Lynne Lancaster

J.P.POMARE’S THE WRONG WOMAN : A COMPLEX MYSTERY THRILLER

It was a tragic accident – wasn’t it?

J.P. Pomare is an award winning writer who has had work published in journals including Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, Takahe and Mascara Literary Review. He has hosted the On Writing podcast since 2015 featuring bestselling authors from around the globe. His first novel, Call Me Evie, was critically acclaimed and won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. In The Clearing, Pomare’s second novel, was also a critically acclaimed bestseller. He was born in New Zealand and resides in Melbourne with his wife.

THE WRONG WOMAN is J. P. Pomare’s fifth novel, that is in equal parts psychological thriller and small-town murder mystery, set in modern day rural America.( So think mobile phones, computers and USB sticks and bitcoin and where everyone knows everyone else and remembers what happened years ago).

Vince Reid left the small town of Manson ten years ago, promising his former Chief of Police boss he’d never return. He made a new life in the city, morphed into a P.I. and turned his back on his old life for good. Or so he thought.

However , now an insurance firm has offered him excellent pay to look into a suspicious car crash, and he finds himself back in Manson where he grew up – home to his complicated family history, a scarring relationship breakdown that left him bruised and battered , and a very public incident that led to the sudden and inglorious end of his police career. Reid is very good at becoming ‘ invisible’ unless you look very closely .

The novel is told in two interwoven voices, running in parallel , one Reid’s and one of the driver in the accident that is the centre of his investigation, a woman called Eshana Stiles .Reid has a convoluted ,rather awkward history in Manson and readers learn that nothing about Eshana’s life is quite what it appears – the crash killed her academic husband Oliver Styles (mostly in the book referred to as Oli) and almost killed her too, putting her into hospital and a coma.

Oli had become a person of interest in the case of two missing young female students and many rumours flew around. Status, networking and money highlight the differences and connections between the two (one much poorer and struggling , the other the daughter of the police chief ), and the cost of medical care is also an issue.

Eshana can’t bring herself to believe that her husband could have been involved, but for Reid, the further he explores the case, the more discrepancies, deceit and nebulous secrets are revealed even including police corruption and cover ups.Each brief chapter is headed Reid or Eshana, Now or Before, as events unfold and we follow the tangled web of events. Reid unearths some captivating clues, eg a string of random words that might perhaps be important – or is it less than mediocre verse?.

A hope of romance for the emotionally and physically bruised Reid is also hinted at.

There are many unexpected twists and turns in the plot and Pomare has a great turn of phrase (eg  ‘ the truth  is a bubble wrapped in mud ‘.Deftly well – paced and plotted , with finely nuanced ,fully  developed characters , this an excellently written thriller/mystery novel .

https://www.hachette.com.au/jp-pomare/the-wrong-woman

ISBN: 9781869718190
ISBN-10: 1869718194
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 336
Published: 27th July 2022
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.4 x 15.5  x 3.0
Weight (kg): 0.42
Edition Number: 1

Published by Lynne Lancaster

A passionate theatre person Lynne is originally from Sydney and holds a B.Ed (Art) - a postgraduate Diploma in Information Management (Librarianship) and an MA in Theatre. While living in London ( 2002 -2007 ) Lynne completed the dance criticism course at Sadlers Wells linked in with Chichester University. Lynne has worked for both Ticketek and Ticketmaster here in Australia and was involved with the original production of THE BOY FROM OZ An Ausdance member Lynne is passionate about dance and has studied ballet and Flamenco. Before moving to London she photographed the Sydney Dance Company and Australian Ballet among other companies and has exhibited internationally. Lynne is a SAMAG member and a volunteer at the Art Gallery of NSW. Currently Lynne writes for arthub, danceinforma and sydneyartsguide.