Without a Trace (Susannah Glenn, Pantera)

Susannah Glenn’s second novel, Without a Trace, follows Charlotte Clarke, a once confident pilot and the daughter of a scenic flight company owner. While Charlotte is grieving the loss of her father and grandmother in separate flying accidents, the seaplane her boyfriend, Connor, was piloting disappears without explanation. Convinced she is being watched, she retreats to her childhood coastal hometown, but her paranoia escalates when she sees someone she believes is Connor. Charlotte sets out to overcome her acquired phobia of flying with the help of those around her, but as secrets unravel, she learns just how dangerous the truth can be. The novel opens with a strong sense of tension, immediately gripping the reader and sustaining the momentum throughout. The climax delivers on the high stakes established early, making for a thoroughly enjoyable read that is hard to put down. Glenn (Between Husbands and Wives) writes with confidence, evident in both her strong characterisation and her vivid depiction of coastal NSW, where the setting plays an integral role in shaping the novel’s atmosphere. Told through multiple perspectives – primarily Charlotte; her best friend, Lyla; and talent agent Moira – the shifting viewpoints offer insight into the dysfunctions, power imbalances, co-dependencies and miscommunications at play. Glenn is clearly destined to become one of Australia’s formidable thriller writers. Fans of authors such as Hayley Scrivenor and Petronella McGovern will thoroughly enjoy Without a Trace.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Bohdi Byles is a queer, Indigenous freelance reviewer with a background in bookselling, library work, publishing, and writing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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