by Tara Marlow
Publisher: Wildlight Publishing, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
EVERYONE HAS SECRETS.
Em McKinney is just trying to survive the spectacular media frenzy surrounding her divorce to her actor-husband, Callum Walsh. Escaping to her native Australia, Em signs up to housesit a beautiful farm in southern Tasmania, where she hopes to finish the cookbook, she’s been dreaming of creating for years.
Surrounded by loveable dogs, quirky chickens, and Weetbix-loving goats, it’s almost too good to believe. But when a malicious note arrives on her doorstep, along with nosy neighbours, Em’s insecurities begin to weigh in.
When her mother suddenly disappears and the threats escalate, Em must trust in her own instincts – and her friends – if she’s going to uncover who is behind it all.
Everyone has secrets but now someone is out for revenge – and they’re dead set on succeeding.
Review
by Sarah Jackson
Hard to put down.
The Housesitter by Tara Marlow, concerns Em, a successful baker who has left LA to take on a housesitting job in Tasmania. She does this, in part to assist her mentally unstable mother, who was initially offered the job, and to get away from her abusive Hollywood starlet husband. Things begin to go awry when animals start dying mysteriously and nasty notes are left on the doorstep. Em is left wondering if it’s her ex-husband, one of the kooky neighbours or a random stranger.
The story reads as easily as a cosy mystery but has the shock value of the creepiest stalker thriller. Marlow really keeps you guessing as you sort through the various characters to determine which of them is the perpetrator. I had it narrowed down to a potential two by the time I was 2/3rds through and then hit on the final candidate at the 75% mark, but the reasons behind the crime and the extent of the characters’ relationships with each other were mostly hidden until the final moments of the books. There are plenty of plot twists, surprise events and sometimes disturbing interpersonal relationships. This tale is not short on colour and movement.
The characters are brilliantly presented and believable with their mix of likeable (some more than others), friendly demeanours, and their many, many flaws. Em is a hot mess, but totally relatable as a woman trying to rebuild her life after a confusing and disrupted childhood, an abusive marital relationship, and being the victim of the Hollywood press.
It is great to read a book set in Tasmania. The fictional rural township of Neeminah River could quite easily be anywhere in the State. Marlow’s descriptions of the place capture the beauty, the cold and damp and the relaxing element of the natural beauty of the place (yes this is even with the horrible stalking and murders going on). The descriptions of place are well-rounded, and you can easily visualise the locations and atmosphere of the scenes. You can really feel the cold and damp.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and loved pretty much everything about it. It is utterly engaging, and I can guarantee that you will find it hard to put down.