Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Petronella McGovern, Allen & Unwin, $29.99.
The question is dare you take your attention away from your children in case they disappear from your sight? This fear forms the core of this story.
Six minutes after Lexie Parker leaves her young daughter with four playgroup mothers, Bella is gone. It’s a Thursday morning and Lexie had only dashed down to the shop to get biscuits for morning tea, leaving her three-year-old in what she thought was the safe care of other mums in the playgroup.
How could a child disappear from under their care? Lexie’s breakdown is palpable in the passing days as Bella remains missing. Bella’s father, Marty, immediately joins in the search for his daughter.
The unstable actions of the many people around them lead to suspicion falling on almost everyone in the town. Then police and media descend on the tiny village of Merrigang on the edge of Canberra. Locals unite to search the dense bushland, but relationships start to fracture as the investigation continues. Online hate messages target Lexie, and the community is engulfed by fear.
There are five narrators to tell the story: Bella’s parents, one of the mothers from the playgroup, a police detective and a teacher at the local school.
McGovern’s debut novel touches on some sensitive societal issues and has no difficulty in conveying the sentiment that accompanies trauma such as the ones described. She also deftly demonstrates the power of social media, both benign and malicious. Both the characters and communities are believable.
This suburban thriller will keep you guessing to the end. with sufficient red herrings along the way.
