids related to the current events. Though I wasn't fully surprised by way things turned out, it was still quite the ending. What was almost a DNF and sitting at at 3 star rating in my mind, made it's way up to a solid 4.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review
In the beginning, I found the narrative confusing and slow, but it picked up for a decent finale. I'll be honest, I started this months ago and put it aside because it wasn't holding my interest. Upon reading a few reviews on it and how good the ending was, I decided to give it another go, and I'm glad I did.
Once Amy and Freya's stories start to come together, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened. I needed to understand why Freya was so protective and how all these missing kids related to the current events. Though I wasn't fully surprised by way things turned out, it was still quite the ending. What was almost a DNF and sitting at at 3 star rating in my mind, made it's way up to a solid 4.
Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review
vandermeer's review against another edition
1.0
Ich konnte einfach beim besten Willen kein Interesse für die Protagonisten oder die Geschichte aufbringen.
hollsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
j_h_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Another well written book from JP Pomare. Set in the Australian bush, the story shifts back and forth from Amy, a young girl living in a secretive cult, to Freya, a mum who tries to protect her 7yo son from what is a non specific threat initially, but who also fears her own dark thoughts and deeds may harm him. Freya is clearly deeply affected by her past and, through her own acts, has lost contact with an older son, now aged 19. This twisty psychological thriller throws the reader off with several red herrings along the way, but is a great read all the way through.
joaniec's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In the Clearing is a taut psychological thriller told from two perspectives. The first is that of Amy, a teenage girl who grows up in a cult, is totally loyal to the leader Adrienne who is known as mother, and has just participated in kidnapping a new member. The other perspective is that of Freya, a yoga teacher and single mother who lives with her young son on the edge of a national park. Freya lost custody of her older child, is extremely security conscious, almost paranoid and is not the most reliable narrator. Of course the two storylines eventually came together, and in a way I wasn’t initially expecting. Pomare excelled in his depictions of creepy cult vibes, the unquestioning almost robotic loyalty, the punishments to those who stepped out of line, and the control exerted by the leader. It was hard to listen to at times. The conditioning of the children and the way this lingered long after the demise of the cult was especially chilling. Learning that this fictional cult is based on an actual cult made it all the darker. Pomare is also a master of red herrings and plot twists of the believable rather than totally out of left field variety. The twist at the end was brilliant. Neither Freya nor Amy are warm or relatable, coming across as cold and detached. I know this bothered some readers, but to me in made sense in the context of their back stories and character arcs. I was first attracted to this books by the cult angle but it was Pomare’s storytelling, pacing and plot twists that kept me hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
I distinctly remember years ago, standing in a bank queue behind a small, blonde, immaculately turned out woman, who I eventually recognised as Anne Hamilton-Byrne. At the time I mused why it was that nobody had written Australian crime fiction about the sorts of cults that she was responsible for. Even then, in the outer Melbourne fringes, we'd all heard stories about the odd goings in her circle, we knew about the blonde children, and we knew it was dodgy. Alas we didn't find out until many years later just how dodgy, how cruel, how manipulative, and how utterly unbelievable the whole thing was.
Forward many many years later and New Zealand born, Australian based, Ngaio Marsh award winning author, J.P. Pomare has written a novel about the way that cults work, the controlling behaviour, their methods of "recruiting", and the damage that they cause.
IN THE CLEARING is told from two different points of view. Firstly Amy, a teenager and long-term member of a reclusive community led by the charismatic Adrienne, or 'The Queen' as they refer to her. The group are a classic cult setup - mistrust of anybody outside is encouraged, community rules are brutally upheld, and there is plenty of sexual and psychological manipulation going on. Secondly there's Freya, a yoga teacher, living near the river on a small property that she is battling heat and drought on. She lives with her young son, and there are very few people that know she has a second, older son that she lost touch with many years ago. She has a large guard dog and she's hyper-vigilant, for reasons that eventually become clear. When a young girl goes missing from the area it's Freya who has seen odd glimpses of unexpected behaviour, and it's Freya who has some very particular suspicions.
Littered with subtle misdirection, building separate storylines into a complex web, IN THE CLEARING is a masterclass in psychological thrillers. The pace starts out purposeful and very deliberate, pulling the reader into investing in the lives of these two women. If there's something that J.P. Pomare seems to have quite a skill for - it's writing complex, flawed, involving and deeply engaging female characters. As the tension builds there is real fear to be felt here, all the while wondering exactly what these two women have, or haven't done, and what they both would be capable of.
Cleverly paced, intricately woven and unexpectedly complex, IN THE CLEARING is a slow burner, until you find yourself not being able to put it down at all. I confess to having read it in two huge gulps, way into the night, lights blaring, the vision of that small, blonde woman in the bank queue never far from my mind.
If you're interested there is now a documentary series on the ABC that goes into the background of the group known as "The Family" https://iview.abc.net.au/show/cult-of-the-family
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/clearing-jp-pomare-0
Forward many many years later and New Zealand born, Australian based, Ngaio Marsh award winning author, J.P. Pomare has written a novel about the way that cults work, the controlling behaviour, their methods of "recruiting", and the damage that they cause.
IN THE CLEARING is told from two different points of view. Firstly Amy, a teenager and long-term member of a reclusive community led by the charismatic Adrienne, or 'The Queen' as they refer to her. The group are a classic cult setup - mistrust of anybody outside is encouraged, community rules are brutally upheld, and there is plenty of sexual and psychological manipulation going on. Secondly there's Freya, a yoga teacher, living near the river on a small property that she is battling heat and drought on. She lives with her young son, and there are very few people that know she has a second, older son that she lost touch with many years ago. She has a large guard dog and she's hyper-vigilant, for reasons that eventually become clear. When a young girl goes missing from the area it's Freya who has seen odd glimpses of unexpected behaviour, and it's Freya who has some very particular suspicions.
Littered with subtle misdirection, building separate storylines into a complex web, IN THE CLEARING is a masterclass in psychological thrillers. The pace starts out purposeful and very deliberate, pulling the reader into investing in the lives of these two women. If there's something that J.P. Pomare seems to have quite a skill for - it's writing complex, flawed, involving and deeply engaging female characters. As the tension builds there is real fear to be felt here, all the while wondering exactly what these two women have, or haven't done, and what they both would be capable of.
Cleverly paced, intricately woven and unexpectedly complex, IN THE CLEARING is a slow burner, until you find yourself not being able to put it down at all. I confess to having read it in two huge gulps, way into the night, lights blaring, the vision of that small, blonde woman in the bank queue never far from my mind.
If you're interested there is now a documentary series on the ABC that goes into the background of the group known as "The Family" https://iview.abc.net.au/show/cult-of-the-family
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/clearing-jp-pomare-0