Wilson’s debut novel is narrated by thirteen year old Morris Turner. He lives with his father Jude Turner, a police detective, and his older sister Lottie. It’s 1930 in Melbourne and a lot of people are doing it tough as the Great Depression takes hold of the country. Jude is assigned to investigate the murder of a young women, Catherine Fletcher, in his home town of Gemini. Morris and Lottie are not impressed that they have to move from bustling Melbourne to a small country town, even if it’s only for the duration of the investigation. Jude hasn’t been back to Gemini since he and his wife left many years ago. Morris and Lottie meet relatives for the first time; Jude’s brother and his wife, and their daughter Flo, who is Morris’s age.

Morris lost his mother when only a very young child, and wants to talk about her with his father, but whenever I talk about Mother, a shadow passes over his face and he turns away or leaves the room. I feel the words forming on my tongue, but I swallow them down. They go deep inside my body where they join together, packed tight into bricks made of the words I can’t say. He can’t talk about her and so I don’t talk about her.

The citizens of Gemini can’t believe one of their own is the murderer, and suspicion falls on the destitute folk who have built a shanty town on the outskirts of Gemini. But Morris, together with his cousin Flo and friend Sam think the murderer is much closer to home.

Choosing to have a young narrator is a brave move. It brought to mind To Kill a Mockingbird. Children often see more as they are overlooked by the adults around them. They also don’t have the prejudices and set ideas that can cloud an adult’s mind. Children are constantly underestimated by adults.

Wilson has brought to life a small Australian town, struggling with the financial crash and the murder of one of their own. I got a real sense of the townspeople’s fear as the world seemed to be imploding around them. Their suspicion of the people living in the camps is understandable - it’s always easier to blame a stranger for your troubles than to accept that everyone is struggling to some degree, and it’s a case of ‘there but for the grace of God go I’, as my mother used to say!

The book skilfully brings the murder investigation to a satisfactory close. Spending time in Gemini with his children makes Jude explore how he has dealt (or not) with his grief, and look at how he can help his children come to terms with the loss of their mother.

This is an accomplished first novel from Sean Wilson, and I look forward to reading more!