I was surprised that Lapse is a debut novel by Sarah Thronton. The main character Clem is trying to live a low key life, accepts a job offer as a coach for local football team. When she gets settled in, Clem smells something fishy and starts her investigation which reveals a bunch of secrets! I was hooked right from the first chapter, to know what happens next. Fast paced and even after introducing so many characters into the story, the importance of Clem didnot diminish. Lapse is a first book in the series, I am really looking forward for the next books in the series.
Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Thronton and Text Publishing for a reader’s copy of this book. The review is purely based on my opinion.

A fabulous debut from an Australian author. Suspenseful and gripping. I really enjoyed reading this and got caught up in the action, to the point where I almost missed my train station and had to make a mad dash for the door (sorry to the lady sitting next to me 😬). The mystery is plausible and the main character likeable.

I’m not a huge sports fan, but luckily for me I know enough about Australian Rules football to be able to understand the descriptions of matches and the sports terminology. There’s a description on a football match towards the end that’s very exciting!

I really enjoyed this and hope to read more about Clementine Jones in the future. (I wonder if the author is aware that her character’s namesake, Clem Jones, was a Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1961-1975, was credited with getting rid of all the “thunder boxes” in Brisbane back yards and has a major tunnel named after him).

Clementine (Clem) Jones is a woman with a secret a former high-flying career woman living in Metropolitan opulence in Sydney who re-locates to Katinga, a remote backwater in Victoria where no-one knows her. Somewhat oddly for someone trying to live under the radar she gets the job as coach to the local Aussie Rules Football team, the Cats, who she has brought to the point of success after decades of failure, which makes her a local celebrity. When her best player announces that he is retiring from the game be seemingly loves Clementine tries to find out why despite being told to "leave it alone" . As the guy,Clancy, has also been sacked fromt his job in very dubious circumstances and has been assaulted she smells something not right and investigates, lifting the lid off of a whole load of other people's secrets in the process.
The book started well then seemed to tail off a bit as character after character was introduced by which time I was thinking, "new author ,kind of ok but not grabbing me" then it really took off as Clem takes more and more risks to discover who has gone to great lengths to wreck the life of her star player and why. and messes with some seriously nasty people. While taking on,and being taken on by, the bad guys the story of the Footie team's attempts at success forms a big part of the story as well and while part of the town tries to do her harm the majority see her as a hero.
This is a great read,not least as it's a debut novel, if you like Peter Temple you'll love this and for an Australian author praise doesn't come much higher than that. Clem is a great character in a book full of great characters,according to the introduction in the version I read it's the first book in a series and I'm very much looking forward to reading the next one, Sarah Thornton is a great new talent .

Thanks to Sarah Thornton, Text Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a very well- written book but I initially struggled to get into the story. There was more emphasis on the sport and coaching than on the personal incident affecting the main character and I felt it took a long time to actually reveal the cause of her upset.

It was not particularly a book I would choose to read again.

What a great debut novel.

Set in country Australia, with a background of the local footy (AFL) season, this is a taut, well plotted, well written and gripping mystery/thriller.

The characters are interesting and well developed, especially the lead Clementine Jones, who despite her past, is someone to be admired.

I loved this story, and hopefully there will be more to follow.

Lapse by Sarah Thornton, published by Text Publishing, is book one in her Clementine Jones Series. Lapse can easily be read as a stand-alone.
The storyline is set in rural Australia and tells the heart wrenching story of Clementine.
Clementine Jones is on the run from her past. She's new in toen and just started coaching the local football team.
Lapse is a fst paced read, a thriller of it's finest, excellent written and beautifully thought out and beautifully told. Lapse kept me in suspense from start til the end.
I recommend the book and can't wait for the next one. 4,5 Stars.

Exciting! Addictive! Thrilling! Suspenseful! Everything you could want in a debut crime drama from a promising new author. I'm now a confirmed fan!

#Lapse #NetGalley

A riveting debut novel with a gripping plot, wonderful characters and true to life dialogue. I can't wait for the next story.

Clementine Jones is a newbie in the small bush town of Katingal. In spite of her plan to hide away in solitude in her cottage outside of town she got bored and landed the job of football coach to the town Aussie Rules team. Now she is the town star as the team is winning for the first time in half a century and the whole town is counting on her to bring them home the Grand Final trophy. Just as they are about to hit the final series her Aboriginal star midfielder quits the team with a wholly unconvincing excuse.

Clementine just can't stop asking questions to try to get him back in the team and save her player and team. In the process she finds out more than she ever wanted to know about small town politics, racism and drugs. More than that she realises that she and others may be in increasing danger.

Clem's questions invite others to ask questions about her too and that's a big problem. Clem has a secret so big it has torn her away from her family and previous life completely. Can she stay alive, stand up for her team and keep her secret?

Clementine is a wonderful character and you will really enjoy the characters you meet in Katingal. If you've never lived in a small Australian town, you'll come away knowing how they work. If you have, you'll love how well Sarah Thornton paints a completely recognisable picture. She also injects some great humour: I laughed out loud on occasion and loved the tattoo shop scene.

I loved the way that this novel illustrated experiences of racism, the issues for women leaders, as well as the effects of drugs and crime on country communities without in any way preaching or making them the focus of the story. It's also a love story about footy as the great equaliser and it's ability to change the lives of those who love it.

Altogether this exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it.

Review submitted to Amazon.com but not up as yet.