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carole888's review against another edition
3.0
Set in 1989 and the New Year 1990 - A plot that twisted and had me guessing all the way to the end.
bianca89279's review against another edition
3.0
Wild Place is Christian White's third novel.
It's a short and well-paced crime novel, with the usual red hearings, there weren't many plot holes or unbelievable aspects to it.
My rating is about how I felt during and after finishing it, not about the novel's quality.
I've got to take a break from reading this genre, no matter how much readers rave about this title or that title.
It's a short and well-paced crime novel, with the usual red hearings, there weren't many plot holes or unbelievable aspects to it.
My rating is about how I felt during and after finishing it, not about the novel's quality.
I've got to take a break from reading this genre, no matter how much readers rave about this title or that title.
nina_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
Wild Place is Australian thriller writer Christian White's third novel. I loved his previous two in particular The Wife and the Widow. White has the art of misdirection down pat and this was supremely evident when the twist in The Wife and the Widow was revealed. My jaw dropped and I had to re-read a few chapters to understand what the heck had happened! So I think I had unrealistically high expectations for this third book as it fell a little flat for me.
It's set in suburban Australia in 1989. A teenager goes missing and local high school teacher Tom Wittner thinks he can uncover the truth. There's talk of Satanic rituals and a weirdly obsessive neighbourhood watch group.
The story is quite engaging and I binged it over two sessions as soon as we arrived on holiday but the twist just didn't wow me. I definitely hadn't seen it coming but it just didn't seem believable at all. Once the second twist came the story came together but I just wasn’t satisfied and it felt a bit meh.
As I said I think this book suffered from just how much I loved his previous book. It's definitely a page turner so I'd still recommend it as a great holiday read. And I'm 100% reading whatever White writes next!
It's set in suburban Australia in 1989. A teenager goes missing and local high school teacher Tom Wittner thinks he can uncover the truth. There's talk of Satanic rituals and a weirdly obsessive neighbourhood watch group.
The story is quite engaging and I binged it over two sessions as soon as we arrived on holiday but the twist just didn't wow me. I definitely hadn't seen it coming but it just didn't seem believable at all. Once the second twist came the story came together but I just wasn’t satisfied and it felt a bit meh.
As I said I think this book suffered from just how much I loved his previous book. It's definitely a page turner so I'd still recommend it as a great holiday read. And I'm 100% reading whatever White writes next!
amparker__'s review against another edition
3.0
The who did it and the why did they do it was super obvious and lame. The ending was pretty good though.
murderandsunshine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tnhudson's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy Christian White novels and whilst this was an easy read, I am left feeling unsettled.
michellejaclyn's review against another edition
3.0
The quality of writing is really good! But I think what this book has made me realise is that I am not sold on the unreliable character / narrator concept.
I preferred his other two books more but at the end of the day it’s a good read!
I preferred his other two books more but at the end of the day it’s a good read!
queencleo's review against another edition
2.0
I've been meaning to read a Christian White novel for ages now. I have his first two downloaded on my Kobo ready to go, so when I saw this on Netgalley I excitedly signed up straight away.
Maybe his first two have been overhyped, but I've been left disappointed by this suburban Satanic Panic mystery that is a super quick read of 300 pulp pages
Written mostly from the POV of high school teacher Tom Witter, Wild Place examines the disappearance of 17 year old Tracie at the end of 1989 and the role of the local Neighborhood Watch
Wild Place is the name they give to the bushland behind their suburban cul de sac.
Written in the style of Liane Moriarty, there are twists ahoy buti wasn't shocked at any of them
Maybe his first two have been overhyped, but I've been left disappointed by this suburban Satanic Panic mystery that is a super quick read of 300 pulp pages
Written mostly from the POV of high school teacher Tom Witter, Wild Place examines the disappearance of 17 year old Tracie at the end of 1989 and the role of the local Neighborhood Watch
Wild Place is the name they give to the bushland behind their suburban cul de sac.
Written in the style of Liane Moriarty, there are twists ahoy buti wasn't shocked at any of them
helendeu's review against another edition
5.0
In the summer of 1989, a local teen goes missing from the idyllic suburb of Camp Hill in Australia. As rumours of Satanic rituals swirl, schoolteacher Tom Witter becomes convinced he holds the key to the disappearance. When the police won't listen, he takes matters into his own hands with the help of the missing girl's father and a local neighbourhood watch group.
But as dark secrets are revealed and consequences to past actions are faced, Tom learns that the only way out of the darkness is to walk deeper into it. Wild Place peels back the layers of suburbia, exposing what s hidden underneath guilt, desperation, violence and attempts to answer the question: Why do good people do bad things?
Oh my. I have read books by Christian White before and this is his best yet. Even though I listened to it as an audio book, this was such a ‘page turner’, I listened to it in one day (my house got a better clean than I was planning just so I could keep l listening!). White masterfully weaves in the fear of the occult that was prevalent in the 80s/90s as well as creating characters that are incredibly believable, even if they’re not exactly likeable. Just when you think you have a handle on things, White makes a sharp right and you need to get your bearings again. And then, just when you think it’s all over, there is one last twist. This is a 5 star read. I can’t wait to read another of his books.
But as dark secrets are revealed and consequences to past actions are faced, Tom learns that the only way out of the darkness is to walk deeper into it. Wild Place peels back the layers of suburbia, exposing what s hidden underneath guilt, desperation, violence and attempts to answer the question: Why do good people do bad things?
Oh my. I have read books by Christian White before and this is his best yet. Even though I listened to it as an audio book, this was such a ‘page turner’, I listened to it in one day (my house got a better clean than I was planning just so I could keep l listening!). White masterfully weaves in the fear of the occult that was prevalent in the 80s/90s as well as creating characters that are incredibly believable, even if they’re not exactly likeable. Just when you think you have a handle on things, White makes a sharp right and you need to get your bearings again. And then, just when you think it’s all over, there is one last twist. This is a 5 star read. I can’t wait to read another of his books.
tylajade_'s review against another edition
3.0
I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this book, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it I just feel it lacked that Christian White spark I was looking so forward to that I’ve gotten from his other novels (The Nowhere Child & The Wife and The Widow). I couldn’t help but feel it was a touch predictable and the outcome very cliché. I think the overall story was interesting and had a lot of potential hence why I think I feel so let down, I just wish it had been a little more thrilling and maybe just a little more suspenseful. I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary dialogue that if I had skipped it I would have gotten the same outcome. I’m not sure if Christian did this purposely to make the reader feel toms frustration during that moment but I found myself constantly trying to skim through the paragraph as quickly as possible. I feel as if he could have done so much with the whole “satanic cult” story line but failed to do so.
Overall I still love Christian White as an author I just think it was hard to follow up from his past two novels as I thoroughly loved every single moment of them.
Overall I still love Christian White as an author I just think it was hard to follow up from his past two novels as I thoroughly loved every single moment of them.