J.P, you've done it again! 

17 YEARS LATER is a masterclass in suspense and storytelling. Set in a small New Zealand town, the story skillfully alternates between two timelines: the present day and events from 17 years ago. Australian journalist and true crime podcast host Solane Abbott investigates the tragic demise of the Primrose family. As she uncovers inconsistencies in the prosecution of Bill Kareama, the narrative reveals deeper issues of social class, and racial prejudice, keeping readers on edge.

If you’re contemplating which of J.P's books to start with, this is the one! It embodies everything that makes J.P's writing exceptional—layered characters, suspenseful twists, and gripping mystery. 17 YEARS LATER feels like a thrilling game of Twister, where every revelation takes you in a new direction. I was so engrossed that I read 80% of it in one sitting, staying up until midnight to uncover the truth. It’s one of the few books that’s kept me up like that, along with J.P's earlier work, In The Clearing.

Another highlight for me was spotting the 'easter eggs' J.P includes, paying tribute to his previous works and influences. This time, I noticed a nod to Tell Me Lies and appreciated the homage to his family, fellow crime writer Michael Robotham, and the late Ngaio Marsh. There was even a Taylor Swift reference in there! These subtle references add a delightful layer to the reading experience.

Thank you to @hachetteaus and @netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of my most anticipated book of 2024!

J.P. Pomare's 17 Years Later is a gripping page-turner that kept me guessing until the very end. Set in the small rural town of Cambridge, NZ, the story follows Sloane as she investigates the murder of the wealthy Primrose family 17 years ago for her popular podcast, Legacy. The family’s chef, Bill Kareama, was convicted within hours and imprisoned for the crime, but as Sloane digs deeper, she uncovers a possible miscarriage of justice and becomes determined to uncover the truth.

The narrative unfolds through alternating chapters from Sloane, Bill, and Bill’s former prison psychologist, TK. This storytelling technique hooked me immediately, making everyone’s motives a tantalising mystery. The setting in the North Island’s Cambridge is vividly portrayed, adding a rich backdrop that enhances the story's atmosphere.

J.P. skilfully weaves in subtle explorations of darker themes from New Zealand’s history, such as racism, colonialism, and classism, without detracting from the main crime narrative. This adds depth and complexity to the plot, making it more than just a whodunit.

17 Years Later showcases J.P.’s skill as a storyteller. The plot is perfectly crafted, and the characters are expertly developed, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with an entertaining and unexpected reveal.

This book is my new favourite from the Kiwi born author and it's a must-read for fans of suspenseful, well-crafted mysteries.

Pomare has struck again with yet another absolutely amazing thrilling and twisty read! Unputdownable is a word and one that describes my exact feelings when reading this book! Literally filled with twists that become jaw dropping moments. Leaving you unravelling your mind because you were of the mindset that you had it all worked out! Wrong!..... And along comes Pomare and drops yet another twist you were far from expecting!

Seventeen years Bill Ruatara has been behind bars for the murders of the Primrose family. While they slept soundly in their beds, the live in chef of this wealthy family slaughtered them all. Bill was brought to trial and sentenced to jail.

But was he really given a fair trial? Was he really the one who committed this brutal crime? Sloane Abbott, a true-crime podcaster suddenly takes an interest in his case and before long, a little digging uncovers evidence that may just prove Bill to be innocent!

Crime thriller fans, you'll be wanting to put this on top of your buying list when it hits the shelves on 31 July 2024!

17 Years Later by JP Pomare is his best book yet.

I have always been a fan of Pomare's work, but this one was truly above and beyond. I was absolutely hooked.

It is one of those crime books where you keep thinking you know who did it, but then you second guess yourself - over and over again.

A sea of red herrings, this will likely be featured in my best books of the year.

Who killed the primrose family? That's a mystery to find out, it could have been the chef, au pair, gardener, the ex girlfriend's brother 🤷‍♀️ 17 years later took me down a twisty mystery road which left me mind blown and questioning everyone on who the murderer was. With TK back in the game to Sloane and the Legacy team solving the mystery, this book will leave you wanting more.

Thank you Hachette for letting me read this early e-book version.

I am writing this review just after finishing, while everything is fresh in my mind. The problem is i’m still trying to catch up with all the events especially as I drew closer to the end where the pace and level of suspense intensified dramatically and left me scrambling to draw breath (and missed out on sleep)! So much happens within this story and the pace varies between slow to turbo boost mode, as the answers to what happened 17 years earlier are pieced together. A private chef (Bill) locked away for stabbing the New Zealand family he worked for; the psychologist who nearly destroyed his life trying to help Bill, and an Australia true crime podcaster chasing after her next story to gain justice over what looked like poor handling of the case … all blend together with multiple suspicious characters none of whom had previously been carefully investigated. This was my first book to read by J. P. Pompare and it was rich with New Zealand culture and history which is a place that I loved when visiting briefly but would still benefit from learning so much more about. The story was elaborate, detailed, fresh, relevant and totally insane as far as the dance I was led on; it is one that will linger on my mind long after finishing and be thankful I went on this wild adventure. I realised that most of the characters were unlikeable which can sometimes create disconnect when reading, and yet I didn’t find this at all and instead was fascinated to keep reading and learn if Bill was innocent or if he just had a bad deal with the investigation and trial but belonged right where he was 17 years later! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Hachette Australia and New Zealand for letting me read an advanced copy in exchange for my review. Book due out in Australia on 31st July 2024.

This one had me hooked from the start. My questions were endless and the twists kept on twisting . The ending fell a little flat for me but don’t let that deter you from reading this one 🤩 I loved the podcast aspect to this story. Being it showed a different investigative side to police work, I was really intrigued and interested in how they did it all.

17 Years Later is a brilliant page-turner, and possibly the greatest crime thriller I've read in years.

Sloane - a famous Podcaster- is delving into the murders of the Primrose murders which took place 17 years earlier. The killer has already been determined, convicted and imprisoned. But Sloane is not certain that procedural fairness was applied and the killer had just trial. Did he really kill the whole family?

Th evidence she uncovers and the twists throughout her investigation will leave you on the edge of your seat.

5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

TAUT: ’17 YEARS LATER’ BY J.P. POMARE

J.P.Pomare – Kiwi-born Australian author – writes taut, twisty crime thrillers. 17 Years Later is definitely that, imbued with a sense of darkness and with questions about the mystery at its heart: who really killed the Primrose family seventeen years ago?

Set in a small town on New Zealand’s North Island, the narrative is told from several different perspectives and voices.

There is Bill Kareama, the Primrose’s live-in private chef, delighted to be offered this amazing chance to kick-start his career and make good money while cooking for the wealthy family. When the shocking murders of Simon Primrose, his wife Gwen, daughter Elle and son Chester are discovered, Bill is the prime suspect – in large part due to the fact that the murder weapon is one of his chef’s knives. We hear Bill’s own account of the events leading up to his arrest, the trial and his imprisonment.

Into the town of Cambridge arrives Sloane Abbott, a successful journalist with a popular true-crime podcast. She is determined to investigate the crime because she has heard stories about how the original investigation failed to seriously consider any other suspects and overlooked evidence. Did Bill and the Primrose family receive justice? If not, seventeen years is a long time for the wrong man to be imprisoned. And troublingly, is it possible that here a killer still at large?

We hear from Fleur, the French au pair, who shares a cottage on the Primrose estate with Bill. What is her role in the family and why does she stay with them, given that the children no longer really need a nanny?

TK was Bill’s psychologist who devoted years of his life to finding the truth about what happened. He is dragged unwillingly back into the mystery by Sloane’s dogged persistence.

All of these characters are well drawn, as is the setting of a regional New Zealand town where many of the locals just want to forget the whole thing. There are plenty of twists and an action-packed ending; the story unravelling between the various players, keeping me guessing to the end.

I was engrossed by 17 Years Later and gobbled it up quickly. A very satisfying read.

17 Years Later is published by Hachette Australia in July 2024.

My thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for a copy to read and review.

Once again J.P. Pomare has produced a magnificent crime thriller! 17 Years Later is arguably an incredibly gripping story with an unexpected and unusual approach.

Sloane is a journalist who researches and presents crime podcasts. Her newest one is set in New Zealand where a convicted mass murderer, Bill, would be out on remand if he would confess his guilt - but he continues to proclaim his innocence.

Sloane, with her team and in conjunction with Bill’s ex-psychologist TK, follow up on all possible leads and even seemingly impossible leads in their search for the truth. The pace is varied but by the end it is galloping along, with the reader barely able to take a breath.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Hachette Australia & New Zealand via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#17YearsLater #NetGalley

Holy heck, what a ride!
This was my first J.P. Pomare read and it won't be my last. I didn't want to put the book down until I found out what truly happened. As someone who has been a fan of true crime podcasts, it was fascinating looking at the process from behind the scenes. This book kept me guessing, one minute I would think it was one suspect and the next it would be someone else. There were several moments towards the end of the book that kept me on the edge of my seat. Fantastic suspenseful read.

Incredibly crafted mystery with twists that give you whiplash. I had no idea where the story was going and just when I thought I figured it out it took me in a different direction. Brilliant writing!!

It’s just as well that I don’t exclusively read thrillers, and it’s just as well that JP Pomare is not more prolific than he currently is (just enough of a wait and just enough to keep the readers going! 🫶🏼), or I might be a permanent ball of tension. And a legit zombie, at the rate of just-one-more-chapter late nights that turn into late late late nights slash way too early in the morning I experience courtesy of his books!

He’s consistent, that’s for sure, and 17 YEARS LATER proves that yet again. The story takes us to a rural Cambridge residence, where a shocking crime once took place. Each member of the family was found dead, stabbed one by one. The killer is in jail, having been apprehended soon after. At least that’s what everyone had thought… 17 years ago, Bill Kareama’s psychologist Te Kuru got too caught up trying to prove Bill’s innocence that he ended up losing almost everything that mattered. He swore it wouldn’t happen again, except popular true crime podcaster Sloane is in from Melbourne and she’s got her eyes set on this case.

This was a thoroughly riveting read that goes beyond the surface to explore themes of racism, colonisation, white privilege, and story sovereignty. In the vein of Pomare’s previous works, he has the ability to hone in on topics that are relevant to the times we live in, and tap into the all-too-believable sources of fear that lurk. It’s almost manipulative, what good writers/podcasters/storytellers do, to take from real pain and seizing on what is most sure to drive heart rates (and ratings) up. The book touches on the moral grey zone between ethics and morality, the soulless-ness that imbues narratives that come out of it, alongside opportunities for redemption and justice when human dignity is honoured.

Of note, it was extra unnerving to read a book set in a familiar town. I could picture every bit in a way that made for a vivid, if terrifying, experience 😬 The places, the people, the collective psychology, the power dynamics, the rolling Waikato fog, the way things can change yet stay the same; it all permeated into the fabric of the text. And maybe it come to life in a movie rendition someday, who knows!

I also really enjoyed the homage paid to crime literature by this Ngaio Marsh Award-winning writer, again like a giving back, including a sly addition to her bibliography, a murder mystery that may have inspired the crime at the centre of this book…

In the meantime, I’m glad I have two more of his backlist to catch up on while we await the next one, whenever that may be!

Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy of this book, loved every minute!

I really enjoyed it. It started off good and continued to get more exciting the more I read.

A family is murdered and their personal chef is sent to jail. A pod-caster and Bill’s lawyer investigate the case together. Is Bill innocent or guilty? When I started the book I thought he was innocent but I changed my mind so many times throughout that I lost count. When I was sure I knew where the story was heading I would soon find out I was wrong.

Another amazing book by J P Pomare.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

I do believe that I have new favourite book from this author, and all his books are just fabulous. 17 Years Later grabbed me right from the start and I struggle to put to down. I took it to the football with me to sneak a few pages in before and in between quarters! I needed to know how it is was going to all play out. So many times, I thought I knew but I never have guessed that ending!!

17 years ago, the Primrose family were murdered in their home, in the quiet little town of Cambridge in New Zealand. The family’s chef was arrested a few hours later and has been in prison ever since. Now, Sloane Abbott, host of the hugely popular podcast, Legacy, is looking into the story, believing that Bill Kareama was not given a fair trial. You will not believe what she uncovers.

This book was just so bingeable!! We hear the story from the present day with Sloane investigating and talking to people involved as well as Bill’s from when he started working for the family. We discover that not everything was as it seemed.

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for sending me this gorgeous ARC to read.

New Zealand author JP Pomare returns to home soil for his cold case thriller 17 Years Later. Slightly late to the true-crime- podcaster-as-protagonist party (there are so many of these it is now almost its own crime fiction sub-genre), Pomare centres the narrative around a true crime podcast called Legacy. Although the podcast host, Sloane Abbott, is only one of three main characters who carry the story.
That story revolves around Māori man Bill Kareama, seventeen years into a 25 year prison term for killed the wealthy Primrose family. When prompted to take on the case Sloane immediately focusses on the hasty accusation and trial as a potential miscarriage of justice. And yet, when she starts investigating she finds that everyone believes that Bill committed the crime, That includes psychologist Te Kuru “TK” Phillips who fought for Bill’s release until he too became convinced that Bill did it. When Abbott discovers a new piece of evidence, the case once again begins to open up and TK is drawn back in.
While the investigation is happening, Pomare gives readers Bill’s account of the events that led up to the killings. Starting with his return from Australia and being hired as a live in cook for the Primroses. This is Bill’s account so readers are constantly comparing it to the things that Sloane and TK learn in their investigations.
All of this is set up for a final third of the novel which starts with a revelation and continues to pull on the threads that have been carefully laid in the first part of the book. Pomare ramps up the tension with a series of escalating cliffhangers and misdirects before the ultimate revelations.
In returning to New Zealand and focussing on an ultra-rich British family, Pomare is able to dig into perennial, but no less relevant, themes of colonisation and racism. The ways in which Bill and other Māori are treated by the Primroses and their peers is no justification for murder but gives a particular slant to the way in which readers see the situation. The use of the podcaster as investigator while a fairly common device these days is used to explore the phenomenon of true crime particularly who makes it, who it is for and what they want out of it.
17 Years Later is another meticulously constructed thriller from Pomare. Like a rollercoaster slowly climbing to a peak, he turns the screws slowly in the first two thirds of the book before delivering a breathless, twisted, rug-pulling conclusion. And while there are a couple of unanswered questions still at the end of the it, the ride has been fast enough that they are unlikely to trouble anyone.

Love this book!! Ah the vibes it give! Couldn’t put it down, highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher

Bill Kareama has spent 17 years in jail for the murder of the wealthy Primrose family. Sloane Abbott is a true crime podcaster who has been questioned by her seemingly only interest in white crime.. TK was Bills lawyer and advocate and his addiction to the case cost him his marriage. Now Sloane is looking at the Primrose murders for her podcast and she draws a reluctant TK back into the case. Bill would be free by now if he only confessed but he has always maintained his innocence,
The story goes back to 17 years ago when Bill is first hired to work as a chef for the Primrose family.. flitting back and forth in time and from different perspectives, it’s a fabulous read. So many suspects, so many red herrings, and while TK has decided that Bill was guilty, Sloane starts uncovering new evidence, and because of her notoriety is able to interview people who previously refused.

#17YearsLater. #NetGalley

Another top rate thriller from J.P. Pomare. I was a little worried going into this one about the use of a podcast to investigate a crime- it’s been done a lot lately. However, in this case it worked incredibly well. Sloane’s back story of being a successful podcaster who is then ‘cancelled’ for being a Trojan-feminist and focusing on white, women victims was not only topical but set the scene for the underlying racism that Billy faced in his day to day life and as part of the investigation.

Told from three points of view- Sloane, the podcaster, Billy, the accused and his prison psychologist TK I really enjoyed getting to know each of them and see their roles develop throughout the novel. I was engaged from the first page and ended up staying way past my bed time finishing it off! There were so many twists and turns that caught me by surprise and I definitely didn’t pick the ending. My favourite Pomare book so far.

The violent slaughter of the Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation.

Their young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. But the brutal crime scarred the idyllic town of Cambridge forever.

When podcaster, Sloane Abbott, decides to explore the story, she starts to uncover that things may not be quite the way they seem.

JP Pomare does it again! Another absolutely phenomenal story. I don’t think he will ever write anything I hate.

The story was built up brilliantly so that you honestly just can’t stop reading. You jump between present time and the past as the story slowly unravels. You’re left constantly guessing about what actually happened to the family, while slowly disliking more and more characters.

10/10 would recommend!