The Wrong Woman is the definitive J P Pomare whodunnit. It is rich with red herrings and clues alike, drip-fed to the reader, enticing them to unravel the mystery. Pomare is, in every definition, a masterful page-turner.
Set in the unique twin townships of Manson and neighbouring Ethelton, the novel flows strategically between the lives of two characters, one from the present and one from the past. Unfolding in the present is PI Reid, a former Manson police officer turned private investigator. He has returned to his hometown to investigate a suspicious car accident on behalf of Crown Insurance. As Reid’s story unfolds, so does Eshana’s, the woman at the centre of the tragic car accident, which has rendered her in an induced coma and her husband dead.
Returning to your hometown isn’t always ideal, and Reid is plunged back into a life that he was hoping to forget. As he investigates the crash, another story is unfolding in the background, that of two missing girls, including the police chief’s daughter. Is it all connected? And will Reid unravel the mysteries before he is driven back out of the town that rejected him once before?
The Wrong Woman lands the reader firmly in the shoes of the private investigator, as he blends into the backdrop of the twin towns. Pomare’s duteous research makes you believe that you too, could disappear into the shadows, just like Reid. Pomare is well versed in the crime genre and writes in an accessible prose, though don’t let this take the shine from his masterful plotting and world building.
The Wrong Woman is Pomare’s best novel to date. It is the must-read thriller of winter 2022.
Reviewed by Samuel Bernard
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J P has always been drawn to the dark. He grew up on a horse-racing farm in small town New Zealand with two brothers, a sister, two cats and two border collies.
Eventually he would find himself leaving Rotorua and landing in Melbourne, Australia. For three years he has produced and hosted a podcast, interviewing guests from Joyce Carol Oates and Dorthe Nors to John Safran and E Lockhart. He also worked in marketing but in the evening he was always writing, contributing to a number of Australian publications and beginning to draft what would become Call Me Evie.
A first love for literary fiction quickly developed into a taste for sharp, fast paced story telling. Stories that surprised him, stories that tied a cold knot in the pit of his stomach.
J P lives with his wife, splitting his time between Melbourne city and Clunes.
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