You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
WHOA!!! This book was SO GOOD! IT was nothing like what I expected, but it was such a great surprise.
This book was sitting on my digital shelf for years, and I finally picked it up. Well I'm very upset with myself for waiting so long to read this book. It is tense, full of suspense and mystery, creepy, dark, disturbing, and BRILLIANTLY written. The plot develops from two POVs. Freya is a woman that is struggling with everyday life. Freya is a mom who has a 7 year old son, as well as a 17 year old she lost custody of years ago. She seems to be scared of everything and lives her life in fear. She is constantly worried about protecting her 7 year old son.
Amy is living what appears to be a happy and fulfilling life at The Clearing, which she thinks is a slice of heaven, but everything is not as it seems at The Clearing. There are deep, disturbing secrets being kept at The Clearing.
These two storylines are masterfully intertwined, and whatever I thought was going on, was wrong! I was so lost in this book. It was engrossing, and I wanted to know how these two stories related to one another. The ending was exactly what I needed it to be. I sat there just staring at the wall for a bit after I was done. This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last.
Thank you NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book was sitting on my digital shelf for years, and I finally picked it up. Well I'm very upset with myself for waiting so long to read this book. It is tense, full of suspense and mystery, creepy, dark, disturbing, and BRILLIANTLY written. The plot develops from two POVs. Freya is a woman that is struggling with everyday life. Freya is a mom who has a 7 year old son, as well as a 17 year old she lost custody of years ago. She seems to be scared of everything and lives her life in fear. She is constantly worried about protecting her 7 year old son.
Amy is living what appears to be a happy and fulfilling life at The Clearing, which she thinks is a slice of heaven, but everything is not as it seems at The Clearing. There are deep, disturbing secrets being kept at The Clearing.
These two storylines are masterfully intertwined, and whatever I thought was going on, was wrong! I was so lost in this book. It was engrossing, and I wanted to know how these two stories related to one another. The ending was exactly what I needed it to be. I sat there just staring at the wall for a bit after I was done. This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last.
Thank you NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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
This book grabs you as soon as you start and throws you around like a ragdoll, expect a crazy ride! This book does have some dark, dark parts, so trigger warning because this isn’t a light read.
We follow two characters, Amy, a 12 year old child living in a religious and strict cult, and Freya, a mum who has a past and has rebuilt and created her life and image into something she wanted.
The author has a captivating way of writing, Freya saying ‘we all are acting I’m just better at it than you’ really got me hooked. And when Amy at the start gets molested at her art class I was like I have to keep reading to see how the hell this gets better.
Amy is happy in her cult, all children’s hair is bleached, girls become women at 12 and get fed well as they are now ‘child baring age’, when younger kids get scraps and sometimes resort to eating insects. They have strict regimens and kidnap other children who the cult leader says are their ‘brothers and sisters’.
Freya is anxious, she needs to be in control after losing a child, her step dad has been released from prison, her ex has found her new home and she’s feeling like she’s being watched, with only one person she can trust... and then we hear from ‘the watchers’ perspective.
It’s hinted that Freya’s first born died however we find out he’s alive, 19 now and is being contacted by someone impersonating Freya. And then when her ex comes to town, he sees Billy, he puts two and two together and realises it’s his son.
Billy then goes missing, and Amy has escaped the cult... right into the hands of police.
There was a part of me that was looking for loopholes in the timeline, to see if these two POV’s were happening at different times, that Amy was Freya... and I was right - I think this knowing came from the many psychological thriller books I’ve read recently however this was expertly done and wasn’t obvious to a non-thriller book addict like me.
The book then divided into how Amy gets Adam put away for his crimes, and how Freya reacts to her son going missing.
I did not guess that Billy going missing would launch a series of heart racing events, the tooth and pliers with her prints, Wayne being innocent, the drug in the kombucha, Aspen being the druggie teenagers outside her house, her mum not having dementia and it all being a ruse, Corazzo being the bent cop working for the cult for all these years, her brother being the one who kidnapped Billy and Aspen being the watcher, being in on it all along.
There’s an overall creepy feeling I get from reading this book, it immerses you into a dark and crazy world. A wonderful and unsuspecting ending, I can’t say I have read a better book that has kept me on my toes the whole way throughout.
Side note: why was Aspen 19 when Wayne first came back but 17 when Wayne was about to speak to the police about missing Billy... confused.
We follow two characters, Amy, a 12 year old child living in a religious and strict cult, and Freya, a mum who has a past and has rebuilt and created her life and image into something she wanted.
The author has a captivating way of writing, Freya saying ‘we all are acting I’m just better at it than you’ really got me hooked. And when Amy at the start gets molested at her art class I was like I have to keep reading to see how the hell this gets better.
Amy is happy in her cult, all children’s hair is bleached, girls become women at 12 and get fed well as they are now ‘child baring age’, when younger kids get scraps and sometimes resort to eating insects. They have strict regimens and kidnap other children who the cult leader says are their ‘brothers and sisters’.
Freya is anxious, she needs to be in control after losing a child, her step dad has been released from prison, her ex has found her new home and she’s feeling like she’s being watched, with only one person she can trust... and then we hear from ‘the watchers’ perspective.
It’s hinted that Freya’s first born died however we find out he’s alive, 19 now and is being contacted by someone impersonating Freya. And then when her ex comes to town, he sees Billy, he puts two and two together and realises it’s his son.
Billy then goes missing, and Amy has escaped the cult... right into the hands of police.
There was a part of me that was looking for loopholes in the timeline, to see if these two POV’s were happening at different times, that Amy was Freya... and I was right - I think this knowing came from the many psychological thriller books I’ve read recently however this was expertly done and wasn’t obvious to a non-thriller book addict like me.
The book then divided into how Amy gets Adam put away for his crimes, and how Freya reacts to her son going missing.
I did not guess that Billy going missing would launch a series of heart racing events, the tooth and pliers with her prints, Wayne being innocent, the drug in the kombucha, Aspen being the druggie teenagers outside her house, her mum not having dementia and it all being a ruse, Corazzo being the bent cop working for the cult for all these years, her brother being the one who kidnapped Billy and Aspen being the watcher, being in on it all along.
There’s an overall creepy feeling I get from reading this book, it immerses you into a dark and crazy world. A wonderful and unsuspecting ending, I can’t say I have read a better book that has kept me on my toes the whole way throughout.
Side note: why was Aspen 19 when Wayne first came back but 17 when Wayne was about to speak to the police about missing Billy... confused.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this book. So twisted and genius.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well that sure was a despicable read. Very quick to get through, but not for the faint of heart. There were two specific cases of child sexual abuse mentioned within the cult that I had to take a beat before I could continue.
On the grand scheme of things, it was largely predictable. For the twists I didn't necessarily see coming, it wasn't any big shock, but rather an "oh okay, yea that makes sense."
Quotes:
"I eat quickly, protective of my larger portion. I have seen my brothers and sisters chasing spiders and eating them; I have seen children clutching handfuls of grass and chewing on it like cattle or scraping up crumbs into their palms. Food is worth fighting for." (pg34)
Matthew 19:14
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." (pg133) To note, this is not a religious cult outright, but there are a few passages mentioned throughout the book used as warnings.
TRIGGER <suicide>
"When I searched for my brothers and sisters online I found suicides, lives spent institutionalised, some were in and out of rehab and perpetually medicated. One of the children went on to have a relatively successful career as a lawyer before one night she ran a hose from her car exhaust to the driver's window." (pg250)
On the grand scheme of things, it was largely predictable. For the twists I didn't necessarily see coming, it wasn't any big shock, but rather an "oh okay, yea that makes sense."
Quotes:
"I eat quickly, protective of my larger portion. I have seen my brothers and sisters chasing spiders and eating them; I have seen children clutching handfuls of grass and chewing on it like cattle or scraping up crumbs into their palms. Food is worth fighting for." (pg34)
Matthew 19:14
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." (pg133) To note, this is not a religious cult outright, but there are a few passages mentioned throughout the book used as warnings.
TRIGGER <suicide>
"When I searched for my brothers and sisters online I found suicides, lives spent institutionalised, some were in and out of rehab and perpetually medicated. One of the children went on to have a relatively successful career as a lawyer before one night she ran a hose from her car exhaust to the driver's window." (pg250)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I got a free copy via a goodreads giveaway, and I'm happy I did. This book is great for those who love atmospheric psychological thrillers. It's a nice quick read that keeps you up late reading at the edge of your seat!
Josh Pomare, a Rotura born now Melbourne based writer, supported the YPRL 2019 BookLovers Festival with a great session at our Rosanna Branch Library discussing his first book Call Me Evie, a psychological thriller with a twist that received great acclaim when first published. In fact it won the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. He has also produced a podcast for writers since 2015 called On Writing which has over 60 episodes and can be accessed from Apple Podcasts. In The Clearing is his second novel and for me brought back memories of the cult operating in Eildon in the 60s and 70s called The Family. I have also watched the 3 part investigative series The Cult of the Family on ABC television so was ready to fall into Pomare’s story from the first with full credibility.
The story unfolds in two threads. One is the story of Amy, a teenager and a member of a cult based in the Clearing, in Victorian bushland. Amy is sure of her place in the community until a new young girl is snatched from the wider world and is adopted into the cult community. But this girl does not want to be there, and she definitely does not want to stay. Seeing this determination, Amy starts to wonder about everything she has been told and come to believe. The second story is of Freya, an assumed name, of someone who is learning how it is to be normal as she battles a trauma in her past. She has a young son Billy and her dog and, we as readers, are as convinced as Freya of the need to be always looking for that threat. But will Freya’s hyper awareness, her panic buttons, the bunker and her dogs really help her to keep herself and her son safe from a threat that is slowly revealed throughout the book? Pomare manages to embue suspense into both Amy’s and Freya’s story as you know that something bad this way comes for both of them!!! I am not going to give away any spoilers so will say nothing more about the storyline but really, everyone should read it. Right up to the final climatic twist which will totally throw you. Questions throughout abound. How do we protect our families, and what makes a family? This takes us down many a rabbit hole, where we are constantly second guessing ourselves and being surprised by the slow reveals throughout. It is smartly plotted, well written with believable characters and a total page turner. Perfect for a weekend reading binge.
The story unfolds in two threads. One is the story of Amy, a teenager and a member of a cult based in the Clearing, in Victorian bushland. Amy is sure of her place in the community until a new young girl is snatched from the wider world and is adopted into the cult community. But this girl does not want to be there, and she definitely does not want to stay. Seeing this determination, Amy starts to wonder about everything she has been told and come to believe. The second story is of Freya, an assumed name, of someone who is learning how it is to be normal as she battles a trauma in her past. She has a young son Billy and her dog and, we as readers, are as convinced as Freya of the need to be always looking for that threat. But will Freya’s hyper awareness, her panic buttons, the bunker and her dogs really help her to keep herself and her son safe from a threat that is slowly revealed throughout the book? Pomare manages to embue suspense into both Amy’s and Freya’s story as you know that something bad this way comes for both of them!!! I am not going to give away any spoilers so will say nothing more about the storyline but really, everyone should read it. Right up to the final climatic twist which will totally throw you. Questions throughout abound. How do we protect our families, and what makes a family? This takes us down many a rabbit hole, where we are constantly second guessing ourselves and being surprised by the slow reveals throughout. It is smartly plotted, well written with believable characters and a total page turner. Perfect for a weekend reading binge.