This was an easy to read thriller that kept my attention all the way through! Lots of twists and surprises I didn't see coming. Very good, would recommend! You should pick this one up :)

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Definitely creepy and a bit unexpected, this author’s second novel really builds on the promise of “Call Me Evie”. One of the better cult thrillers I’ve read in a long time. Different yet satisfying. Easy four

This book follows the intertwining stories of Amy and Freya and revolves around kidnapping, cults and childhood trauma.

This was a good read and I enjoyed the topic but felt it was a little bit slow paced and the ending was a bit disappointing. I’m sure there will be readers who love this but I think I’ve read so many thrillers recently that I end up foreseeing the big twists and turns! Having said that Call Me Evie is still very much on my wish list to read soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A really great story with a couple of massive twists, neither of which I saw coming. Kept you hooked in from start to finish!

I had mixed feelings about this book, it was slow to start but did pick up about halfway through. I didnt really connect to the characters though and found it a little unbelievable in parts

This is a fantastic novel. It's a chilling, eerie tale told from the perspective of two women with completely different lifestyles.

I don't know how to say much more about this book without spoiling it, but I will say that it left me shocked.

If you are into psychological thrillers, I definitely recommend this one.

Amy may not know that the Clearing is a cult, but it is. She just knows it’s up to her to make her elders happy and calm, it’s all she’s ever known. But when a new girl joins the group things are suddenly out of sync. The girl doesn’t fit in and she wants out. She’s causing trouble. A seriously creepy story about cults and brainwashing and just how easy it is to take control of people (witness recent elections in the US and UK)

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#InTheClearing #NetGalley

One word: wow. There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to adequately do justice to JP Pomare's stunning thriller, 'In The Clearing'. I read this in one-sitting, loath to put it down when the white noise of everyday life tried to intrude. This is not hyperbole, by any means, as you will find out when you get around to reading this highly addictive novel, meticulously plotted by the maestro that is JP Pomare. I have read other novels by Pomare, before, but this is head and shoulders above the rest. Indeed, above the rest of many thrillers currently on the market, even at the very pinnacle of the best seller charts. Pomare has done something different here; enmeshing a highly-perceptive analysis of the psychological conditioning of cults, wrapped in a thriller-like format. There a number of strands to the book where we follow the fates of several characters - but mainly - Amy, a teenage member of the family, and Freya, a single-mother, living 'off-the-grid'. For Freya, the past is about to collide with the present to devastating effect, when a seven-year-old girl is snatched from the Australian countryside. Lives are about to spiral out of control, with danger at every turn for many, in this twisty, tautly-plotted, edgy thriller. To say more, however, would be to spoil an enthralling, utterly addictive psychological thriller from the inimitable talent that is JP Pomare. Just watch out for the denouement! It is absolutely breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat stuff.

Jonestown-meets-Twin Peaks-meets-Australian-noir - absorbing, captivating, and without parallel in contemporary fiction today.

This is a demanding book to read and hard to review because of its subject matter. It is set in the Clearing,an estate controlled by a cult near to Melbourne which abducts children and subjects them to physical,sexual and emotional abuse. The aim of its devious founder is to acquire twelve children. The story starts with the kidnapping of a small girl happily making her way home from school. The book moves between descriptions of the experiences of those who are forced to live in the Clearing and following the life of the much disturbed Freida who has a son,Billy,who disappears. As the story unfolds every main character is shown to be duplicitous and psychologically damaged. As a plot,the book holds the readers attention by the gradual revelations of who each character really is. It is noted in the afterword that the idea comes from a cult that actually existed from the 1960's. My difficulty in recommending this book is the choice of a story based on child abduction and abuse.

The Review
This is a difficult story to synopsise, for fear of leaving spoilers all over the place. Essentially, we follow the life of Freya, a middle-aged single Mum who, for some reason, is living in a constant state of high alert. She lives in the woods, has no friends, has begrudging contact with her Mum, installs panic alarms in her home and has a trained attack dog.
Then there is Amy, a young girl living in what can only be described as a cult.
Freya becomes increasingly concerned when a local girl goes missing; whilst Amy adjusts to the appearance of a new sister in her community. What follows is a story told from both the present and the past, with the two stories intertwining throughout and coming together for a monumental climax.

However, for me it just doesn’t entirely work. It was great, and really well written, but I felt like the author was trying to be too clever. All of which meant that in parts it felt a bit confusing when it didn’t need to be. There’s only so much smoke and daggers you need going on before you just have an urge to cough.
I also had a couple of questions that I felt weren’t fully answered by what, to all intents and purposes, seemed like a bit of a rushed ending.
The Stars
A solid four stars. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, a clever and well thought out story, but ever so slightly lacking. I’d definitely read more from this author though.

After scooping international acclaim and accolades for Call Me Evie, a nerve-jangling and claustrophobic psychological thriller infused with literary flair, JP Pomare avoids any sophomore stumbles with In the Clearing, an excellent novel that cements the Melbourne-based Māori storyteller as a fresh and interesting voice in mystery writing. It addresses some similar themes to his debut – identity, psychological manipulation, and responses to trauma – while being more expansive in scope.

A seven-year-old girl is snatched in the Australian countryside as she walks home from the bus stop. Under strict orders from her ‘family’, teenager Amy holds a dosed rag to the younger girl’s face. Her new sister; successfully collected. Freya is a single mother both running from her past and looking to atone for parts of it living on an isolated property with her six-year-old son. She hears news of a child abduction, then stumbles across trespassers frolicking on her property. Later, there’s a van parked by her road. Sinister omens, or her mind playing tricks?

Pomare does a terrific job keeping readers guessing throughout In the Clearing, via both a twisting storyline and the narratives of his main characters Freya and Amy. Both protagonists seem incredibly candid at times – but can we really trust everything they say? Through Amy’s narrative and diaries we learn about ‘The Clearing’, a rural cult with a messianic mother figure that utilizes violent punishments to ensure obedience and ‘realign’ the children in its community back onto the path of ‘the Truth’.

The harrowing abuse involving Amy and her ‘siblings’ is even more chilling given Pomare took inspiration from notorious real-life Australian cult The Family. In the Clearing is a disturbing yet compulsive read, with a snap to its prose and an arresting sense of people and place.

I really enjoyed the story and the authors way of writing . Entertaining and twisted , everything I love In a book !!I would like to read more by this author !!

Oo I was very surprised with this book! I definitely give it two thumbs up. A great thriller and will keep you guessing!

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me and I gave up on it at about 30%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The only life Amy knew is the life in the clearing where she is brought up away from any othersapart from the other children and the minders, she thinks her Mum is God recarnated and Adam is close in stature but he isn't nice.. So basically Amy has little in knowledge of the real world, In the other story line Freya has a lot going on in her life a wonderful son Billy 7 y/o, there are her Yoga classes that she teaches and just life in general only she seems unsure of what's happening and has a feeling something bad is about to happen to Billy if not her but is convinced it is Billy that she needs protect as she has all his life.
On the surface Freya's life seems idealic a secure home with only one neighbor Derick a older gentleman, she is close to a river she can strip of and swim in with very little chance of being seen. But as you can guess things are never as simple for anyone specially in a thriller otherwise it wouldn't be a thriller more a borer. This is 100% not a borer but a twisting and turning thriller that had me hooked from the start and the end twists are brilliant in a this is a great thriller way.
This is in my opinion a great book one that as I said grabed me from the start and it never let go. There are some great villain's but it's hard to tell who is and who isn't. in the way of any great thriller trust no one, all the characters are on the surface as you'd expect in life so it's very believable which makes you think and relax with them but the question as always should you will be in the back of your mind. Some are just that normal healthy characters that you can trust. So now I have confused you completely you will need to get this book the make sense and you won't regret it I promise.
I have given this book 5 stars which I feel it definitely deserves.

Great read!
This has kept me guessing and I haven’t wanted to put this one down.
This hasn’t been predictable which often books can be. I have really enjoyed this one.

This is quite a novel! If you like novels about cults and the inner workings of them, the reasons people start and join them and....shudder..this is inspired by the real life cult The Family who lived in rural Australia many years ago and had several children who they would keep isolated from the world.

It's quite a roller coaster read and there are some OMG moments that's for sure. There's really very little you can say about this novel without giving a hint of something away. There's quite the journey here - who do you believe?

Insightful.

Wow wow wow I picked In The Clearing up to read a few pages and wound up reading late into the night.A book about a cult with so many twists and turns it will shock.Grab-this book.#netgalley#inthe clearing

Thankyou to NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author, J P Pomare, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of In The Clearing in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought the author has written a very intriguing read. I started reading the moment the download had finished. I was hooked.
Very chilling and realistic. 3.5 stars
Worth a read.

A great page turner that kept me on the edge till the end.
It's a gripping, poignant and engrossing story that made me turn pages as fast as I could.
The author is an excellent storyteller and I loved how she managed the two POVs and the great plot, full of twists and turns.
The characters are well thought, the mystery is solid and the plot full of twists and turns.
An excellent story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.