The violent slaughter of the Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation. The family's young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. Seventeen years later, true-crime podcaster Sloane Abbott tracks down prison psychologist TK Phillips, to lure him back into the fight as evidence emerges that might reveal Bill’s innocence. What will it cost Sloane and TK to uncover the truth?

I loved the intricacies of the case and characters in this one! Right from the start, the premise was really strong and gripping. I wasn’t sure about Sloane’s integrity initially, as she focused on fame and viewership, but she really grew on me along the journey.

While Pomare usually writes amazing action-packed, popcorn thrillers with lots of twists and turns, it’s the one with depths and feelings like this one that really gets me (that last chapter almost brought me to tears). Don’t get me wrong though, this one was also twisty especially towards the end, where I had my mouth hanging open the entire time as characters kept swinging back and forth between friend vs. enemy. I didn’t know who to trust, and I couldn’t guess the whoddunnit.

This was my favourite J. P. Pomare so far (and I’ve read all of his books, including the audible specials), with multi-cast audiobook performance to match. I’d suggest you run to get a copy ASAP!

The Primrose family are stabbed in their home and their chef Bill is convicted. 17 years later a podcaster called Sloane joins forces with the chef’s psychologist TK, to reinvestigate the crime.

The story is told from three different perspectives. Bill, the chef’s point of view from 17 years ago and Sloane and TK’s perspectives from the present time. The three main characters are likeable (even though you are unsure whether Bill is guilty or innocent) and their perspectives are equally interesting. Sloane is headstrong and funny.

Each of the three perspectives has a different narrator which made this very effective as an audiobook. The narrators were amazing, their voices were easy to listen to. Their scenes were engaging and all three were very talented at voicing several different characters with different accents.

The story was well paced, feeding you nuggets of information throughout (some larger than others), building up towards a climactic ending and I just had to keep listening.

Some very good twists. One was a complete shocker that I did not see coming. Some others I guessed but I only figured things out shortly before the characters did.

A very enjoyable listen. Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia Audio for this ALC.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The story is told across three narratives. Pomare is a master writer and his character development make them relatable.
JP creates astounding suspense and he always manages to keep his readers guessing right up to the last chapters. Once again, he has delivered a cracking novel. ⠀⠀⠀⠀

17 Years Later is the seventh novel by award-winning, best-selling New Zealand-born Australian-resident author, J P Pomare. While, up to now, the podcast subjects of Gold Walkley award-winning Melbourne podcaster Sloane Abbott have been white females, a critical online comment has her considering, for their next podcast, a mass killing in Cambridge, New Zealand. Seventeen years earlier, all four members of the Primrose family were brutally stabbed, and their recently-dismissed private chef, Bill Kareama was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for the murders.

But did he get a fair trial?

Bill was seen by neighbours, fleeing from the Primrose mansion with dark stains on his clothing, but he claimed to have discovered the bodies and panicked when he heard sirens. A discrepancy in the timing caught on CCTV, and the absence of an asthma inhaler should have put some doubt on his guilt but was dismissed during the trial. And while several of his actions immediately afterwards seem incriminating, his arrest and conviction following coercive interview techniques and without further investigation raise questions that Sloane would like to explore.

Sloane’s assistant manages to get the current owners to let her see the mansion, which leads to some new information, and she is able to speak to others with some personal knowledge of Bill or the Primrose family, but she faces setbacks: several of those she speaks to refuse to be recorded for the podcast, and her hire car is stolen.

Bill Kareama, an inmate of Waikeria Prison, will only talk to her if the former prison psychologist, Te Kuru Phillips accompanies her. TK gave up his job to spend years advocating for Bill, but his attitude has since changed. He reluctantly facilitates the meeting, and finds himself agreeing to one last favour for Bill.

The story is told over two timelines, with Bill’s (perhaps not entirely reliable) narrative relating what happened in the weeks leading up to the stabbings, while Sloane details events in the present day, and TK’s contribution is set in the present day but refers back to the aftermath of the murders. Pomare keeps the reader guessing about certain details, throws in a bunch of red herrings, twist and turns that will keep even the most astute reader guessing. Excellent Kiwi crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Australia Audio.

J.P. Pomare has knocked it out of the park with his latest offering 17 Years Later. This outstanding book is his best to date and will have readers scrambling to get their hands on a copy.
Crime lovers will delight in the twists and turns and podcast fans will thoroughly enjoy the drip feeding of it throughout. I love a dual time line and J.P. Pomare does an outstanding job merging the two. Never once was I confused with the story and loved the buildup to the final reveal. With more twists than I have had hot dinners this one was a complete surprise to me.
Get out and buy this book immediately it is a five star read and one I will be raving about for the rest of this year!
Thank you to Hachette and NetGalley for this early listening audiobook, the narrators were fabulous, so much so that I could not get it out of my ears. A big thumbs up from me!

J P Pomare's best novel yet!

As a fellow Kiwi and lover of Crime Thrillers, I have gobbled up this author's novels, but 17 Years Later is a cut above the rest.

17 years ago in rural Cambridge, New Zealand, the entire Primrose family was found brutally stabbed. A man was seen running from the scene after screams were heard through the night. That man was Bill Kareama, the family's private chef. After a swift trial, and much evidence against Bill in forensics and his behaviour after the murders that night, he was convicted of the atrocious crimes. The fact that he was a young Maori didn't help him either.

Now, in the afterglow of awards and with millions of listeners across the world, Sloane Abbott is keen to investigate the possibility of another award winning podcast. Flying to NZ with Bill Kareama's case in mind, she begins to dig into the original police investigation.

Many characters are under the spotlight, but this is never unwieldy within the story, as Pomare's writing and perfect pacing introduces them. We get to know the family members through Bill's point of view all those years before.

We are introduced to TK, Bill's psychologist, who lost his job, wife and daughter to his determination to free Bill. He lost it all for nothing as he ended up walking away from the case after he lost faith in Bill's innocence.

Clues and red herrings are scattered along the way, making me sway towards one possible killer to another. The relationships are many and varied, both good and bad, but all believable. This made it even harder to try and pinpoint the murderer.

The more I read, the more I kept saying... "Wait, what!?" and then a few more chapters and... "What!!?" and... "No way!"

Brilliant writing. Believable characters. An ever increasing tension that builds to a crescendo where the investigators themselves are pursued mercilessly.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hachette Publishers for the ARC of this stunning novel.

Another fantastic, page turner from J.P Pomare. 17 Years Later will keep you guessing, and reading, well past your bedtime! I loved the different POV's and timelines, these characters all are fantastic. You won't want to put this down. Such a great read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook of 17 Years Later, with its well paced mystery full of twists.

I really appreciated the care Pomare took in the intricacies of the plot. The first half of the story gently built the world of the Primrose family, laying threads and clues. The second half was face paced, a race against time to uncover the murderer. I loved the characterisations, the New Zealand setting and cultural commentary, and the satisfying conclusion.

The multiple narrators breathed life into the characters, and it was so refreshing to hear the Aussie and NZ accents throughout (honestly I was quite impressed by the range including British and French). The easy flow of the writing and expressive narration had me captivated, and I’d strongly recommend picking this one up in audiobook form.

Thank you Hachette Australia Audio and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Bill has been in prison for the murder of the Primrose family. But 17 years later, his psychologist asks for an appeal in the hope that Sloane, a crime podcaster and himself can dig up some new evidence pointing to the real killer.

It always feels like such a treat to read a JP Pomare book. This one was a bit slow to reel me in but once I got a grip on all the characters and the scene, I was riveted. The second half of the book had me solidly reading through without a break - I really couldn't put it down! The author has cleverly penned this novel in such a way that you feel like you need to go back after to see what you missed. I would recommend reading this book as much as possible in one go in order to keep track of what is happening as it is the little details that are important! The audiobook was narrated well too - I loved hearing the Kiwi accent!

3.75 stars
This was a pretty fun and easily readable thriller/mystery. There is almost some interesting discussions about ethics vs morals when it comes to the law and racism.

Some of the twist were fun but the finale culprit was kind of disappointing

4.5⭐️ I’ve read several of Pomare’s books in the past so I was excited to be chosen to read this ARC. 17 Years Later was enthralling from the very beginning. I never expected the ending to be the way it was. I loved the NZ aspect and could imagine the setting perfectly. The podcast storyline was fresh and interesting and all of the characters wholly believable. The ending moved maybe too quickly which is my only small issue, I was listening to the audiobook and feel I may have missed some minor details.