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A review by shelleyrae
Home Before Night by J.P. Pomare
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
J.P. Pomare’s latest thriller, Home Before Night, begins just as Melbourne residents are ordered into another pandemic lockdown. Single mother Lou tries to contact her 19 year old son Samuel to ensure he’s heard the news and comes home in time, but he doesn’t return her calls or text messages.
Pomare builds the tension well as Lou, unable to reach her son as the lockdown comes into effect, begins to panic. Her ex-husband is dismissive when she phones him, accusing her of being overbearing, among other things, but Lou is certain there is something wrong. She should be relieved when Sam finally video calls her late the next day claiming to be staying with his girlfriend, but there is something about his demeanour, and the video’s background, that bothers her.
It’s not clear, however, if Lou’s instincts can be trusted. She’s a heavy drinker, and presents as perhaps a little paranoid, in part troubled by a secret from her past that Pomare teases out. Deft plotting suggests several possible reasons for Sam’s absence, ensuring the reveal will likely come as a surprise.
At just under 200 pages long, Home Before Night is a fast paced and entertaining read, but also much shorter than I expected, with the paperback padded with a 100 page preview of Pomare’s forthcoming novel, Seventeen Years Later, to be published in 2024.
Pomare builds the tension well as Lou, unable to reach her son as the lockdown comes into effect, begins to panic. Her ex-husband is dismissive when she phones him, accusing her of being overbearing, among other things, but Lou is certain there is something wrong. She should be relieved when Sam finally video calls her late the next day claiming to be staying with his girlfriend, but there is something about his demeanour, and the video’s background, that bothers her.
It’s not clear, however, if Lou’s instincts can be trusted. She’s a heavy drinker, and presents as perhaps a little paranoid, in part troubled by a secret from her past that Pomare teases out. Deft plotting suggests several possible reasons for Sam’s absence, ensuring the reveal will likely come as a surprise.
At just under 200 pages long, Home Before Night is a fast paced and entertaining read, but also much shorter than I expected, with the paperback padded with a 100 page preview of Pomare’s forthcoming novel, Seventeen Years Later, to be published in 2024.