Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got this ages ago on NG, and hadn't had a chance to get to it until now. Given that its been along time, this is not the sort of book I am currently interested in reading. It sounds good, and the writing style seems good, for the part that I did start to read. Just not for me right now.

Running Against the Tides is a story of suspense in which Amana Ortlepp explores themes such as displacement, addiction, bias, obsession, and betrayal.

Needing to make a fresh start after the breakdown of her marriage, Erin Travers is drawn to Mallee Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. She has fond childhood memories of the small coastal town, and hopes it will be a place that she and her two teenage sons, Mike and Ryan, can make a home.

It’s not the most auspicious of starts, their rental home is poky and unloved, but while Erin and nineteen year old Mike are determined to make the best of the situation, and soon begin to find their feet, fifteen year old Ryan refuses to make any effort, becoming increasingly antisocial.

Told from the perspectives of Erin, Ryan and Jono, the family’s new neighbour, Ortlepp builds the tension as things at home, and in the town begin to go awry. Erin is annoyed when a cheque goes missing, disturbed when her home is vandalised, and increasingly frightened as she receives a series of anonymous threatening notes. Meanwhile, a spate of thefts from the local oyster farms, including that which belongs to neighbour, and Mike’s new employer, has the locals frustrated and on edge.

Though I found the pace a little slow, I did appreciate the way in which Ortlepp crafted the story to build suspicion around several characters, and eventually both situations come to head with a dramatic, and somewhat surprising, conclusion.

Thank you for the opportunity, and making this book available to me, but this title did not fit my reading needs at this time.