Book Review: Catch Us the Foxes by Nicola West

Catch Us the Foxes

by

Nicola West 

 

 Some secrets you try to hide. Others you don’t dare let out …

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 

Publication date: 7th July 2021

 

Genre: Crime / Mystery

 

Pages: 384

 

RRP: $ 32.99AUD

 

Format read: Uncorrected Proof Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher 

 

 About the book

 Ambitious young journalist Marlowe ‘Lo’ Robertson would do anything to escape the suffocating confines of her small home town. While begrudgingly covering the annual show for the local paper, Lo is horrified to discover the mutilated corpse of Lily Williams, the reigning showgirl and Lo’s best friend. 

 

Seven strange symbols have been ruthlessly carved into Lily’s back. But when Lo reports her grisly find to the town’s police chief, he makes her promise not to tell anyone about the symbols. Lo obliges, though it’s not like she has much of a choice – after all, he is also her father.

When Lily’s murder makes headlines around the country and the town is invaded by the media, Lo seizes the opportunity to track down the killer and make a name for herself by breaking the biggest story of her life.

What Lo uncovers is that her sleepy home town has been harbouring a deadly secret, one so shocking that it will captivate the entire nation. Lo’s story will change the course of her life forever, but in a way she could never have dreamed of.

 

My review

 

It's very hard to say anything about the plot of Catch Us the Foxes without giving spoilers. There are twists, upon twists, upon twists.

 

The book starts with Marlowe attending an on stage interview at The Sydney Opera House. She is famous for solving the murder of her best friend, and Kiama showgirl, Lily seven years ago.

The story then moves to Marlowe's book that she has written about the case. A book within a book!

 

There  is plenty of action in this story that mentions cults, mental illness and small town secrets. The moments of suspense had me holding my breath as they ramped up during Marlowe's investigation. Even though the twists when they were revealed didn't give me that 'oh my gosh' moment, I was totally immersed in Marlowe's story and read the book in two days. West's short sharp chapters make it easy to say 'just on more chapter' over and over.

 

Catch Us the Foxes is a cleverly plotted murder mystery and fantastic debut from up and coming crime novelist Nicola West. I am genuinely looking forward to her next offering 

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Nicola West grew up in Kiama, flipping through crime scene photos left out by her policeman father.  After moving to Sydney to pursue a career in journalism, she vowed to be as far removed from both her hometown and her father’s profession as possible—that is until she found herself writing a novel about both topics. In addition to being one of eight young writers chosen to take part in Express Media’s 2018 Toolkits: Fiction program, Nicola was also selected for the Australian Society of Authors’ 2019 Award Mentorship Program. She was a mentee of bestselling author Monica McInerney. Catch Us the Foxes is Nicola's first novel. She lives in Sydney.

 

 

Challenges Entered: Australian Women Writers Challenge AWW2021

 

                                   Aussie Author Challenge #Aussieauthor21

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