Panic (Catherine Jinks, Text)

Modern society is well versed in the evils of social media. From cyberbullying and trolling to revenge porn and deep fakes, there is no end to the new and horrifying ways we can attack each other online. Catherine Jinks (Shelter) uses social media as a key ingredient in her latest thriller, Panic, alongside others, including conspiracy theorists and rebirthing rituals. Bronte is a young woman in her 20s who is trying to escape cyberbullying and harassment after a drunken video she posted online goes viral. The video was intended to call out her cheating boyfriend, a famous TikTok personality. Instead, she inadvertently mobilised his fanbase of young men, who are now stalking her. Desperate to disconnect from the online world, she takes a position as a volunteer carer at a wellness retreat, set in a sprawling former 19th-century homestead, run by a woman named Veda. At first, Veda’s ‘no screens’ rule seems ideal—a reprieve from the online abuse—but Bronte soon realises that her new host has other, more outlandish rules. While Panic has the potential for a taut, propulsive mystery, the pacing sometimes feels uneven and the tension dissipates. Nonetheless, the story maintains a palpable sense of unease throughout, interspersed with moments of wry humour relating to the wellness retreat and Veda’s delightfully eccentric rituals, and offers an engaging read—with well-drawn characters—that will appeal to readers of Shelley Burr, Garry Disher and Jane Harper.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Coco McGrath is a freelance editor and former bookseller. 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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