Thanks to Tracy Fenton of the Compulsive Readers book tours and the publisher for my gifted book in exchange for my honest review for the tour.
Australia, 1979.
It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.
As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
This is a book that caught my attention from the first moment I received the email about it. A debut that was written so well I doubted the fact it is a debut!
Set around a neighbourhood in Australia of 1979, we are introduced to the residents of Warrah Place in Canberra. It’s a quiet street until the discovery of a severed foot in the hills that overlook their houses. The fact that it comes to light the foot belongs to the neighbour from number two, Antonio Marietti, causes ripples of shock throughout the cul de sac.
Twelve year old Tammy decides she needs to find out what happened to Antonio because she thought him a friend. The fact that rumours are rife is a bonus for her. She is a child no one really notices, even her mother doesn’t, not really. This makes it so easy for Tammy to ‘overhear’ conversations that she shouldn’t be listening to. The biggest problem is that she learns more, much more than she bargained for. Warrah Place is never going to be the same again.
Wow! I knew I wanted to red The Grapevine, but I didn’t count on being totally sucked into this book from the start. Each of Kate Kemp’s characters is so strong and real. The fact that this is a community and there is such variation within it. Each of the neighbours is different, and some are worse than others. The fact that everyone is all smiles when they see each other but, after they close their front doors, the cattiness begins. This is just like the type of community I grew up with.
Tammy does enlist the help of Colin, a young boy from across the road, in her investigation, and I adored the way their friendship grew along the way. The tension grows as the plot unfolds. It is that taut at a certain point that I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Not only is this a multi layered murder mystery, but also a clever observation of communities and what makes them tick. The characters are the core of The Grapevine, along with the Australian heat of summer, which creates a taut and, at times, claustrophobic read. I will definitely be reading Kate Kemps’ books! I would 100% recommend this book if you love murder mysteries with characters who stand out.
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