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Pheasants Nest
She wonders if they have discovered her missing yet. Has it broken in the news? Who has been assigned to cover her story? Have they started spooling through her social media and pulling out photographs? Constructing a narrative about who she is and what possible reason any person has to kidnap or (let's be frank) kill her? She tries not to let out the whimper that's building in her sternum, at the thought that he might. Kill her, that is. He might kill her.
Kate Delaney has made the biggest mistake of her life. She picked the wrong guy to humiliate on a girls' night out and now she is living every woman's worst nightmare. Kate finds herself brutalised, bound and gagged in the back of a car being driven god knows where by a man whose name she doesn't know, and she is petrified about what's in store for her.
As a journalist who is haunted by the crimes she's had to report over her career, Kate is terrifyingly familiar with the statistics about women who go missing—and the fear and trauma behind the headlines. She knows only too well how those stories usually end.
Kate can only hope the police will find her before it's too late, but she's aware a random crime is hardest to solve. As the clock ticks down, she tries to keep herself sane by thinking about her beloved boyfriend and friends, escaping into memories of love and happy times together. She knows she cannot give way to despair.
As the suspense escalates, Kate's boyfriend Liam is left behind, struggling with his shock, fear and desperation as the police establish a major investigation. The detectives face their own feelings of anguish and futility as they reflect on the cases they didn't solve in time and the victims they couldn't save. They know Kate's chances of survival diminish with every passing hour.
Acclaimed and award-winning writer and journalist Louise Milligan has written a stunning and surprising thriller with a gigantic heart; a gripping, propulsive and brilliantly original debut.
Kate Delaney has made the biggest mistake of her life. She picked the wrong guy to humiliate on a girls' night out and now she is living every woman's worst nightmare. Kate finds herself brutalised, bound and gagged in the back of a car being driven god knows where by a man whose name she doesn't know, and she is petrified about what's in store for her.
As a journalist who is haunted by the crimes she's had to report over her career, Kate is terrifyingly familiar with the statistics about women who go missing—and the fear and trauma behind the headlines. She knows only too well how those stories usually end.
Kate can only hope the police will find her before it's too late, but she's aware a random crime is hardest to solve. As the clock ticks down, she tries to keep herself sane by thinking about her beloved boyfriend and friends, escaping into memories of love and happy times together. She knows she cannot give way to despair.
As the suspense escalates, Kate's boyfriend Liam is left behind, struggling with his shock, fear and desperation as the police establish a major investigation. The detectives face their own feelings of anguish and futility as they reflect on the cases they didn't solve in time and the victims they couldn't save. They know Kate's chances of survival diminish with every passing hour.
Acclaimed and award-winning writer and journalist Louise Milligan has written a stunning and surprising thriller with a gigantic heart; a gripping, propulsive and brilliantly original debut.
Audiobook
First published March 1, 2024
About the author
Louise Milligan
3 books83 followersLouise Milligan is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist for ABC TV's Four Corners, the Australian national broadcaster's flagship current affairs documentary program. She is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books: Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice. Her books have been awarded multiple prizes, including the Walkley Book Award, the Davitt Awards Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, the Melbourne Prize for Literature People's Choice Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award's People's Choice prize, the Sir Owen Dixon Chambers Law Reporter of the Year Award, a Press Freedom Medal and a shortlisting for the Stella Prize. Louise's journalism, particularly her coverage of historical institutional child abuse and the experience of women in the criminal justice system and parliament, has broken national and international news, sparked government inquiries and led to profound cultural change and law reform. She started her career in newspapers and is a former High Court correspondent and political reporter. Born in Ireland to an Irish mother and Scottish father, Louise moved to Australia as a child. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. Pheasants Nest is Louise's first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
March 21, 2024
Journalist Kate Delaney had enjoyed a night out with her girlfriends and when Sylvie last saw her, she was walking to her boyfriend, Liam's place. But Liam was frantic as Kate hadn't arrived there - 3am; 4am; 5am - still no sign of her. Liam rang Sylvie who hadn't seen or heard from Kate since they'd separated. He raced to Kate's house, hoping she'd gone there, but when the house was deserted, he dialed 000.
It wasn't long before an investigation was launched. But was Kate abducted? And was it a random attack or did they have a serial on their hands? Meanwhile Kate was frantic. She knew she'd shot her mouth off at the wrong guy, and now she was in trouble. What was he going to do with her? Could she escape?
Pheasants Nest is Aussie author Louise Milligan's debut novel and I was keen to read it, as Pheasants Nest in NSW's Southern Highlands, is an area I've been to often. We'd always stop there for fuel, about 40kms south of Sydney, relax with a cuppa, stretch our legs. So it was fully visual in my mind. Unfortunately, although the mystery surrounding Kate was a great plot, there was too much dialogue; not enough action and I found myself skimming.
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin AU for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
It wasn't long before an investigation was launched. But was Kate abducted? And was it a random attack or did they have a serial on their hands? Meanwhile Kate was frantic. She knew she'd shot her mouth off at the wrong guy, and now she was in trouble. What was he going to do with her? Could she escape?
Pheasants Nest is Aussie author Louise Milligan's debut novel and I was keen to read it, as Pheasants Nest in NSW's Southern Highlands, is an area I've been to often. We'd always stop there for fuel, about 40kms south of Sydney, relax with a cuppa, stretch our legs. So it was fully visual in my mind. Unfortunately, although the mystery surrounding Kate was a great plot, there was too much dialogue; not enough action and I found myself skimming.
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin AU for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2024
This could’ve been a really good read but was spoilt by every character (even minor ones) getting elaborate back stories and descriptions which totally distracted from the main storyline. Kate Delaney on her way home after a night out with the girls is raped and abducted by a guy she made fun of in one of the pubs they were in. You’d think there’d be plenty of suspense etc but it never really builds into anything decent. It was good that she made her characters human but too many digressions made it hard to care.
March 24, 2024
Kate Delaney is a highly regarded award winning journalist living in Melbourne she has a boyfriend Liam and a best friend Sylvia when on a night out with the girls and a guy makes a Pass at her she makes a comment to him that makes him very unhappy so unhappy that he kidnaps her on her way home, big mistake.
Liam is extremely worried when Kate does not arrive home and calls in the police, Sylvia arrives at the apartment and soon Liam is being questioned by the police, it was an extremely different type of questioning to me and Liam is annoyed at the slow start to the search for Kate.
Kate knows that she is in big trouble and worries that she will be found before it is too late, and there are different points of view throughout the book from all the people involved, and I found it very confusing at times and very hard to follow the story. I did have to get to the end to find out what happened to Kate, was she found or not before it was too late?
I think that the idea for the story is really good but there seemed to me to be way too much information that did not add to the story for me, some chapters were good but not all.
Sadly this was not a story for me but I am sure there will be lots of readers who will love this one.
My thanks to Netgalley and Allen & Unwin AU for my digital copy to read and review.
Liam is extremely worried when Kate does not arrive home and calls in the police, Sylvia arrives at the apartment and soon Liam is being questioned by the police, it was an extremely different type of questioning to me and Liam is annoyed at the slow start to the search for Kate.
Kate knows that she is in big trouble and worries that she will be found before it is too late, and there are different points of view throughout the book from all the people involved, and I found it very confusing at times and very hard to follow the story. I did have to get to the end to find out what happened to Kate, was she found or not before it was too late?
I think that the idea for the story is really good but there seemed to me to be way too much information that did not add to the story for me, some chapters were good but not all.
Sadly this was not a story for me but I am sure there will be lots of readers who will love this one.
My thanks to Netgalley and Allen & Unwin AU for my digital copy to read and review.
July 17, 2024
This debut novel perplexed me a little. Written by a journalist who tells the story of an abducted journalist. To me seemed to be satirical, kind of humorous in a weird way, which created the confusion and disconnect. In the end left wondering if I was the only thinking this way? Which was the main take way, an issue that can’t be a good thing.
Taken and raped by an affronted and troubled young man, who took offence at a drunken remark made by the victim on a girl’s night out.
While being held captive, she looks back into the way she herself reported cases, how her case would be reported now. Her interactions with the abductor were off to me, I think I had the overarching feeling of the crime wasn’t real, there may be something that comes up to sort out the mystery in my head. There wasn’t any answer to this in the end.
The bumbling and slow way the detectives set about the case, the dialogue of the boyfriend who absolutely had nothing to do with her disappearance was almost slapstick. He and the best friend decided to go down to where her mobile phone was found in the Southern Highlands of NSW, their interactions, the way the best friend dropped her dog to a relative to look after, it was all insignificant, missing any kind of seriousness.
A very unusual book full of strange dialogue, I will say this book was in no way badly written, my feeling of confusion was consistent, leading to a disconnect which was disappointing. I am sure many others will enjoy this more, it was a small book which didn’t take me long on the audio format.
I listened to this on the Libby app via my public library. One definite observation was the audio narration by Sacha Horler was definitely presented in a comical way, it was very reactional, busy, and quite manic. I wonder if any listeners had a similar experience with this?
Taken and raped by an affronted and troubled young man, who took offence at a drunken remark made by the victim on a girl’s night out.
While being held captive, she looks back into the way she herself reported cases, how her case would be reported now. Her interactions with the abductor were off to me, I think I had the overarching feeling of the crime wasn’t real, there may be something that comes up to sort out the mystery in my head. There wasn’t any answer to this in the end.
The bumbling and slow way the detectives set about the case, the dialogue of the boyfriend who absolutely had nothing to do with her disappearance was almost slapstick. He and the best friend decided to go down to where her mobile phone was found in the Southern Highlands of NSW, their interactions, the way the best friend dropped her dog to a relative to look after, it was all insignificant, missing any kind of seriousness.
A very unusual book full of strange dialogue, I will say this book was in no way badly written, my feeling of confusion was consistent, leading to a disconnect which was disappointing. I am sure many others will enjoy this more, it was a small book which didn’t take me long on the audio format.
I listened to this on the Libby app via my public library. One definite observation was the audio narration by Sacha Horler was definitely presented in a comical way, it was very reactional, busy, and quite manic. I wonder if any listeners had a similar experience with this?
April 14, 2024
As much as the world needs Milligan’s investigative journalism, I selfishly hope she keeps writing fiction. Pheasants Nest portends great things to come.
Oh, and just so you know, the absence of the apostrophe in the title is not an error, it's deliberate and addressed in the first chapter.
My full review of Pheasants Nest is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
Oh, and just so you know, the absence of the apostrophe in the title is not an error, it's deliberate and addressed in the first chapter.
My full review of Pheasants Nest is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
February 11, 2024
My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ good but not great… also had to know how it ended!!!
She wonders if the have discovered her missing yet.
Has it broken in the news?
Who has been assigned to cover her story?
Have they started spooling through her social media and pulling out photographs? Constructing a narrative about who she is and what possible reason any person has to kidnap or (lets be frank) kill her?
Kate Delaney has made a huge mistake… one that may just cost her, her life.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin AU, NetGalley and Louise Milligan for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I requested this one ages ago and was shocked when I got approved so I started it straight away. I really liked the synopsis and couldn’t wait to dive in…. I did not realise this was set in Australia. Don’t ask me why but as an Australian you would think I would like to support Australian authors but usually no… I do not… not that I don’t like to I just usually dont vibe with their thrillers.
So I was a little dubious going in considering some of the places and are familiar to me … but I liked the way the chapters were set up each one had a title and it was relevant to the storyline and some of the references were so Aussie or super familiar to me and things that I enjoyed as a kid… made it more enjoyable.
The thought of the Famous Five makes her start thinking about Enid Blyton foods and how it was another thing she and Liam had bonded over, as they had both devoured the now comically politically incorrect books as children.
They both agreed that no one described food like Enid Blyton, from mouth-watering to the comically retro. Baked potatoes simply dripping with butter. Cold tongue and tomato sandwiches. Potted meats. Blancmange. New scones. Strawberries and cream. Treacle.
Her stomach starts rumbling again. She could murder a baked potato simply dripping in butter right now.
FAMOUS FIVE WAS MY FAVOURITE as a kid…. Also honourable mention to the Faraway Tree what a trip.
Having said that… I still landed on a 3. I will say that I think a lot of people will love this… perhaps some of the overseas audience will struggle with some of the Australian references but I think you will cope - google will help you.
Honestly this was mostly enjoyable but I found it lacked some depth… there was a lot of story but it wasn’t thrilling I didn’t feel like I was stressed and this actually should have been a stressful tale. A woman is assaulted, kidnapped and kept… but… it was too flippant. It was supposed to be at times but I think it managed to be so flippant that it was too much so… there wasn’t enough tension and to be quite frank there was just too much storyline about Liam.
Kate’s boyfriend who to me was sweet and all but such a massive pussy. I just couldn’t deal with the amount this guy cried… sure… call me a bitch and thats ok.. and I know i know his gf is missing but I needed more action. For the amount of dialogue this guy took up I wanted an action man not a cry baby who couldn’t handle being called chicken by Kate’s best friend… come on pal you have bigger things to worry about other than some endearing nickname cause she is stressed. Liam bugged me… I wanted them to break up at the end… I wanted him to bugger off or also get kidnapped and not brought back. Kate’s character was so strong and independent and this guy was the super nice guy that cried and loved hipster things… ugh it just icked me out.
Also for a story about Kate we didn’t get to know her that well… we didn’t really get much dialogue from when she was kidnapped and how she was feeling… I dunno I just felt like there were a lot of useless backstories when the stuff happening was rather supposed to be more stressful.
I only felt really stressed right at the very very end… and then it abruptly ended… it was a let down. Did I hate it absolutely not… I liked it.. but I didn’t love it.
Overall - if you like the sound of it give it a go but if you are expecting a wild ride… then you might only get halfway there… there are some really harrowing things that happen in this one but are kind of glossed over… I get that we are Australian but even some of the stuff that happened in this book Aussies aren’t going to gloss over…
She wonders if the have discovered her missing yet.
Has it broken in the news?
Who has been assigned to cover her story?
Have they started spooling through her social media and pulling out photographs? Constructing a narrative about who she is and what possible reason any person has to kidnap or (lets be frank) kill her?
Kate Delaney has made a huge mistake… one that may just cost her, her life.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin AU, NetGalley and Louise Milligan for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I requested this one ages ago and was shocked when I got approved so I started it straight away. I really liked the synopsis and couldn’t wait to dive in…. I did not realise this was set in Australia. Don’t ask me why but as an Australian you would think I would like to support Australian authors but usually no… I do not… not that I don’t like to I just usually dont vibe with their thrillers.
So I was a little dubious going in considering some of the places and are familiar to me … but I liked the way the chapters were set up each one had a title and it was relevant to the storyline and some of the references were so Aussie or super familiar to me and things that I enjoyed as a kid… made it more enjoyable.
The thought of the Famous Five makes her start thinking about Enid Blyton foods and how it was another thing she and Liam had bonded over, as they had both devoured the now comically politically incorrect books as children.
They both agreed that no one described food like Enid Blyton, from mouth-watering to the comically retro. Baked potatoes simply dripping with butter. Cold tongue and tomato sandwiches. Potted meats. Blancmange. New scones. Strawberries and cream. Treacle.
Her stomach starts rumbling again. She could murder a baked potato simply dripping in butter right now.
FAMOUS FIVE WAS MY FAVOURITE as a kid…. Also honourable mention to the Faraway Tree what a trip.
Having said that… I still landed on a 3. I will say that I think a lot of people will love this… perhaps some of the overseas audience will struggle with some of the Australian references but I think you will cope - google will help you.
Honestly this was mostly enjoyable but I found it lacked some depth… there was a lot of story but it wasn’t thrilling I didn’t feel like I was stressed and this actually should have been a stressful tale. A woman is assaulted, kidnapped and kept… but… it was too flippant. It was supposed to be at times but I think it managed to be so flippant that it was too much so… there wasn’t enough tension and to be quite frank there was just too much storyline about Liam.
Kate’s boyfriend who to me was sweet and all but such a massive pussy. I just couldn’t deal with the amount this guy cried… sure… call me a bitch and thats ok.. and I know i know his gf is missing but I needed more action. For the amount of dialogue this guy took up I wanted an action man not a cry baby who couldn’t handle being called chicken by Kate’s best friend… come on pal you have bigger things to worry about other than some endearing nickname cause she is stressed. Liam bugged me… I wanted them to break up at the end… I wanted him to bugger off or also get kidnapped and not brought back. Kate’s character was so strong and independent and this guy was the super nice guy that cried and loved hipster things… ugh it just icked me out.
Also for a story about Kate we didn’t get to know her that well… we didn’t really get much dialogue from when she was kidnapped and how she was feeling… I dunno I just felt like there were a lot of useless backstories when the stuff happening was rather supposed to be more stressful.
I only felt really stressed right at the very very end… and then it abruptly ended… it was a let down. Did I hate it absolutely not… I liked it.. but I didn’t love it.
Overall - if you like the sound of it give it a go but if you are expecting a wild ride… then you might only get halfway there… there are some really harrowing things that happen in this one but are kind of glossed over… I get that we are Australian but even some of the stuff that happened in this book Aussies aren’t going to gloss over…
March 29, 2024
⭐️3.5 Stars⭐️
Pheasants Nest is a great crime fiction debut and narrated in quite a unique way focusing on the perspectives and feelings of the main characters involved more than the investigation. The story is pretty confronting at times and there is even a love story in the mix.
Kate Delaney is a newspaper journalist who unfortunately ridicules the wrong guy on a girls night out and finds herself brutally abducted. The story is set in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia.
Kate knows what happens in these situations, she knows her boyfriend Liam will become the prime suspect and the chances of this crime being solved is slim, she’s scared and thinking she will she be murdered.
I found the story to be very thought provoking, dark and suspenseful with a touch of gallows humour.
Publication Date 26 March 2024
Publisher Allen & Unwin
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin Australia for a copy of the book.
Pheasants Nest is a great crime fiction debut and narrated in quite a unique way focusing on the perspectives and feelings of the main characters involved more than the investigation. The story is pretty confronting at times and there is even a love story in the mix.
Kate Delaney is a newspaper journalist who unfortunately ridicules the wrong guy on a girls night out and finds herself brutally abducted. The story is set in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia.
Kate knows what happens in these situations, she knows her boyfriend Liam will become the prime suspect and the chances of this crime being solved is slim, she’s scared and thinking she will she be murdered.
I found the story to be very thought provoking, dark and suspenseful with a touch of gallows humour.
Publication Date 26 March 2024
Publisher Allen & Unwin
Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin Australia for a copy of the book.
April 23, 2024
Loved it! Despite the very mixed reviews amongst my GR friends, as soon as I heard Louise Milligan on a podcast explaining that the story was inspired by the Jill Meagher rape/murder case that rocked my home city to the core, I had to read it. In fact the early chapters of the book borrowed heavily from that 2012 case, that still feels like it happened only recently.
Investigative journalist Kate Delaney is on a girls' night out in Northcote when she catches the attention of The Guy. He tries to chat her up and doesn't take her rejection well, then later that night he follows her as she walks to her boyfriend's house. The next morning, the boyfriend Liam is worried when Kate isn't at his place, nor is she over at her own flat. She's not answering the phone and her best friend Sylvia confirms that Kate had been intending to sleep at Liam's place that night. Both now very worried by Kate's uncharacteristic disappearance, they contact the police.
I loved the character of Kate Delaney, who seems to be a complex amalgam of Meagher and Milligan herself. The plot too, draws not just from that one sensational case, but also from others that Milligan has covered in her journalistic career. I really hope she hasn't used up all her ideas on this one, because I'm keen to read more fiction from her.
Narration by well-known actor Sacha Horler is perfect for this story.
Investigative journalist Kate Delaney is on a girls' night out in Northcote when she catches the attention of The Guy. He tries to chat her up and doesn't take her rejection well, then later that night he follows her as she walks to her boyfriend's house. The next morning, the boyfriend Liam is worried when Kate isn't at his place, nor is she over at her own flat. She's not answering the phone and her best friend Sylvia confirms that Kate had been intending to sleep at Liam's place that night. Both now very worried by Kate's uncharacteristic disappearance, they contact the police.
I loved the character of Kate Delaney, who seems to be a complex amalgam of Meagher and Milligan herself. The plot too, draws not just from that one sensational case, but also from others that Milligan has covered in her journalistic career. I really hope she hasn't used up all her ideas on this one, because I'm keen to read more fiction from her.
Narration by well-known actor Sacha Horler is perfect for this story.
March 22, 2024
Pheasants Nest is the debut crime thriller by former ABC journalist Louise Milligan and it captures the despair and regret felt by a kidnapping hostage as the raw wave of emotions starts to roll. This character driven drama spans a matter of days and taps into the darker realms of sexual violence by men against women.
Kate Delaney was on a girls night out in Melbourne when she’s drugged, abducted and driven towards Sydney. It’s as she reaches the notorious Belanglo National Forest and then the Pheasants Nest bridge that she begins to ponder about just how serious her situation actually is. And it’s around this part of New South Wales where her life is put at risk.
Her boyfriend, Liam Carroll, is back in Melbourne wondering why Kate isn’t answering her phone or texting him as she normally would. In a panic he calls the police to report her absence, regressing into a blithering idiot as he finds himself blathering on, breathlessly trying to tell them everything he can think of about her all at once. The result: he immediately goes on to their radar as a ‘person of interest’.
Following the initial shock of the abduction, the story settles into a more subdued pace as the focus alternates between Kate and her abductor and Liam and Sylvia, with a great deal of introspection and past memories dominating. This gives us great insight into each of the three main characters, providing us with a rich background that ensures they become full, well developed people. Naturally, this ensured that I had a stake in the outcome of the plight that Kate was in.
The problem I had with the story was that after a promising beginning the early momentum was lost and the story just tended to drift. There was no real build up of tension with the abductor making one ridiculous decision after another, but never really striking me as directly threatening towards Kate. To make matters worse, it felt as though the local police were being portrayed in a humorous way, yet the humour just missed the mark.
Strangely, the times we were focusing on the abductor were the most surreal parts of the story. For someone who should have been such a large part of the story, he’s still a virtual unknown so it’s difficult to perceive him as a real threat. He remained unnamed throughout the book, referred to simply as “the Guy”, which took a great deal of the sting out of him.
This is a book that could very well have been a tense thriller, but for much of it the mood was remarkably light and too much of the focus was on the good times of the past rather than the plight of the present. Sure, things pick up right towards the end as the denouement takes place, aided in large part by a remarkable coincidence, but it all felt too little, too late.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin via NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.
Kate Delaney was on a girls night out in Melbourne when she’s drugged, abducted and driven towards Sydney. It’s as she reaches the notorious Belanglo National Forest and then the Pheasants Nest bridge that she begins to ponder about just how serious her situation actually is. And it’s around this part of New South Wales where her life is put at risk.
Her boyfriend, Liam Carroll, is back in Melbourne wondering why Kate isn’t answering her phone or texting him as she normally would. In a panic he calls the police to report her absence, regressing into a blithering idiot as he finds himself blathering on, breathlessly trying to tell them everything he can think of about her all at once. The result: he immediately goes on to their radar as a ‘person of interest’.
Following the initial shock of the abduction, the story settles into a more subdued pace as the focus alternates between Kate and her abductor and Liam and Sylvia, with a great deal of introspection and past memories dominating. This gives us great insight into each of the three main characters, providing us with a rich background that ensures they become full, well developed people. Naturally, this ensured that I had a stake in the outcome of the plight that Kate was in.
The problem I had with the story was that after a promising beginning the early momentum was lost and the story just tended to drift. There was no real build up of tension with the abductor making one ridiculous decision after another, but never really striking me as directly threatening towards Kate. To make matters worse, it felt as though the local police were being portrayed in a humorous way, yet the humour just missed the mark.
Strangely, the times we were focusing on the abductor were the most surreal parts of the story. For someone who should have been such a large part of the story, he’s still a virtual unknown so it’s difficult to perceive him as a real threat. He remained unnamed throughout the book, referred to simply as “the Guy”, which took a great deal of the sting out of him.
This is a book that could very well have been a tense thriller, but for much of it the mood was remarkably light and too much of the focus was on the good times of the past rather than the plight of the present. Sure, things pick up right towards the end as the denouement takes place, aided in large part by a remarkable coincidence, but it all felt too little, too late.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin via NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.
April 3, 2024
Louise Milligan is an excellent investigative journalist, which doesn't necessarily translate to being an excellent writer of fiction, but Pheasants Nest – her debut crime thriller novel – has been getting some buzz and some rave reviews in the press, so I was pretty interested to check it out.
I, uh.
I think the most diplomatic thing I can say about this book is that Louise Milligan is an excellent investigative journalist.
A taut thriller, this is not. Pheasants Nest is a story about a woman who gets kidnapped, and then she and everybody in her periphery proceed to wring their hands and do nothing much about it until the plot gets resolved by sheer coincidence.
What kills the book, more than anything, is the writing style: an omniscient narrative voice, entirely detached from the characters and the present moment, and continually distracted from the action by tiresome anecdotes about That Time Kate's Boyfriend Went To Bali or Hey Haven't You Always Wanted To Know About Kate's Bestie's Mum. It's worse than Tell Don't Show, it's Overexplain Don't Show. It does nothing to flesh out the characters, even when it's imparting plot-relevant information, and it utterly annihilates the pacing.
Despite the ticking clock, there's no real build-up of tension or urgency, and no sense of the time that's slipping away – I got thrown for a loop the couple of times the narration flagged how many days had passed, because between all the tangents it felt like we were still on day two or three.
Just a big old oof to this one.
I, uh.
I think the most diplomatic thing I can say about this book is that Louise Milligan is an excellent investigative journalist.
A taut thriller, this is not. Pheasants Nest is a story about a woman who gets kidnapped, and then she and everybody in her periphery proceed to wring their hands and do nothing much about it until the plot gets resolved by sheer coincidence.
What kills the book, more than anything, is the writing style: an omniscient narrative voice, entirely detached from the characters and the present moment, and continually distracted from the action by tiresome anecdotes about That Time Kate's Boyfriend Went To Bali or Hey Haven't You Always Wanted To Know About Kate's Bestie's Mum. It's worse than Tell Don't Show, it's Overexplain Don't Show. It does nothing to flesh out the characters, even when it's imparting plot-relevant information, and it utterly annihilates the pacing.
Despite the ticking clock, there's no real build-up of tension or urgency, and no sense of the time that's slipping away – I got thrown for a loop the couple of times the narration flagged how many days had passed, because between all the tangents it felt like we were still on day two or three.
Just a big old oof to this one.
April 19, 2024
There has been so much hype about this book, it is everywhere!
The Good
- the premise
- it was a library book so not one I spent money on
- a quick read (especially with a little skimming of the irrelevant material and dialogue)
The Rest
- the third person omniscient writing style that distanced me from the characters
- the lack of connection or belief in said characters
- the constant use of full names
- the phenomenal amount of irrelevant information and description
- the use of the "police are utterly useless" trope
- the reliance on coincidence
- I can appreciate the fact that humour can be a defence mechanism but the use of "humour" in the post rape and abduction scenes felt so wrong.
I won't go on. An award winning journalist and non-fiction author whose fiction is not for me.
The Good
- the premise
- it was a library book so not one I spent money on
- a quick read (especially with a little skimming of the irrelevant material and dialogue)
The Rest
- the third person omniscient writing style that distanced me from the characters
- the lack of connection or belief in said characters
- the constant use of full names
- the phenomenal amount of irrelevant information and description
- the use of the "police are utterly useless" trope
- the reliance on coincidence
- I can appreciate the fact that humour can be a defence mechanism but the use of "humour" in the post rape and abduction scenes felt so wrong.
I won't go on. An award winning journalist and non-fiction author whose fiction is not for me.
April 5, 2024
*https://www.instagram.com/mrsb_book_r...
🌁An original debut penned by award winning journalist, nonfiction author and now fiction author Louise Milligan, Pheasants Nest is a pensive crime thriller. One woman’s fight for life is catalogued in the form of a multiple narration and terrifying thriller. Shocking, horrifying, realistic, cautionary, tense and addictive one will have you on the edge of your seat for the duration.
🌁Kate Delaney heads this compulsive debut. A journalist who carries the weight of many crimes she has reported in her career, a fun night out with friends turns into a fateful encounter that will have Kate battling for her life.
🌁I have a great deal of respect for writers who are able to cross over from investigative journalism and nonfiction to contemporary fiction. Pheasants Nest by Louise Milligan is the highly lauded authors first dalliance in general fiction, but it is almost impossible to read that this is her fictional debut. Pheasants Nest is well written, poised, interrogating, addictive and heavily informed by the author’s journalist background. This one had me captivated as well as chewing at my non-existent fingernails by the end, it was so intense and chilling. These intense and brutal moments are offset by the main character's musings on her situation, as she frames her own crime story in her head, with moments of Irish humour. I appreciated the links to Kate’s boyfriend and how the author challenged the fact that the partner is always cast as the perpetrator. Kate’s attacker is also never named, which is a clever narrative device, ensuring that recognition is not given to violent characters such as the perpetrator in this story. There are flashes to the slow police investigative efforts and the trauma carried by those the authorities have been unable to save. The haunting references to those who died in the area of the setting of Pheasants Bridge sent many shivers down my spine. It had me frantically googling everything I could get my hands on in relation to Pheasants Nest and the bridge featured.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🙏Thank you to @allenandunwin
🌁An original debut penned by award winning journalist, nonfiction author and now fiction author Louise Milligan, Pheasants Nest is a pensive crime thriller. One woman’s fight for life is catalogued in the form of a multiple narration and terrifying thriller. Shocking, horrifying, realistic, cautionary, tense and addictive one will have you on the edge of your seat for the duration.
🌁Kate Delaney heads this compulsive debut. A journalist who carries the weight of many crimes she has reported in her career, a fun night out with friends turns into a fateful encounter that will have Kate battling for her life.
🌁I have a great deal of respect for writers who are able to cross over from investigative journalism and nonfiction to contemporary fiction. Pheasants Nest by Louise Milligan is the highly lauded authors first dalliance in general fiction, but it is almost impossible to read that this is her fictional debut. Pheasants Nest is well written, poised, interrogating, addictive and heavily informed by the author’s journalist background. This one had me captivated as well as chewing at my non-existent fingernails by the end, it was so intense and chilling. These intense and brutal moments are offset by the main character's musings on her situation, as she frames her own crime story in her head, with moments of Irish humour. I appreciated the links to Kate’s boyfriend and how the author challenged the fact that the partner is always cast as the perpetrator. Kate’s attacker is also never named, which is a clever narrative device, ensuring that recognition is not given to violent characters such as the perpetrator in this story. There are flashes to the slow police investigative efforts and the trauma carried by those the authorities have been unable to save. The haunting references to those who died in the area of the setting of Pheasants Bridge sent many shivers down my spine. It had me frantically googling everything I could get my hands on in relation to Pheasants Nest and the bridge featured.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🙏Thank you to @allenandunwin
January 28, 2024
I could not put this book down! I've always admired Louise Milligan's non-fiction, and it felt like everything she's ever learnt about writing craft and crime went into Pheasants Nest, her first work of fiction. Great characters, great plot, heart-pounding tension, race against time - what more could you want in a crime book? Highly recommend Pheasants Nest.
March 27, 2024
Thank you Allen & Unwin for sending us a copy to read and review.
A classic case of wrong place, wrong time and wrong guy to humiliate.
Drinks, music and the usual bar banter turned nasty for Kate.
A reminder that the #metoo movement should continue its momentum.
Kate awakes with her hands bound in a moving car and from what she can see the car is taking her up the Hume Highway from her life in Melbourne.
She soon discovers her abductor is not a clever sort.
He is leaving breadcrumbs but will she be found?
Kate’s boyfriend Liam is determined to find her and he heads up north following the trail left behind.
Everyday is critical in finding her.
The cohesion between the present and backstory intertwine naturally with the crime at hand.
Each of the cast has its own depth and this was quite a standout in the style of writing.
The suspense builds up with intensity while humour helps lighten the situation as Kate berates her abductor in her head.
Another Aussie crime winner from our talented author pool.
A classic case of wrong place, wrong time and wrong guy to humiliate.
Drinks, music and the usual bar banter turned nasty for Kate.
A reminder that the #metoo movement should continue its momentum.
Kate awakes with her hands bound in a moving car and from what she can see the car is taking her up the Hume Highway from her life in Melbourne.
She soon discovers her abductor is not a clever sort.
He is leaving breadcrumbs but will she be found?
Kate’s boyfriend Liam is determined to find her and he heads up north following the trail left behind.
Everyday is critical in finding her.
The cohesion between the present and backstory intertwine naturally with the crime at hand.
Each of the cast has its own depth and this was quite a standout in the style of writing.
The suspense builds up with intensity while humour helps lighten the situation as Kate berates her abductor in her head.
Another Aussie crime winner from our talented author pool.
September 23, 2024
It was hard not to think of Jill reading this book. Well written debut novel. It’s a classic case of Wrong Place Wrong Time.
An offhand comment made to a guy that grabs Kate’s butt on a night out in a pub… her life is changed forever. Heart breaking, beautifully written book
An offhand comment made to a guy that grabs Kate’s butt on a night out in a pub… her life is changed forever. Heart breaking, beautifully written book
June 6, 2024
Yikes. This is a compilation of completely unbelievable characters, dreadful dialogue and people who have a penchant for texting when they need to talk. Some of the inner monologues are completely mad. And surely there's no one so rankling as Sylvia in real life?
May 10, 2024
I’m so glad to be finished this book unfortunately. I’m a big fan of Louise Milligan and found her non-fiction books excellent but this, her first novel, was not for me.
Kate is a young journalist who, on a night out with her friends, pisses off the wrong guy and becomes the victim of rape and abduction (this isn’t a spoiler, it all happens at the start of the book). While she is taken to she knows not where, her boyfriend Liam and best friend Sylvia hit the road, trying to find Kate before time runs out, due to their impatience with the police investigation.
While the underlying story wasn’t too bad, for a novel of just over 300 pages I felt there was a lot of padding. I really didn’t care about all the extra inserted characters who added nothing to the plot (eg did I really need to know about how Sylvia’s mum feels about dogs, or that the leaders of a Pentecostal church were a bit dodgy) and that kind of thing just made the book feel like it dragged on.
I didn’t hate it, but also found this a bit below average.
Kate is a young journalist who, on a night out with her friends, pisses off the wrong guy and becomes the victim of rape and abduction (this isn’t a spoiler, it all happens at the start of the book). While she is taken to she knows not where, her boyfriend Liam and best friend Sylvia hit the road, trying to find Kate before time runs out, due to their impatience with the police investigation.
While the underlying story wasn’t too bad, for a novel of just over 300 pages I felt there was a lot of padding. I really didn’t care about all the extra inserted characters who added nothing to the plot (eg did I really need to know about how Sylvia’s mum feels about dogs, or that the leaders of a Pentecostal church were a bit dodgy) and that kind of thing just made the book feel like it dragged on.
I didn’t hate it, but also found this a bit below average.
June 24, 2024
4.5*
Pheasants Nest is a gripping thriller, told from multiple perspectives as a Melbourne journalist is abducted and held captive by a man whose advances she spurned on a night out with her friends.
Kate Delaney is an intelligent, fearless and tenacious journalist, who doesn't shy away from the difficult stories she covers in her work for a Melbourne broadsheet newspaper. She certainly never imagined that she'd become one of the victims of toxic masculinity that she's often written about. But late one night in Northcote, Melbourne, Kate ridicules the wrong muscle-bound oaf when she's on a night out with friends. Later, as she's leaving another bar, he snatches her off the street, sexually assaults her and throws her in the back of his car.
The story unfolds through Kate's eyes, as well as those of her boyfriend, lawyer Liam, best friend and fashion journalist Sylvia and the police officers investigating Kate's disappearance in the hours after she fails to return home. We also hear the voices of the perpetrator himself (only ever referred to as "The Guy"), and Kate's former partner's sister, the impressionable Mandy, as she observes events from her home in western Sydney.
While Kate, Liam and Sylvia are all Melbourne-based, the action quickly shifts to the area to the south-west of the Sydney metropolitan area, as "The Guy" scrambles to deal with the aftermath of his ill-considered crimes. In particular, the elevated highway that crosses the Nepean River at Pheasants Nest looms large in many characters' consciousnesses. The bridge is rather notorious in real life, as the site of many suicides, well as the tragic deaths of two teenagers who fell into one of the bridge's pylons in 1989 and several other mysterious incidents. It would be interesting to know what the indigenous history of the site is.
I'm a big fan of author Louise Milligan's work as an investigative journalist, and her devastatingly incisive non-fiction books Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness. I was fascinated to hear that she'd branched into fiction writing, drawing upon her journalistic experiences working with the victims of male violence and those who prosecute (some of) the offenders. I found Pheasants Nest an enthralling read, with well-developed and sympathetic characters, its traumatic central narrative finely balanced with pathos and light humour as the characters reflect on their relationships. I'm deducting half a star on the basis of an unbelievable and, to my mind, unnecessary coincidence around the identity of "The Guy" ().
Pheasants Nest is a gripping thriller, told from multiple perspectives as a Melbourne journalist is abducted and held captive by a man whose advances she spurned on a night out with her friends.
Kate Delaney is an intelligent, fearless and tenacious journalist, who doesn't shy away from the difficult stories she covers in her work for a Melbourne broadsheet newspaper. She certainly never imagined that she'd become one of the victims of toxic masculinity that she's often written about. But late one night in Northcote, Melbourne, Kate ridicules the wrong muscle-bound oaf when she's on a night out with friends. Later, as she's leaving another bar, he snatches her off the street, sexually assaults her and throws her in the back of his car.
The story unfolds through Kate's eyes, as well as those of her boyfriend, lawyer Liam, best friend and fashion journalist Sylvia and the police officers investigating Kate's disappearance in the hours after she fails to return home. We also hear the voices of the perpetrator himself (only ever referred to as "The Guy"), and Kate's former partner's sister, the impressionable Mandy, as she observes events from her home in western Sydney.
While Kate, Liam and Sylvia are all Melbourne-based, the action quickly shifts to the area to the south-west of the Sydney metropolitan area, as "The Guy" scrambles to deal with the aftermath of his ill-considered crimes. In particular, the elevated highway that crosses the Nepean River at Pheasants Nest looms large in many characters' consciousnesses. The bridge is rather notorious in real life, as the site of many suicides, well as the tragic deaths of two teenagers who fell into one of the bridge's pylons in 1989 and several other mysterious incidents. It would be interesting to know what the indigenous history of the site is.
I'm a big fan of author Louise Milligan's work as an investigative journalist, and her devastatingly incisive non-fiction books Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness. I was fascinated to hear that she'd branched into fiction writing, drawing upon her journalistic experiences working with the victims of male violence and those who prosecute (some of) the offenders. I found Pheasants Nest an enthralling read, with well-developed and sympathetic characters, its traumatic central narrative finely balanced with pathos and light humour as the characters reflect on their relationships. I'm deducting half a star on the basis of an unbelievable and, to my mind, unnecessary coincidence around the identity of "The Guy" ().
March 22, 2024
What a fantastic debut! The writing was superb, chilling and realistic; perhaps so realistic because of the author's non-fiction background. I found the story to be told in a unique manner and I really like that. It was full of suspense and it honestly could have gone either way, right up until the very end. I was enthralled!
I'm very interested to see what Louise Milligan comes up with next!
A big thank you to both NetGalley for an eArc, Better Reading for a physical copy of an ARC and of course Allen & Unwin. Expected publication date of Pheasants Nest is 26/3.
I'm very interested to see what Louise Milligan comes up with next!
A big thank you to both NetGalley for an eArc, Better Reading for a physical copy of an ARC and of course Allen & Unwin. Expected publication date of Pheasants Nest is 26/3.
April 28, 2024
I feel bad giving a book 1 star when it has so few reviews, but that’s just the truth. This book was a mess, and despite the constant efforts to make the characters likeable, it just didn’t land. They still felt like shells. No part of me felt invested in any of them.
As I was reading, I was constantly asking myself how this ever got published. The premise was promising, but either the author just can’t write narrative fiction or the editors really let her down (I’m leaning towards the former).
As I was reading, I was constantly asking myself how this ever got published. The premise was promising, but either the author just can’t write narrative fiction or the editors really let her down (I’m leaning towards the former).
April 1, 2024
I really wanted to like this more. When it focused on the main plot it was great. However she spent so much time on characters and backstory that didn't move the story forward at all. Like a nonfiction book that needs to pad out the length of the story.
April 4, 2024
Sadly Louise Millgan's talent as a reporter does not extend to her as a novelist. Amateurish.
April 6, 2024
It’s a book which invites a discussion. I read it in a day. There’s a lot I want to say about this book but there’s too much for just a written review.
March 7, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for allowing me to read a DRC of Pheasants Nest.
Review: I was so excited to read this as it's set in Australia and written by the very accomplished Louise Milligan. It did not disappoint. The story is so realistic, terrifying and addictive. It's also witty at times. I found a big focus on the other characters (the cops, partner, best friend, ex sister in law), their feelings and history. Therefore this might not be everyones cup of tea as there is probably less description of the events. I really loved all the Australian references and depth to the characters, I felt like I really knew them all.
TW// sexual assault, kidnapping, drug use, mental illness, suicide
Summary: Kate Delaney is on a night out with the girls when she humiliates a guy who hit on her. Said guy later assaults and abducts Kate on her walk home. Kate's a journalist and she is replaying the crimes she has reported over her career in her head whilst she is bound in the back seat of the guys car. She knows all the statistics and what might happen to her, she is absolutely terrified. Whilst she hopes police find her in time she tries to keeps her sanity by thinking about happy memories with her boyfriend and friends. Whilst Kate is missing we learn how her boyfriend, Liam, and best friend, Sylvia, are dealing with the situation. We are also given insight into the lives of the detectives trying to beat the clock and find Kate before it's too late.
Review: I was so excited to read this as it's set in Australia and written by the very accomplished Louise Milligan. It did not disappoint. The story is so realistic, terrifying and addictive. It's also witty at times. I found a big focus on the other characters (the cops, partner, best friend, ex sister in law), their feelings and history. Therefore this might not be everyones cup of tea as there is probably less description of the events. I really loved all the Australian references and depth to the characters, I felt like I really knew them all.
TW// sexual assault, kidnapping, drug use, mental illness, suicide
Summary: Kate Delaney is on a night out with the girls when she humiliates a guy who hit on her. Said guy later assaults and abducts Kate on her walk home. Kate's a journalist and she is replaying the crimes she has reported over her career in her head whilst she is bound in the back seat of the guys car. She knows all the statistics and what might happen to her, she is absolutely terrified. Whilst she hopes police find her in time she tries to keeps her sanity by thinking about happy memories with her boyfriend and friends. Whilst Kate is missing we learn how her boyfriend, Liam, and best friend, Sylvia, are dealing with the situation. We are also given insight into the lives of the detectives trying to beat the clock and find Kate before it's too late.
May 19, 2024
A pithy, well written thriller that had me hooked. The characters were excellently drawn and relatable; “Judy King was a nail art aficionado who clacked her bedazzled cerise talons on the kitchen counter as she sat on the phone”… The wrinkles on her face formed lines consistent with years of narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Years of waiting for people to reveal that yes, in fact, they had tickets on themselves.” There was some humour in this story despite its disturbing theme of rape and abduction.
Kate Delaney, the kidnapped main character, and her boyfriend Liam are cool, professional Melbourne types, stuff like this doesn’t happen to them. They don’t exactly take this worst-case-scenario/ life threatening drama in their stride but they hold up pretty well. We’re introduced to a series of other characters including the repulsive perpetrator and the story is woven from these threads of information and connection. I thought it was really well done and a great page-turning read.
Kate Delaney, the kidnapped main character, and her boyfriend Liam are cool, professional Melbourne types, stuff like this doesn’t happen to them. They don’t exactly take this worst-case-scenario/ life threatening drama in their stride but they hold up pretty well. We’re introduced to a series of other characters including the repulsive perpetrator and the story is woven from these threads of information and connection. I thought it was really well done and a great page-turning read.
May 13, 2024
Australian noir thriller by well respected Oz journalist.
Great story, well written and kept me focused to the end.
Great story, well written and kept me focused to the end.
March 21, 2024
"If you lived near the coast in Sydney, you threw yourself from The Gap at Watson's Bay. But if you were a westie, particularly an outer-westie, your jump of choice was Pheasants Nest." Being a fan of her investigative journalism, I had high hopes for Louise Milligan's first novel, Pheasants Nest. Instead I found it twee and annoying. I didn't relate to the lead characters or the annoying way that they processed the events that occurred. Pheasants Nest reeks of snobbery, from mocking the lack of apostrophe in the suburb name, to food snobbery in lines like: "And as soon as you see Comic Sans font on a menu (or, indeed, a spelling mistake), you just know that you are going to get terrible food." I find it really hard to believe that a rape victim would resent a packet of Burger Rings when they might keep her alive, clearly I'm just not the right class to enjoy this novel.
Both Kate and her partner Liam distance themselves from the normal people crimes happen to, as if their class or careers make them exempt from that group: "He tried to maintain the sad-neutral victim's loved one face he's always instructed clients to adopt when they are going into court." This makes it hard at times for the reader not to be glad this legal representative and journalist are having a learning experience that will make them give less trite advice in the future. Of course nobody deserves something terrible to happen to them, but a little bit of genuine empathy and connection with victims of crime and their families wouldn't hurt either of the protagonists.
I was most resentful of the book putting forward the idea that Kate Delaney is the type of woman that sexual violence shouldn't happen to: "Kate is the 'right' sort of victim. Middle-class, pretty, educated. Women like her just don't go missing in Northcote at night." This implies indirectly that other groups of women deserve sexual violence, or invite it to happen to them through their actions, or some other set of shared characteristics. I feel like there are direct references to the Jill Meagher case: "She's a journo. A pretty one. Not that it should matter, but you know, and I know, it matters." No women deserve sexual violence.
The book is written more in the style of true crime than an Australian crime novel: "Liam Carrol had been a late bloomer. Studious and shy in his teens, he only really came into his own in his mid-to-late twenties." I found this third person style observational viewpoint worked against the novel building tension: "She has joined the inauspicious club known a rape victims. She's bleeding." Despite there being a kidnapping situation underway for most of the book, I felt there was only tension in the last portion of the book: "daylight was not the friend of a rapist kidnapper with priors who had a redhead bound with cable ties on his back seat." The book then ended abruptly making it feel unsatisfying.
I also was annoyed by the perpetration of rumours about sex trafficking when the evidence here shows most women who come to Australia to do sex work are sex workers in their country of origin. Repeating tropes about trafficking just inspires a moral panic rather than destigmatising sex work, so that workers can rely upon the same workplace protections as other Australian workers. So can we just stop saying stuff like: "Gloria volunteers for the nuns, no-nonsense feminist warriors who help rescue sex trafficking victims, many of whom are Filipinas lured to Australia on false promises of jobs as domestic helpers."
I wasn't a deep fan either of hearing one sex offender "the guy who was in hospital was far more partial to trans sex workers." Why do you think that is, Louise? I think it is because we continue to create barriers to sex workers enjoying the same human rights and workplace protections as other Australian workers. I think it is because we continue to make special categories of victims who don't deserve what happens to them. This book rolls out more of the same. No women are safe until all women are undeserving of sexual violence.
Thanks to NetGalley & Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy to read.
Both Kate and her partner Liam distance themselves from the normal people crimes happen to, as if their class or careers make them exempt from that group: "He tried to maintain the sad-neutral victim's loved one face he's always instructed clients to adopt when they are going into court." This makes it hard at times for the reader not to be glad this legal representative and journalist are having a learning experience that will make them give less trite advice in the future. Of course nobody deserves something terrible to happen to them, but a little bit of genuine empathy and connection with victims of crime and their families wouldn't hurt either of the protagonists.
I was most resentful of the book putting forward the idea that Kate Delaney is the type of woman that sexual violence shouldn't happen to: "Kate is the 'right' sort of victim. Middle-class, pretty, educated. Women like her just don't go missing in Northcote at night." This implies indirectly that other groups of women deserve sexual violence, or invite it to happen to them through their actions, or some other set of shared characteristics. I feel like there are direct references to the Jill Meagher case: "She's a journo. A pretty one. Not that it should matter, but you know, and I know, it matters." No women deserve sexual violence.
The book is written more in the style of true crime than an Australian crime novel: "Liam Carrol had been a late bloomer. Studious and shy in his teens, he only really came into his own in his mid-to-late twenties." I found this third person style observational viewpoint worked against the novel building tension: "She has joined the inauspicious club known a rape victims. She's bleeding." Despite there being a kidnapping situation underway for most of the book, I felt there was only tension in the last portion of the book: "daylight was not the friend of a rapist kidnapper with priors who had a redhead bound with cable ties on his back seat." The book then ended abruptly making it feel unsatisfying.
I also was annoyed by the perpetration of rumours about sex trafficking when the evidence here shows most women who come to Australia to do sex work are sex workers in their country of origin. Repeating tropes about trafficking just inspires a moral panic rather than destigmatising sex work, so that workers can rely upon the same workplace protections as other Australian workers. So can we just stop saying stuff like: "Gloria volunteers for the nuns, no-nonsense feminist warriors who help rescue sex trafficking victims, many of whom are Filipinas lured to Australia on false promises of jobs as domestic helpers."
I wasn't a deep fan either of hearing one sex offender "the guy who was in hospital was far more partial to trans sex workers." Why do you think that is, Louise? I think it is because we continue to create barriers to sex workers enjoying the same human rights and workplace protections as other Australian workers. I think it is because we continue to make special categories of victims who don't deserve what happens to them. This book rolls out more of the same. No women are safe until all women are undeserving of sexual violence.
Thanks to NetGalley & Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy to read.
July 12, 2024
Wow! What a book!!
Kate Delaney is a successful journalist with a quick whit, no filter and makes no apologies for the person she is. Out on the town with some friends she is approached by a man who tries to hit on her. She flips him off by making a joke about him thinking that will be the end of it, but it unfortunately is only the beginning
The story follows Kate’s harrowing ordeal after she is kidnapped, held captive and taken across the NSW border
The chapters alternate between Kate heartbreaking horrible present moments and her boyfriend Liam, best friend Sylvia who are desperately trying to locate Kate with what feels like a slow acting local police force
The story feels so real, and was absolutely gut wrenching. The horror and heartbreak on paper mixed with the absolute nail biting suspense kept me turn page after page on the edge of my seat
Highly recommend this absolutely excellent thriller , one of my favourites this year
Kate Delaney is a successful journalist with a quick whit, no filter and makes no apologies for the person she is. Out on the town with some friends she is approached by a man who tries to hit on her. She flips him off by making a joke about him thinking that will be the end of it, but it unfortunately is only the beginning
The story follows Kate’s harrowing ordeal after she is kidnapped, held captive and taken across the NSW border
The chapters alternate between Kate heartbreaking horrible present moments and her boyfriend Liam, best friend Sylvia who are desperately trying to locate Kate with what feels like a slow acting local police force
The story feels so real, and was absolutely gut wrenching. The horror and heartbreak on paper mixed with the absolute nail biting suspense kept me turn page after page on the edge of my seat
Highly recommend this absolutely excellent thriller , one of my favourites this year
June 14, 2024
I was beguiled into buying this by the reviews I’d read and the superlatives on the cover. I should have noticed that at least two of those cover quotes are by journalists. Mates of the author maybe? Patricia Karvelas says it’s ‘as addictive as Gone Girl’. Come off it, Patricia.
Sure, there’s an element of suspense - will they reach the victim before she dies? But really we know the answer, given the setup - a hot, sensitive man and a gorgeous, feisty woman, deeply in love - and the tone which, despite the subject matter, is not particularly dark.
There are some interesting characters, such as the sensitive cop with paralysing PTSD. But there are so many minor characters with lengthy back stories that are irrelevant to this story and detract from the already fragile sense of suspense. Did we really need Sylvia’s story? Her mother’s? To me, it read as though the author had some ideas, stories and characters that interested her, then chose a genre and bunged them all in. There was the absence of care for police officers with PTSD, the vileness of a legal system that allows defence of medical malpractice to include attacking victim’s families … et bloody cetera. I did wonder whether some of the characters, such as the horrible defence lawyer, were based on real people whom Milligan has encountered, which would at least give those in the know a laugh.
And then there was the almighty coincidence of the perpetrator being known to the sister of a previous (dead) boyfriend of the victim. Really? That is a bit of a stretch, surely? And of course the sister still has the victim’s best friend’s number in her phone some years after she needed it. (Milligan feels the need to explain why she needed the number in the first place.)
Anyway, I thought it was altogether a red hot mess of a book and I wish I hadn’t bought it. I won’t inflict it on friends who read crime fiction - it’s going straight to Vinnie’s.
Notes to self. (I should know these already!) 1. Pay attention to who wrote the reviews and cover blurbs. 2. Take all reviews with a barrel of salt.
Sure, there’s an element of suspense - will they reach the victim before she dies? But really we know the answer, given the setup - a hot, sensitive man and a gorgeous, feisty woman, deeply in love - and the tone which, despite the subject matter, is not particularly dark.
There are some interesting characters, such as the sensitive cop with paralysing PTSD. But there are so many minor characters with lengthy back stories that are irrelevant to this story and detract from the already fragile sense of suspense. Did we really need Sylvia’s story? Her mother’s? To me, it read as though the author had some ideas, stories and characters that interested her, then chose a genre and bunged them all in. There was the absence of care for police officers with PTSD, the vileness of a legal system that allows defence of medical malpractice to include attacking victim’s families … et bloody cetera. I did wonder whether some of the characters, such as the horrible defence lawyer, were based on real people whom Milligan has encountered, which would at least give those in the know a laugh.
And then there was the almighty coincidence of the perpetrator being known to the sister of a previous (dead) boyfriend of the victim. Really? That is a bit of a stretch, surely? And of course the sister still has the victim’s best friend’s number in her phone some years after she needed it. (Milligan feels the need to explain why she needed the number in the first place.)
Anyway, I thought it was altogether a red hot mess of a book and I wish I hadn’t bought it. I won’t inflict it on friends who read crime fiction - it’s going straight to Vinnie’s.
Notes to self. (I should know these already!) 1. Pay attention to who wrote the reviews and cover blurbs. 2. Take all reviews with a barrel of salt.
May 12, 2024
An excellent read from an experienced journalist. Louise Milligan must have covered similar cases but she pulls them all together in this one to great effect. Elements of this are true and far too familiar but it is all too real. Police incompetence, police caring. Frustration to be on the edges. Great sense of urgency and great characterisation.
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