The Caretaker is Out Now!
As of today, The Caretaker is on shelves all over Australia!
It’s probably a little redundant to say this book has had quite the journey. That’s true of every book, in different ways. But The Caretaker has been coming together in my head for over a decade now. Parts of the backstory I initially tried to write as a novel in 2009 – to, obviously and thankfully, very little success. It wasn’t until 2018 that the seed for the mountain setting was sowed and not until I wrote The Hitchhiker that I realised I wanted to try something else in that same slow-burn-high-tension vein. All these disparate threads eventually coalesced and resulted in a first draft that was, as almost every first draft is, a bit of a shambles.
But through time and hair-pulling stress and the work of some brilliant, patient editors, what has eventually emerged is a book I’m really proud of. I’ve spoken before about what a departure it is from my other thrillers and how scary that is, but I think the shift has worked. Largely because….
The Caretaker is QBD’s August Book of the Month!
I’ve been sitting on this for a little while, but I am beyond thrilled to announce that The Caretaker has been chosen as QBD’s Book of the Month. This also happened with The Hunted and had an enormous impact on how well that book did, so you can imagine I’m beyond stoked and honoured at this vote of confidence from some of the most passionate advocates for new Australian thrillers around. Sign up for the QBD BoM Facebook page for some cool stuff to come!
Events
I’ve got quite a few events coming up to celebrate The Caretaker. First up, tonight (August 2), we have the book launch at Readings Hawthorn, hosted by Lyn Yeowart, kicking off at 6:30. It’s free, but bookings are essential.
Then on the 4th I’ll be in Mansfield, in conversation with Margaret Hickey. That’ll be at Ink Bookshop, starting at 6. Book your spot on 03 5775 1701.
On the 13th I’m be up in Canberra, in conversation with Mercedes Mercier at The Book Cow, starting 2pm. Then on the 14th we’ll be over at Bouquinste in Kiama.
On the 26th I’ll be running a talk on Outback Noir for Daylesford’s Words in Winter Festival, which looks to have a lot of fantastic sessions, so if you’re keen for a literary weekend away, come along!
I’ll also be doing an event in Brisbane, so stay tuned for announcements!
Project Updates
As you can imagine, this last month has been largely consumed by gearing up for The Caretaker’s release, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had plenty of other work to juggle at the same time.
The Lecter Variations is very close to finished, and I’m in the midst of writing my final main chapter, diving into the mess of a TV show that was Clarice. Not my favourite thing I’ve ever had to do, but I promised to commit to the entire Lecter franchise, including the parts I do not like.
The Retirement Plan is looking better than ever, with some new footage really elevating what we already had. There’s still a lot to do to get this release ready, but I’m more confident than ever that we have an awesome little movie on our hands.
Advance copies of Andromache Between Worlds have also gone to print, meaning that it won’t be long before booksellers and reviewers will be getting a glimpse at a very different type of book from me. It’s a new story with new characters, but for anyone who read and liked the Boone Shepard Trilogy, I think you’ll get a serious kick out of this one.
With The Lodger finished and gone to editing, I’m also in the very early stages of planning my next book, which I’m really excited by. It’ll be a while before I can say much more about it, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple of hints; this is another standalone, but represents a return to the high stakes, high intensity action of The Hunted, and will feature a few recurring characters from across all my adult writing so far. In fact, now that I think of it, you’ll be seeing old friends from not just The Hunted, but The Inheritance, The Consequence and even The Caretaker. Stay tuned; it’s going to be a blast.
Recommendations
My big recommendation this month is probably just about everyone’s big recommendation this month – Yellowface, by Rebecca Kuang.
Like anyone vaguely aware of the book world I saw this pop up everywhere but didn’t pay it much attention until I read the synopsis. Then I had to get my hands on a copy as quickly as possible.
If you aren’t aware of it, Yellowface is part thriller, part satire set in the world of publishing, but with a huge amount to say about cultural appropriation, cancel culture and the morality of writing. It’s very sharp and very funny. Part of it, largely the parts surrounding what its like to publish a book, I found eerily relatable.
But I think the real brilliance of the book lies in how entirely its finger is on the pulse of conversations that are so prominent today, and how it manages to take on those conversations with nuance and ambiguity. If you’re expecting the book to be a tirade then you’re wrong. It’s even handed in how it approaches the question of who has the right to tell what story, and even though the protagonist June entirely deserves the social media pile on she is subjected to, that doesn’t mean the book eschews compassion for her or that it condones attacking strangers on Twitter to make yourself feel better. Kind of the opposite.
But apart from anything else, the novel is just so readable. There’s a gut clenching tension all the way through as you wait for June’s plagiarising of her dead friend to be exposed, but Kuang constantly complicates your sympathies and desired outcomes. There’s never any point where you think June did the right thing, but there are several points where you can kind of understand her justifications.
It’s rich, complex, and a lot of fun. I could not recommend it highly enough.