I wasn't sure if the author was shooting for maximum veracity with his depiction of lockdowns and covid, and I did notice that he never actually mentions covid just 'the virus' which I assume is to take some liberties with the facts. When Lou discovers Samuel isn’t with his girlfriend, more alarm bells begin to ring, and Lou can’t help but think it has something to do with events from her past with Samuel’s father Marko. I thought I was only halfway through the main book, but it was actually near the end and I just thought ‘is that it? Set in Melbourne during Covid lockdown, unfortunately there weren’t really any likable characters in this book, but I did enjoy the twist which I didn’t see coming, which also helped to explain certain character traits.

I reckon a lot of people will pass this one over due to the lockdown emphasis and they are gonna miss out on a short and fast listen. Pomare throws out a few red herrings to mislead you along the way, making the big reveal all the more shocking. But Lou knows she is unable to reach out to the police to help her locate Samuel as it will land her in hot water.P. Pomare is quickly becoming one of Australia's biggest literary exports' The GuardianMother's intuition or a deadly guilty conscience? Lou is out of her mind with worry, but she can't go to the police, because she has secrets of her own. However, I felt it ended too quickly and wrapped up sharply, leaving me feeling a bit short -changed.

Also - is it just me or is it too soon to be writing books revolving entirely around the covid pandemic? The realistic setting, which allows us to take a short stroll back in time to Melbourne’s trying lockdown period, pulled me into Pomare’s narrative bubble.But Lou as brought Samuel up to never lie (which is an underlying theme throughout this story), and now he's disappeared. A story that was first released as an Audible exclusive, this latest Pomare offering is fast paced, incredibly twisted and oh so tense. Purchase from Booktopia* *As an affiliate of Booktopia I may earn a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. I’m a fan of this author generally and I’m sad about this because for several chapters I thought this was a 5 star read.