Former soapie star Suzannah Wells has left her celebrity lifestyle behind for a quieter, more satisfying life as a drama teacher. The sole carer for her mother, Mary, who suffers from dementia, Suzannah is ready to leave the rat-race of city life and thinks she’s found the perfect job and lifestyle in a small country town north of Sydney.

When 18-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a local road, Suzannah, like most of the town, is fascinated by the bizarre story. Ellie’s tale of kidnap by a middle-aged woman and her crazy old mother and subsequent escape captures the nation’s attention. But Suzannah’s interest is replaced by bewilderment when she is accused of being the kidnapper. What begins as a preposterous charge quickly becomes a living nightmare, as Ellie’s DNA is found everywhere in her house. Suzannah loses her job and her friends and, as stories about her past emerge, she begins to doubt she can ever prove her innocence.

Meanwhile Ellie, aided by celebrity agent and former local Honor Fielding, becomes a global media sensation and girl-power icon. Who is Ellie and is she telling the truth? Is Honor over-invested in her new client? Somebody is lying but who and why?

This satisfying novel perfectly captures our current world, saturated by social media, obsessed by beautiful victims and easily identified villains, and quick to judge and condemn the accused. The power of suggestion unleashes vigilantism when the legal system is deemed to be inadequate, and truth doesn’t matter in a world ruled by fast, fake news. This is a gripping novel with plenty of twists, underpinned by acute observations about society.

Reviewed by Melinda Woledge