A short, gritty and mystery story taking place during the Covid lockdown in Melbourne can be the apt summarization of this novel by Australia based writer J.P. Pomare. Beyond its limited number of pages, this novel also has limited scope and a restrictive way of presenting the characters. Therefore, it becomes difficult to find a connection either with the plot or with its main characters as a reader.
As mentioned before, the book’s timeline goes in sync with the third lockdown in Melbourne. The citizens have time limit till 8pm to return home before this curfew comes into place for the next 4 weeks.
Naturally, Lou is worried about her son Samuel who is yet to return home despite the strict curfew warnings. Keeping in my mind that he is eighteen and he has a girlfriend, she is unsure where he will be spending the next four weeks.
But things start unravelling soon when she doesn’t hear from him for next several hours and eventually when he reaches out to her, it’s quite in a strange way. Alarmed by his erratic communications and evasive answers, Lou decides to investigate herself. Of course, she forces hands of her ex-husband- Marco to help in locating Samuel. Soon, we realize that they are bonded by shared trauma with borderline blackmail elements than their shared feeling of long-lost love.
Having said that, the last twist in the true nature of this crime comes as a major surprise for the readers. Although seasoned readers can guess the motive behind Samuel’s disappearance, they cannot predict the reasoning behind it. So, the ending doesn’t come across as an unexpected decision by Samuel as the earlier events take away the shock factor from it.
All-in-all these are two-dimensional characters trying to support a storyline which feels stretched thin at places. Go for it, only if you are looking for a brief binge-listening session of somewhat satisfactory novella.