From the outside, Emma appears to have everything. A glamourous and luxurious Sydney home with a housekeeper, a wealthy husband, a fulfilling career and two gorgeous and precocious children, with another on the way. She is pleased when a new couple move into the mansion next door, as she has so few friends. What she does have is a healthy dose of cynicism, so when her neighbour Ariella tells her how lovely her husband is, and how happily they are married, she knows she is lying, because everyone’s marriage is a sham, hers included. And she’s not wrong – beneath the gloss there is something terrible going on next door, something that her husband is being pulled into, and when her neighbour and new friend is murdered, her family finds themselves on the run. Bit by bit the glitz and glamour recedes, as they flee north in their luxury yacht, searching for sanctuary while her husband, his behaviour deteriorating, considers their options.
This is an absolute roller-coaster of a book, not a murder mystery as such, more a domestic thriller that keeps the reader on edge. Short, sharp sentences and chapters add to the breathless narrative, maintaining the tension and keeping the pages turning. There is a marvellous sense of place, and we can taste the bitterness of Emma’s fear, imagine the seasickness, and feel the white sand beneath our feet on tropical islands. The characters are sharply drawn and develop well as the novel progresses; at the beginning, Emma is frankly an annoying character who appears both world weary and naive, but she becomes a fierce lioness of a mother who will let nothing stand in the way of the safety of her children.
The Shallows is a debut novel, and it is quite the ride. An absolute page-turner, and I enjoyed it enormously.
Reviewed by Lesley West
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