by Holly Craig
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer, 2024
Review:
by Louise Cipta
A fast-paced book set over a three-day weekend (exactly the time it took me to read it) on the idyllic holiday destination of Western Australia’s Rottnest Island.
A group of friends arrive on Rottnest to celebrate Penny’s husband’s birthday. Penny has invited 50-odd people, including social media influencer Eloise and her family. This story is told in the first person, in alternating chapters from Penny and Eloise. They dislike each other, and the bitching and mean spirit of both women makes them difficult to like. Both have a history with Rottnest Island. For one, it was her childhood holiday tradition, one she has continued with her own family. The other woman’s experience is not so rosy. She knows the seedier side of the island and has avoided it since her teenage years.
One of the strengths of this story is the setting. It was gorgeous to visit Rottnest Island through the eyes of the author, even if there were no quokkas in The Rip. The cute and fluffy marsupials are the first thing most people think of when they talk about Rotto.
It’s somewhere close to the middle of the story when one of the children goes missing. Parents have been preoccupied partying and not paying enough attention to their kids. Panic hits, blame is tossed around, and the difficult relationship between Penny and Eloise becomes even more inflamed. They’re both hiding secrets from their past, and this influences how they behave and some of the utterly selfish decisions they make when they start searching for the missing boy.
The plot kept me engaged as I tried to solve the mystery of the missing child, but even more than that was the revelations about Penny and Eloise’s past, and the way relationships change during this stressful situation.
What lengths would you go to protect those you love and to get what you want?
Well worth a read, and it made me want to visit the island.
Publisher’s blurb
Luxury villas on hot white sand, views for miles over turquoise water.
Flawless hostess Penny gathers guests to an island for her husband’s birthday celebrations. But she soon regrets inviting self-obsessed Eloise…When a child vanishes on the night of the party, their perfect island weekend is ripped apart.
Even paradise harbours murky secrets…
Has he been taken? Has he drowned? In the panic to find any trace, Penny casts about for someone to blame—even if that person is her own daughter, Rosie.
Even clear waters descend to pitch black…
But it’s not the first time Rosie’s been attacked by her mother. And it’s not the first time she’s turned to Eloise for support. As the sun beats down and dark secrets rise to the surface, can they find the missing child before it’s too late—or will this sudden disappearance endanger them all?
…and someone among them knows the whole shocking truth.