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Lyrebirds were mimics. They didn't create the sounds they made, only repeated what they had heard. Had the bird actually listened to some poor woman begging for her life? Jessica looked around uneasily. The bush that had seemed so benign and beautiful only minutes before now seemed sinister.
Twenty years ago, ornithology student Jessica Weston filmed a lyrebird mimicking the dying screams of a woman in the Barrington Tops National Park. Terrified, she took her recordings to the Maitland police to report a murder. Despite support from newly minted detective, Megan Blaxland, no one was reported missing in the area and no body found, so Jessica's claims were mocked and dismissed.
Twenty years later, a body is unearthed. Exactly where Jessica said it would be.
Megan Blaxland, now a retired senior sergeant, is persuaded to return and lead the cold case investigation. The first thing she does is contact Jessica Weston, now an Associate Professor at Newcastle University.
Jessica and Megan are appalled that the dead woman, whose last moments were heard by only a lyrebird and her killer, has been ignored and forgotten for so long. They both feel they have let the victim down, and are determined to find the killer, whatever it takes.
What they do not realise is it is not just their own lives that may be in danger.
As with her previous novel, The Mother, where she shines a light on the tragedy of domestic violence, Jane Caro once again expertly illuminates the injustices perpetrated against women, particularly those who are marginalised, within a gripping, suspenseful thriller.
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Lyrebirds were mimics. They didn't create the sounds they made, only repeated what they had heard. Had the bird actually listened to some poor woman begging for her life? Jessica looked around uneasily. The bush that had seemed so benign and beautiful only minutes before now seemed sinister.
Twenty years ago, ornithology student Jessica Weston filmed a lyrebird mimicking the dying screams of a woman in the Barrington Tops National Park. Terrified, she took her recordings to the Maitland police to report a murder. Despite support from newly minted detective, Megan Blaxland, no one was reported missing in the area and no body found, so Jessica's claims were mocked and dismissed.
Twenty years later, a body is unearthed. Exactly where Jessica said it would be.
Megan Blaxland, now a retired senior sergeant, is persuaded to return and lead the cold case investigation. The first thing she does is contact Jessica Weston, now an Associate Professor at Newcastle University.
Jessica and Megan are appalled that the dead woman, whose last moments were heard by only a lyrebird and her killer, has been ignored and forgotten for so long. They both feel they have let the victim down, and are determined to find the killer, whatever it takes.
What they do not realise is it is not just their own lives that may be in danger.
As with her previous novel, The Mother, where she shines a light on the tragedy of domestic violence, Jane Caro once again expertly illuminates the injustices perpetrated against women, particularly those who are marginalised, within a gripping, suspenseful thriller.
Is there anything more satisfying than heading to bed with a crime novel written by a feminist? Truly, the comfort in knowing all female characters will be represented with respect and honour warms my heart. And with Jane Caro’s second crime novel, you can expect more than just a mystery to be solved.
Caro, an enthusiastic defender of women’s rights and the environment, gives the reader both a solid reprimand and a reminder of the state of our national parks and wildlife. She takes delicious swipes at the media and at our universities. Without giving away too much of the plot here, Caro highlights the woes of women working on tourist visas, and the poverty and desperation in our neighbouring countries. She writes about grief with an empathetic touch.
The premise of the book is immediately introduced: a lyrebird begins its mating call in the forest, videotaped by ornithologist Jessica Weston. The lyrebird mimics the sound of a woman dying. Detective Megan Blaxland works the case, but does not solve it. It goes into the cold case file. Twenty years later, a damaged female body is found where the lyrebird had danced. Blaxland comes out of retirement to solve the mystery. The two women reunite as they search for an answer, and a classic, thrilling story begins.
I am hoping this is not the end of Megan Blaxland; she is not unlike Ann Cleeves’ popular character Vera, and that is a particularly good thing indeed. Readers who enjoyed Caro’s The Mother will be incredibly pleased with her new novel. I certainly inhaled it and was delighted with Caro’s astute representation of everything that is going wrong in our country, as well as with her very entertaining writing.
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