The Cane is an atmospheric, slow-burn thriller, set in the cane fields of Queensland in the early 1970s. When a teenaged girl goes missing, the town of Quala quickly rallies to search for her. But as the weeks go by, and there are no clues to what happened to Janet, we start to see the very ugly underbelly of small-town country living. To say that the 1970s were not a very enlightened period is an understatement, and racism and misogyny are just seen as part of the emotional landscape. It’s easy to forget how far we have come in regard to these issues, particularly in Australia.

I liked the addition of a first person perspective from an elderly ‘Arthur’ who has obviously lived in Quala all his life. His voice sets a typically laconic Australian tone to the narrative. He provides the reader with details about the town’s beginnings, and doesn’t white wash the dark history that stains the landscape: ‘People say Australia never had slavery. Well, I guess it depends on how you define slavery - or how prepared you are to face facts’.

Cuskelly slowly introduces us to all the main characters, building a tension that culminates in the burning of the cane. She exposes the sometimes less-than-pretty aspects of relationships, in particular, the ‘friendship’ between the naive young Essie and the all-too-knowing Raelene. Essie is torn between wanting to have a best friend and knowing ‘enough not to reveal all her tender, sacred places to Raelene. Anything precious or delicate, whether a feeling or a favourite book, Raelene will find a way to besmirch it’.

Once the fires are lit, the book picks up the pace to match the rush of flames through the cane. Cuskelly has written a cracker of a first novel, and sits comfortably in the company of [a:Jane Harper|556546|Jane Harper|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550638161p2/556546.jpg] and [a:Chris Hammer|6474729|Chris Hammer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532475188p2/6474729.jpg].