Every parent's worst nightmare becomes reality in this novel, when three-year-old Oliver disappears from a remote beach car park. His young father, Scott, leaves him sleeping in the car while he carries the fishing gear down to the shore. He returns to find the car empty and his son gone without a trace.
How many of us have left a sleeping child in the car, convinced we'd only be gone for a moment and not wanting to wake them? It's such a familiar decision that makes Oliver's disappearance all the more chilling, drawing readers into a story that feels frighteningly plausible from the very first page.
The story then follows the grief-stricken parents, who are estranged and both far too young to have the life experience need to cope with the guilt and the reality of the situation.
And a second thread weaves its way through the storyline, with Tessa, who has lost three of her own babies, finding a young boy and convincing herself that she has been given a second chance to be a mother.
It’s a compelling and well written novel by a talented kiwi author. While it tackles themes of grief, guilt and loss, the story unfolds with sensitivity and authenticity. I particularly liked the distinctly New Zealand setting. From the rugged coastline to the native bush, it was all too easy to visualise what the characters were experiencing.
This is a debut fiction novel by Anne Cleary and I can see why it was the winner of the Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize 2025. It's a fast-paced, highly readable novel that never loses its emotional depth. Along the way, it asks difficult questions about parenting, guilt, judgement and how the smallest decisions can have life-changing consequences.
