Catherine Wheel (Liz Evans, Ultimo)

Kate is starting over in the small town of Bridgewell after a bad break-up with Max. She works as a yoga instructor and volunteers at the local library, living in a quaint cottage near St Catherine’s Chapel. But her motives for relocating are far from pure: she has moved into the neighbourhood of the woman she was dumped for. Vee has also been left damaged by her relationship with the selfish and manipulative Max. While Kate has rebuilt herself as cold and unfeeling, Vee is raising her four-year-old daughter Iona alone, yet is unable to sever ties with her ex completely. Under the shadow of a church, which has a sinister past, Kate inveigles her way into the unsuspecting Vee’s life as her unhealthy obsession with trying to understand her ‘replacement’ reaches a fever pitch. Liz Evans delivers a nuanced take on the domestic thriller in Catherine Wheel as her characters grapple with the legacy of coercive and gaslighting relationships across alternating chapters. Kate’s sections are narrated in an eerie second-person voice, directing her diatribe at the absent Max as she replicates his controlling, sneaky behaviours. Vee’s more traditional third-person narration serves as a pressure valve and gives insight into her gradual reclamation of self. Stifling psychological suspense develops into a broader conversation about toxic masculinity, societal expectations of women and the importance of true friendship. Recommend this to readers of intelligent feminist noir, such as Jacqueline Bublitz and Catherine Chidgey.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Annie Waters sells books, writes about books and podcasts about books. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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