REBECCA HEATH studied science at university, worked in hospitality and teaching, but always made time to write. She is the author of The Summer Party and The Dinner Party.
Her latest novel, The Wedding Party, is a suspenseful domestic thriller that will leave you questioning how well you truly know the person next door.
AKINA HANSEN writes.
Growing up, Rebecca Heath spent her summers at her uncle and aunt’s place in the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. They had a small beach shack that was right on the water’s edge. Sounds glamourous, right?
Well, according to Rebecca it was more like a harrowing camping experience.
‘We were scared to go in the bathroom because it was dark and concrete and there was no light in there,’ she recalls. Today, those homes are worth a small fortune and the community that once was, is now very much changed.
Rebecca’s latest domestic thriller, The Wedding Party, which weaves between past and present, is set in a fictionalised version of that place, which she has named Refuge Bay; a beachside town where old locals have slowly been overridden by wealthy holiday makers.
‘I went back there with the family for a couple of day trips and spent some time on the beaches and, because I wanted to make the book, particularly in the present, a very much aspirational place to be, I probably made it seem even better than it is now.
‘I wanted Refuge Bay to have that kind of duality of what once was poor is now highly valued.’
Twelve years earlier Refuge Bay is still relatively untouched by developers and newcomers. But we’re beginning to see hints of gentrification and the change that’s to come. As we are introduced to the litany of characters who are each harbouring their own secrets and deceptions, the novel begs the question of how well you ever really know your neighbours.
‘I really love the idea of the secrets of the ordinary person next door.’
Rebecca tells me that she loves to read and write books that shed light on how the smallest of actions can have much wider and unforeseeable implications.
The Wedding Party follows three families who are all connected by a tragedy that occurred 12 years earlier: when 17-year-old Ollie jumped off a jetty and died.
Rebecca got inspiration for her novel two years ago when her son had come home with a sore, red back.
‘When my son was 15, he would wave goodbye on the bus and go jump off jetties at the beach about 15 minutes from our place. I would say,
“I think you are going to kill yourself, son.” He is very athletic and very coordinated, and it was deep enough water and as safe as anything could be. But with my imagination I would sit at home and wait for the bad news. So that became a “what if something happened”? I wanted to explore how that one tragic event could ripple through everyone who was involved.’
In the novel, Ollie’s former girlfriend, Adele, and his best friend, Jason, are getting married. The couple have invited Ollie’s mother, Melanie, and his sister, Sophie, to their nuptials. But as the wedding day approaches, we see how Ollie’s death continues to reverberate through all their lives with the characters experiencing feelings from guilt, shame, grief to resentment.
We then head back 12 years, where we learn how Adele and Ollie came from poorer backgrounds and shared a passionate love. Jason, on the other hand, is incredibly wealthy, and Adele values the financial security she has with him in the present day.
‘Through Adele I wanted to explore the idea of what’s more important, that kind of love and ideal relationship which she had with Ollie – as young as they were – versus the idea of being secure, of not going to a supermarket checkout and having your card refused.’
Similar to Adele, Rebecca grew up in a household that wasn’t wealthy, and in turn she used her experience to help shape those aspects of Adele.
‘I never wanted for anything, but I was a scholarship kid at a school, so there was always this financial envy and the trying to keep up a little bit and desperation to fit in.
‘We did have lots of hand-me-downs. There was quite a difference b
etween kids like me on a scholarship and the other kids who perhaps had a few more advantages.
‘I do tend to think that anyone who says security isn’t important hasn’t ever had those kinds of experiences, that sick feeling in your stomach that you’re not going to be able to pay that bill or the hand-me-downs you must wear and everyone’s laughing.’
As her wedding day nears, Adele is faced with a big decision that is further compounded by those in her wedding party that disapprove of her husband-to-be. In turn, secrets are unveiled, and we’re confronted with the truth surrounding Ollie’s death.
‘I want people to be able to read and understand that in the same position they may make similar decisions as well. I find that as much as I love a complete psychotic serial killer, I prefer someone who does things that could be seen as bad, but they’re not evil. They’re flawed doing the best they can.’
The Wedding Party is set against a tense background where betrayal runs rampant, and revenge is on the cards for some.
Writing stories has always come second nature to Rebecca.
‘I’ve always read books and I’ve always written. I’m the youngest of three in a single parent family. So, I was handed down books. I was reading everything you could imagine from age nine, that I possibly shouldn’t have, but Mum was like, “if you’re old enough to pick it up, you’re old enough to read it”. So my love of reading came from that. I always enjoyed making up my own stories because when you run out of stories to read you quickly start writing your own.’
It’s evident that Rebecca’s passion for writing has been a constant. Even in her earlier years when she was studying science at university, she found the time to write her stories in between her studies and classes.
‘I would sit in a chemistry lab where I was studying lasers, and I would write stories. My lab mates would say “let’s go and solve this” – it was an incredibly difficult calculus equation – but I would be like, “just let me finish whatever story I was writing”. I always wrote different things, too. I’d write thrillers or romance, or kid lit in between the work that I was doing.
‘I guess for me I always thought that the people with their names on a book were kind of magical, faraway people.
‘But when my mum died, I thought is this what I want to be doing? Will I regret not trying to pursue writing properly?’
Rebecca went on to find success as a Young Adult writer, publishing her first novel Fake in 2014 under the name Beck Nicholas. In 2023 she took a new direction and had her debut adult novel The Summer Party published under her own name.
‘I kind of decided to write something just for fun, just for me, which is probably how I got published in the first place. I wrote my first book without that head noise.’
In just a few short years Rebecca has established herself as an up-and-coming voice in thriller writing in Australia. The Wedding Party is already her third domestic thriller, and her two earlier works have been well received.
Fans will be excited to know her next novel is already in the works, so there’s likely another twist just around the corner. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Heath studied science at university, worked in hospitality and teaching, and wrote obsessively whenever she could find the time. She wrote several young adult novels as Beck Nicholas, published in Australia and Germany. She lives in Adelaide, Australia, halfway between the city and the sea with her husband, three children and a much-loved border collie. She spent her childhood summers at a remote beach not unlike where The Summer Party is set. The Summer Party is her debut adult novel.
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