Can’t Recommend

The story itself is mildly interesting- the place, the people, that particular brand of Australian life- but there were plenty of issues that made it hard going, and I wouldn’t have bought this book had I been aware of them.
Firstly, with all the names available to a person, why make four of the characters Jenny, Penny, Nick and Mick ? It was confusing, especially as I was listening on audible, and the occasional ‘Danny’ sounded similar to ‘Jenny’.
The biggest problem with the story was how quickly the relationships were forced. After first meetings the characters were suddenly ‘friends’ who cared about each other, it felt unrealistic, and like the author has no idea how humans relate to each other. If the timeline had been over months (or even weeks) it could have felt more believable.
Another big issue (though not the author’s fault) is the narrator has a voice bursting with joy and happiness. While that in itself isn’t a bad thing, it didn’t suit a serious book with dead people and mystery.
Lastly, hearing things like ‘took chase’ instead of ‘gave chase’ irritated, and the term ‘horseback riding’ set my teeth on edge. It doesn’t get much more Australian than Coober Pedy, and the American term (from a character who keeps insisting she’s a country girl) prevented me getting sucked into the story.

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