SET against the backdrop of the Australian Blue Mountains, this small-town thriller will have readers questioning everything they think they know about the characters.
The story begins when Finn, an experienced outdoor guide, takes her girlfriend Magdu and best friend Daphne out for a routine abseiling session.
Finn descends first so that she will be able to act as an additional anchor for the other girls.
She calls for Magdu to start her descent and is met with a scream and the sound of snapping rope as Magdu falls over the edge and continues to hurtle past Finn before disappearing out of sight.
Magdu is later located by police and declared dead as Finn is left to grapple with how this could have happened under her careful watch.
Was it suicide, a freak accident or something entirely more sinister?
Devastated by the loss of her partner, Finn is determined to figure out what could have possibly led to Magdu’s death, despite insistence from Daphne, Magdu’s family and the police that she is wasting her time and should stop interfering.
We flit between the past and present as we learn about the relationships Finn has built with both Daphne and Magdu over time, as well as how those two relationships intersect.
Although a thriller at its core, the story also spends a lot of time exploring different themes including female friendship, intercultural relationships, grief, mental health and being queer in rural Australia.
The investigation at hand seems to almost take a back seat at times in order to make way for a coming-of-age story where the lines between love, loyalty and manipulation are a constant blur.
I personally really enjoyed this added layer of depth and was so enthralled by this book, I read it in one sitting.
I managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together before the plot twist was revealed but was slightly disappointed in how rushed the ending felt after such an intense build-up.
I particularly enjoyed how fleshed out the characters and their flaws were.
I would recommend this title to anybody interested in a fast-paced thriller with complex characters, and look forward to reading more of Scrivenor’s work in the future!
I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
