It Takes a Town (Aoife Clifford, Ultimo)

Aoife Clifford’s latest crime novel, It Takes a Town, is set in the fictional town of Welcome. This small town produced a superstar talent, Vanessa ‘Baby Vee’ Walton, who tap-danced her way into the nation’s hearts and acted her way to Broadway and beyond. In the aftermath of a horrendous weather event, the town must grapple with the shocking death of this local celebrity and the near-simultaneous disappearance of a prominent schoolgirl. Newly transferred police sergeant Carole Duffy has to take this all in her stride as she navigates living out of a suitcase while dodging curtain-twitching busy-bodies, loose adherence to police procedures, and local conspiracy theories to figure out what is really happening in the town of Welcome. A page-turning, easy read with a story driven by lively characters, It Takes a Town offers readers glimpses of a community that has more bubbling below the surface than can be contained within this novel. At a couple of points during the narrative, there are hints of other unsolved crimes, which felt like unfinished threads rather than potential tasters for any sequels that may be in the works. It did leave this reader slightly wanting and disappointed that these were swept under the rug. Perfect for lovers of Australian crime, It Takes a Town will satisfy readers of Candice Fox, Sarah Bailey and J M Green.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Frawley is a former bookseller and a librarian in training. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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