In The Clearing

Wow, wow, and wow! This was another hit for Pomare, absolutely unputdownable! If you love twisty reads that make your mind twist and turn and turn to mush by the end and for some time after, then I highly, highly recommend grabbing a copy of IN THE CLEARING! Original, thrilling, chilling, realistic, shocking, unputdownable, and amazing, are all accurate descriptors of this book! Clear your schedule for its release, as I promise you’ll be busy!! Very well written and possibly even better than CALL ME EVIE! Don’t delay PREORDER TODAY!
Will make sure I buzz it up on all the different platforms!

I would like to thank J.P. Pomare, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a copy of this book and a chance to review In the Clearing You'll be left gobsmacked by this book's unbelievable twist.

Do not expect to get any sleep. I couldn’t put this down and now I’m sleep deprived.
I enjoyed Call me Evie with its tension and twists, an excellent psychological thriller so very excited to read this book.
J.P. Pomare is a genius in this genre, what an incredible imagination. The unfolding story surprised me totally. I’m not writing a synopsis, spoilers will ruin the plot. I’m following this writer; I will read his future books. Highly recommend.

spoiler alert ** 4.5 stars

I won't be the only one to stay up way past bedtime to finish this book.
It draws you in with a slow reveal... so slow that I kept on reading to see what on earth was going on,and how the two stories were connected.
One of an overprotective mother,who hints at having lost a previous child,and one of a child abducted by a cult.
I do like a good cult story.
Then it twists and turns,and has such devious plot lines,that I raced through to the end,just to see how it COULD end.

I put the book down feeling very satisfied.
Excellent stuff.

Oo I was very surprised with this book! I definitely give it two thumbs up. A great thriller and will keep you guessing!

The only life Amy knew is the life in the clearing where she is brought up away from any othersapart from the other children and the minders, she thinks her Mum is God recarnated and Adam is close in stature but he isn't nice.. So basically Amy has little in knowledge of the real world, In the other story line Freya has a lot going on in her life a wonderful son Billy 7 y/o, there are her Yoga classes that she teaches and just life in general only she seems unsure of what's happening and has a feeling something bad is about to happen to Billy if not her but is convinced it is Billy that she needs protect as she has all his life.
On the surface Freya's life seems idealic a secure home with only one neighbor Derick a older gentleman, she is close to a river she can strip of and swim in with very little chance of being seen. But as you can guess things are never as simple for anyone specially in a thriller otherwise it wouldn't be a thriller more a borer. This is 100% not a borer but a twisting and turning thriller that had me hooked from the start and the end twists are brilliant in a this is a great thriller way.
This is in my opinion a great book one that as I said grabed me from the start and it never let go. There are some great villain's but it's hard to tell who is and who isn't. in the way of any great thriller trust no one, all the characters are on the surface as you'd expect in life so it's very believable which makes you think and relax with them but the question as always should you will be in the back of your mind. Some are just that normal healthy characters that you can trust. So now I have confused you completely you will need to get this book the make sense and you won't regret it I promise.
I have given this book 5 stars which I feel it definitely deserves.

Wow wow wow I picked In The Clearing up to read a few pages and wound up reading late into the night.A book about a cult with so many twists and turns it will shock.Grab-this book.#netgalley#inthe clearing

A great page turner that kept me on the edge till the end.
It's a gripping, poignant and engrossing story that made me turn pages as fast as I could.
The author is an excellent storyteller and I loved how she managed the two POVs and the great plot, full of twists and turns.
The characters are well thought, the mystery is solid and the plot full of twists and turns.
An excellent story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This will be a bestseller for sure! A brilliant read, from two different points of view. Set in rural Australia, everything changes when someone new comes into a cult. Really well written, I don’t want to go into the story at all. The blurb attracted me... and will attract a lot of readers who I’m sure will enjoy as much as me.

After scooping international acclaim and accolades for Call Me Evie, a nerve-jangling and claustrophobic psychological thriller infused with literary flair, JP Pomare avoids any sophomore stumbles with In the Clearing, an excellent novel that cements the Melbourne-based Māori storyteller as a fresh and interesting voice in mystery writing. It addresses some similar themes to his debut – identity, psychological manipulation, and responses to trauma – while being more expansive in scope.

A seven-year-old girl is snatched in the Australian countryside as she walks home from the bus stop. Under strict orders from her ‘family’, teenager Amy holds a dosed rag to the younger girl’s face. Her new sister; successfully collected. Freya is a single mother both running from her past and looking to atone for parts of it living on an isolated property with her six-year-old son. She hears news of a child abduction, then stumbles across trespassers frolicking on her property. Later, there’s a van parked by her road. Sinister omens, or her mind playing tricks?

Pomare does a terrific job keeping readers guessing throughout In the Clearing, via both a twisting storyline and the narratives of his main characters Freya and Amy. Both protagonists seem incredibly candid at times – but can we really trust everything they say? Through Amy’s narrative and diaries we learn about ‘The Clearing’, a rural cult with a messianic mother figure that utilizes violent punishments to ensure obedience and ‘realign’ the children in its community back onto the path of ‘the Truth’.

The harrowing abuse involving Amy and her ‘siblings’ is even more chilling given Pomare took inspiration from notorious real-life Australian cult The Family. In the Clearing is a disturbing yet compulsive read, with a snap to its prose and an arresting sense of people and place.

This is a fantastic novel. It's a chilling, eerie tale told from the perspective of two women with completely different lifestyles.

I don't know how to say much more about this book without spoiling it, but I will say that it left me shocked.

If you are into psychological thrillers, I definitely recommend this one.

A really great story with a couple of massive twists, neither of which I saw coming. Kept you hooked in from start to finish!

Wow.

When I first began reading this story, it was not what I expected and to be honest, I was not that keen. I quickly changed my opinion of this book and devoured it in two sittings. I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough!

There were so many surprising twists and turns and I finished the book wanting more. I loved it. I often found myself shifting to be literally sitting on the edge of my seat, willing myself to read faster.

I can usually work out where some stories are going, but I really did not expect some of the plot twists in this one.

I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone who loves a fast-paced thriller!

I started reading the book thinking it was a 'classic' thriller about a cult involving children. How wrong was i?! the author lead you slowly and expertly down a path and then smack you down with a well timed and well handled redirection. You turn the last page and understand the devious, far reaching hold cult can have even if you leave them. I was still thinking about the story days after I'd finished the book. It is so well done without unnecessary violence or even sentences. Everything is suggested. A amazing book.

In The Clearing follows the lives of Amy and Freya whose lives are interconnected although they don't really know each other. When a local girl disappears, Freya realises her past may be trying to catch up with her.

First things first, this book is a solid 5 star!

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from it when I first approached it. What is going on in Amy's life as a member of a sect? Why is Freya so... paranoid?

You'll have to read this book to find out!

Disclaimer: I'd like to thank the publisher for my advanced reader's copy. This is my honest review.

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In the Clearing is an intense and unnerving read from J.P. Pomare, whose debut novel, Call Me Evie, won the 2019 Ngaio Marsh Award for best first novel.

Divided into six parts and unfolding from two shifting perspectives we are introduced to Amy, a young teenage girl who knows only life in The Clearing, a tiny isolated community led by the charismatic ‘Queen’, ‘Mother’ and ‘Deity’ Adrienne; and single mother Freya, who is determined to provide love and security for her young son, Billy, in their riverside home on the outskirts of Melbourne, but is haunted by her past mistakes.

Examining the role of nature vs nurture in a manner that suggests we may never truly escape our past, Pomare draws inspiration from the doomsday cult known as ‘The Family’, active in Australia for roughly twenty years in the 70’s and 80’s. In the Clearing he presents a complex and unpredictable plot that is skillfully crafted and insidiously compulsive. From the novel’s first pages the author grows a sense of unease which intensifies as the story progresses. Though the pace is measured, Pomare builds to shocking twists, and yet never quite allays our anxiety.

I’m loathe to spoil the experience for readers, but it seems responsible to warn that In the Clearing has its dark moments, alluding to the abhorrent abuse of children, and the occasional explicit, but not gratuitous, description of violence.

Provocative, clever, and powerful, In the Clearing is a stunning and devastating novel which will be difficult to forget.

Truly compelling and unputdownable, I hesitate to say this is the best book I've read this year, as I've read so many good books, but it is up there clustered at the top, with the best. It is just beautifully written and described. This is the story of Freya, narrated by her, of an upbringing in a cult, and her life afterwards. The twists and turns as her story weaves its way through a personal tragedy that connects her to that past, are surprising and believable. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the review copy, this book has been a real treat.

In The Clearing is a great read - well-written and interesting throughout. There were surprises right up to the epilogue. Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

A fascinating story of a cult, and its survivors and members. And I loved it! The strangeness, the exciting, terrifying climax, it was everything a thriller should be.
Believable, yet weird characters tell the story, and I could hardly put it down.

Sharp, sinister thriller with excellent twists inspired by The Family cult in Australia. So many times I thought I knew where it was headed and then JP Pomare pulled the rug out. Highly recommended to lovers of good suspense.

This is a fast paced thriller set around a cult and is based in Australia.
There was lots of twists and turns and it kept me gripped from the beginning.
Really eerie.
Great read

What a great story! It’s creepy and terrifying – there were times when I was actually scared to read on.

There are two main protagonists – teenager Amy who lives in The Clearing, and Freya, mother of Aspen and Billy. Amy has never known anything else outside the world of the cult in which she lives. Beatings, hunger, torture – these are all part of her everyday life. The cult is run by Adrienne – Protect the Queen – and Adam, who gets up to some really weird stuff. They are the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ to ten children, of which Amy is the eldest, until they take another child they call Asha. Adrienne needs 12 children for her ‘family’ to be complete. They must all be fair haired and blue-eyed – in fact there are hints that their hair is dyed white if it’s too dark.

Freya lives in the middle of nowhere, with her young son Billy and a big scary dog called Rocky, who is trained to attack strangers who threaten their safety. We know that something bad happened to Freya’s first son Aspen, which meant that she ‘lost’ him, but it takes a while till we find out exactly what. Freya’s ex is called Wayne (the boys’ father) and he seems to have a part in all this. But what is Freya really afraid of?

Freya and Amy’s lives are connected but we don’t know how or why until quite a way into the book. You will be shocked and surprised. I can’t really say much more without spoilers, but be assured this book will keep you up at night, sometimes in a good way and sometimes because you will be too scared to go to sleep. I loved this book. Totally different. They say you can never escape from a cult and you’ll never escape from the effect this book will have on you. In a good way that is!

Many thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had everything I would wish for in a brilliant read, a gripping story, the slow reveal of exquisite twists and a cult !! So I’m not going to try and describe the plot line for me it’s a book that should be just picked up without any misconceptions or expectations and I am sure that like me you will be blown away at just how good a read it is. The writing was compulsive and the twists were clever and at times shocking, I love anything to do with cults and this book takes you right into the heart of what I can imagine that life was like and that’s all down to the excellent writing.
Told from two alternate points of view Amy and Freya I was drawn in from the start and I loved every minute of each and every page, it was for me a completely satisfying and brilliant read and one that I can highly recommend.
Many thanks to J P Pomare as you can see I loved the book and can’t praise it enough.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is so very clever. It kept me on my toes throughout throwing curve ball after curve ball as it twisted and turned its way to the end. I lost track of the number of times my jaw actually dropped after yet another shocking blow. Secrets, Lies, Duplicitous Behaviour - all the way through...
Amy lives in what they call the Clearing. She knows what to do to please her elders - Adrienne and Adam - and so to spare their wrath. One day she is instrumental in bringing a new face to the family and she is then tasked with helping her adjust. But this task is not easy and failure is not an option so Amy does the only thing she can think of doing even though this course of action will have severe repercussions.
Freya has turned her life around. She has a young son and a dog and, even though she has a bit of a troubled past, she is really trying her best and it appears to be paying off. Until that is three things happen in quick succession. She hears that someone from her past is getting out of jail, she sees a familiar and not so welcome face in town, and she hears that a young girl has gone missing. These things affect her deeply and she starts to fear for both herself and her son.
Quite how these two threads intertwine you'll have to read for yourself. Suffice to say that when worlds collide you'd better buckle up as you're in for a wild old ride...
It's hard to say much more about this book without giving spoilers and any badly placed even small hint will really ruin your enjoyment. You need to discover everything else herein as the author intents for maximum impact. Go in as cold as you can. It's a book of two halves (ish) and once a certain point has been reached then, well, it's just a downhill race all the way to the end.
The plot is one of the most clever I have experienced in time. I had no idea where we were going initially but as the story went on and more of the truth was exposed I started to get a feel for things. Not enough to dodge the rest of the shocks that the author delivered constantly from then on in all the way to the end, and beyond! Tense is an understatement and, if I could have read from behind a cushion I would have welcomed that comfort at certain times along the way. Characters are, well, tricky but perfect. And that's all I can really say about them! Pacing is good and works with what is going on in the story all the way through and the ending, when it came, was absolutely perfect and wholly satisfied.
I am now so eager to go back and read the author's debut novel Call Me Evie and now have it queued up on my Kindle ready for a gap in my tbr. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

What a wild, unique, intense read. I had literally no idea what to expect, and the twists and turns were just insane. This has some pretty heavy content, and to be frank it scared the crap out of me because its so believable, loosely based on a real cult from Australia.

I thought the writing was excellent, it just left me guessing all the way through. The small clues, the gradual reveal of who everyone is and what motivates them, excellent. The tension really ratchets up in the second half of the book, and honestly I think some of those twists were pure genius, they had me gasping out loud. Let's not even talk about that ending because I'm still reeling.

The mix of Amy and Freya's story was perfectly done. I often find in dual perspective stories that I prefer reading one, and get bored when the other is leading. That is absolutely not the case here. Amy's story is so full of horror, that you need the break from slogging through those awful days with her. Freya's in contrast is mysteriously, both mundanely normal but with the creeping sensation of something terrible always lurking at the edges. You are left questioning absolutley everything.

If you enjoy a tense thriller, with lots of unique elements, this is absolutely one to try. I think I'll be thinking about this one for a long, long time!

“In The Clearing” by JP Pomare is a terrifying, tense, twisty psychological thriller that you will not be able to stop reading!!

Set in Australia, this story is narrated by 2 main characters Amy and Freya. Freya lives with her son Billy and her trained attack dog in an isolated location close to a river. She doesn’t really get visitors but is alarmed by a strange vehicle and senses someone watching her. I could not relax when reading this as the countdown clock (to some terrible tragedy) decreased with each of the Freya chapters. Amy is a child under the spell of a deluded cult leader; she tries to live up to expectations but that is not always possible; punishments are inevitable and severe.

Yikes, that was a very disturbing story (even more so when you realise just how close to real life it is) but it was extremely well done. I didn’t realise it was set in Australia until I started reading. I’m going to have to do my homework better! Set in the rural outskirts of Melbourne the story is narrated by teenaged Amy and mother of two, Freya. Neither of them were reliable narrators, in fact I don’t think anyone in the whole book was a reliable narrator so you have to question everything. I actually agree with the reviewers that it was better to go into this book pretty blind so I won’t belabour the plot. All you need to know is that it’s about a cult and there is some truth in the saying that you may leave a cult but it never leaves you!

The story was quite confusing and hard to follow at the start and I was wondering what I had gotten myself into but, never fear, stick with it and it all becomes clear, or at least less murky as the book progresses. There were some shocking twists, some you could almost see coming but others... not so much. While this book wasn’t what you would normally call a fast paced thriller there was a sense of growing unease throughout, a sense of menace, dread almost. And the pace did pick up in the second half.

This book was apparently based on the real life cult - The Family, which operated on the outskirts of Melbourne in the 1960s through to the 80s. After finishing the book, I looked up this cult and it is clear the author leaned heavily on the real aspects of this story. There is a photo of the children, it’s a bit ‘Village of the Damned’. The cult did a real number on the poor little guys. I really, really enjoyed this book but I almost feel guilty about that knowing how to close to reality it is. This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about cults, or otherwise enjoys psychological thrillers. Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and J.P. Pomare for providing a copy to review. My opinions are my own. 4.5 stars rounded up.