I really enjoyed this slow burn thriller. It's my first book by this author, but will be checking out more of her work. The unreliable characters keeps the book interesting. Bronte makes some not so good choices that really shape her life going forward. She's definitely relatable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Catherine Jinks is an Australian writer who’s worked in almost every genre, and I love her work in every one of them. “Panic” is a domestic thriller that is very very hard to stop reading once you’ve started. Jinks grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.

Bronte was drunk and angry when she recorded a rant about her ex-boyfriend. She had enough sense to keep it relatively private when she posted it on-line, but someone leaked it more widely. Bronte’s ex has a measure of on-line fame, and so now Bronte is the subject of a full scale misogynist pile on: abuse on-line and IRL, harassment, and intense embarrassment.

So the opportunity to work on an isolated property outside Bathurst looks pretty good. It’s unpaid, but comes with room and board, and the task of keeping dementia sufferer Nell company doesn’t sound too hard. It doesn’t take long before Bronte starts to realise that her hosts may be more than mild new-age cranks. She’s increasingly uneasy, but doesn’t have anywhere to go.

This tense thriller takes a little while to build, and then maintains the tension for a remarkably long time. I know the area where this is set and Jinks evokes a strong and accurate sense of place.

She also evokes a sense that this is well within the realms of possibility. We’ve all seen the kind of harassment Bronte is suffering happen to others, and Jinks extends this credibility to what’s happening on the property. While it’s not “ripped from the headlines” stuff, it’s certainly believable in light of things that have happened in recent years. This is a very contemporary novel.

The characterisation is an absolutely critical part of making this novel work. Bronte is a strong and believable character. It doesn’t take much to believe in what’s happened to her, and Jinks quickly builds empathy and a sense of connection with her. Bronte’s reactions and decisions are believable and serve to draw the reader in emotionally. We’d likely do the same thing in her place.

Other characters, while less empathetic (deliberately) are also vivid and believable. I could picture each vividly, and Bronte’s reactions to them were credible.

I loved this novel. It has so much to appreciate. I enjoyed how very contemporary it is, evoking the way the world currently works and the way people respond. The strong characters still live with me, and the plot is strong. The writing style enhanced everything. This was not just a great reading experience, but a novel that stands up to later analysis. It’s great. Read it.

I WILL PUBLISH THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG AND OTHER SITES CLOSER TO PUBLICATION DATE - I will return and add links then.

A tense and scary thriller with taut suspense that lifts up a notch every page. The dialogue flows while the characters are deceptive.

Bronte needs to escape. She never knew a drunken rant on social media about her cheating boyfriend would be so damaging. Now it has taken over her entire life, as it seems like the entire world has seen it and she's even recognised in public.

The backlash has become not only toxic but scary, with all sorts of threats aimed at her. Deciding to leave it all behind and hide for a while far from home in the city, she takes up a HelpX position near the rural town of Bathurst. Outback Australia would've been even further and probably better, but Bathurst will do. Her main job will be looking after an elderly woman and keeping her company. Much easier than the other HelpX farm jobs on offer.

She's collected from the railway station by her host named Veda. It's Bronte's 2nd mistake - again not entirely her fault. Flashing blue and red lights on the drive to her home alert Bronte and Veda to the police behind them on the road. To Bronte's horror, Veda just speeds up ignoring the wailing police car.

When Veda does finally stop, a tirade of abuse comes from her at the officers - about rights and a plethora of other legal jargon Bronte has never heard of. Veda is taken away, leaving Bronte in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully the police know where Veda's home named Gwendolyne is, and they drop her off.

Bronte's feel of unease remains with her as she realises that Veda, her husband, and another woman working for them are devout believers of personal rights that mean that the government, police and other places of authority have no power over them. Luckily, her elderly charge is much easier to be with. But she does seem to have a fixation on the farm dam.

Bronte learns that years before, an ex of Veda's vanished from nearby. Discovering not one but two panic rooms inside the large house also makes Bronte wary. Somebody walking around her caravan at night also puts her on edge.

Things become even more tense as the welfare of her elderly charge is being questioned by local authorities and Veda and her anti-establishment group are lashing out at them.

Things soon come to a head and Bronte now knows that the social media hate that ruined her life isn't the worst thing that can happen to her. But maybe can social media help get her life back?

When Brontë makes some bad life choices, she decides it’s time to disappear for awhile, so she accepts a volunteer position as a carer for Nell, a dementia patient. Nell’s daughter, Veda, runs what she calls a rebirthing center. She has a few people who follow her beliefs such as their claim to sovereignty, but it seems like they are more conspiracy theorists than anything else. Brontë doesn’t like being there and finds the people odd, but where else can she go?

This is a suspenseful read and easy to read. I liked it but didn’t love it. Thank you, NetGalley and Text Publishing for the eARC.

firts thank you net galley for this arc. ok this story is about a women named bronte who make a post that goes viral and she need to lay low.so she take a volunteer job at a spirtual birthing retreat. looking after nell. but something is going on with nell. i thought the story itself was ok,but why was it formatted the way it was, no chapter heading or page numbers.

This book was very interesting. I like how we focused on themes of isolation and loneliness. I do think the main character was a bit whiny and complained quite a lot. I do like how this book was a thriller, and how it had a suspense feeling built into the writing.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!