A beautifully written book that draws us into a small, sad town. Mina is a fiercely strong character and from the beginning you know this woman has been traumatised when her sister disappeared when they were children. It's really well crafted in that we cannot imagine what, the private investigator, Lane, who suddenly appears in town. wants from Mina, . As we watch their relationship develop, there it's unclear where the story is bringing us and after some twists and turns, Lane's intentions become clear. The surroundings lend themselves to Mina's isolation, both literal and metaphorical. Her exhaustion from living in the shadow of her sister's disappearance and her parent's subsequent reactions is palpable. It's a great read with a theme that is interesting and different.

Well, I liked this one very much! The writing is smooth and fast-paced with not a word out of place. The author captures the atmosphere of the isolated farms and towns of the Australian Outback very well.
Mina’s twin sister, Evie, has been missing for nineteen years after vanishing from their shared bedroom when they were nine. Over the years, countless private detectives have offered false hope and social media trolls have speculated that Mina and her mother murdered the child. Under the pressure of this unrelenting interest, Mina has withdrawn to the family farm which she runs alone with only her dog and her shotgun for company. One day another private detective, Lane Holland, turns up unannounced.
Lane has been successfully finding lost girls for many years and is convinced that he can find Evie and claim the two million dollar reward. But it’s not just money that drives Lane. His motives for wanting the case are intriguing, shocking and desperately sad.
Mina and Lane are two excellent viewpoint characters. Tough, intelligent and vulnerable. Their voices are crystal clear on the page.
The novel is well plotted. Even things that I thought were there to create a more vivid scene have a role to play.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

Another book about a child going missing a long time ago, haven't we all read this before? Not written like this we haven't.

Mina's sister Evie went missing 19 years ago, disappeared without a trace despite a huge media interest. Lane Holland, private investigator with a lot to hide, attempts to take on the case and look into Evie's disappearance. Whilst he is a decent likeable character, we learn quickly there is more to him than he is giving away. He is a truly excellent character.

Whilst telling any more of the story would be giving away the farm (pardon the pun) this story is excellently told. Whilst definitely a crime/mystery novel, it is character driven as well as plot driven and you will definitely be suspecting everyone along the way.

Never having been to Australia, I thought the descriptions of the country really made me feel like I had been and the descriptions of the loneliness of the outback were excellent.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lane Holland is sure he can help Mina. He’s a private investigator, and Minas’ sister disappeared one night 19 years ago. The problem is that Mina is almost a recluse, living well into the outback, and very suspicious of strangers. That’s not going to put him off, it’s just going to make him more determined.

The topic of missing/snatched children is very well handled in this book, the writer showing compassion with the handling of the characters emotions. Set in Australia, it is also very atmospheric, getting over the impression of the distances between towns, homesteads etc, even if you’ve never been there, you get the idea. It’s a complex story, with threads and coincidences making it a read you need to pay attention to. I found the start a bit slow, and did work out some of what happened but it’s still an intriguing read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lane Holland is a private investigator who takes on the search for clues as to what happened to two missing girls. He is welcomed on the case by the sister of one but the sister of the missing Evelyn ,Mina, keeps him at a difference. His apparently quick solution of the first case persuades Mina to give him slightly more access. If Lane solves this case, he will be rewarded with a very large sum of money which is motivation enough but the reader learns gradually that there is a great deal more to his interest in the case than just the reward. Based in a fictional Australian village, the context of the story is well written. The relatives of the missing girls have all suffered from what happened and Lane himself has a troubled background which is gradually used to develop the story. There is an exciting and satisfying ending. Why the book is called Wake is still a bit of a mystery! I recommend this as an exciting, satisfying read.

Definitely a highlight of my recent reads.
These books where its a question of what happened rather than who did it, just grab me in a different way.
There's enough twists here to make everyone happy.
I really liked both main characters, both damaged by their past.
I got real Will Trent vibes from Lane.
This is a good thing.
I love Will Trent (written by Karin Slaughter).
As always with something, you hope there might be more.

This book is a must read. It was easy to get in to and kept me interested throughout. It is well written and thought out. It is one of those situation where you would hope this never happened to your family and you feel for the parents and the sister having to live with this. It has moments of terror that kept you reading as you wanted to find out what happened. Highly recommended.

This is a very well-written and atmospheric crime novel set in Australia. The characters are memorable and interesting, from the protagonists Lane and Mina to the minor characters who remember the time when 9 year old Evelyn was taken from her home. The story is gradually unravelled with many twists and turns and it held my interest throughout.

I devoured Wake - the characters, the setting, the mystery, every element of this novel was superb.

Wake drips with atmosphere and strangely interconnected relationships, the remote locations adding to the underlying tension that the author imbues into the narrative. Not easily predictable, beautifully written with multiple emotional layers it is almost impossible to put down.

Fantastic. Another to add to my possible top books of 2022.

If you enjoyed Jane Harper’s The Dry and The Lost Man, or the recent TV series The Tourist, you will love this insight into small-town, rural Australia.

Lane Holland is a Private Investigator. He needs cash to support himself and his sister, who he took guardianship of when she was 12. So, of course, a big case with a huge cash reward will entice him. Someone knows what happened to 9 year old golden child Evelyn McCreery - but who? And can Lane solve the case?

There are so many twists in this book as more and more information is released. We get chapters from the perspective of both Lane and Mina - Evelyn’s twin sister, left sleeping in the bedroom on the night she went missing. But did Mina distract the cadaver dog in those early days on purpose? How could she not know what happened to her sister? And why, oh why, does Lane only investigate missing little girls?

The novel is gripping and intense without being ghoulish. I really came to like the characters and be rooting for them. Highly recommended.

A private investigator, and the sister of a missing girl. Both have secrets, and both are searching for the truth. This is a really well-written book with wonderful descriptions of the Australian scrubland. I liked the fact that the reader is drip-fed small pieces of information throughout the story, adding more mystery and intrigue. Several times I was convinced I knew who the perpetrator was, and several times I was wrong. One teeny niggle (it’s just me, I’m sure) is that the first time we met Lane he ’shuffled’ into the shop. From that point on I had a vision of an old man, and had to continually remind myself that he was only in his thirties. No spoilers here but I was disappointed in the ending and I can’t tell you why because it would spoil a good read. Oh, and I want to know what happened to Alanna’s father? I found some parts of the story seemed to drag a bit, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would like to see more from this author.

This is a really interesting and gripping book. Mina is struggling with the fact that her twin sister disappeared as a young girl and the family unit never recovered from the tragedy. She lives an isolated existence on the family ranch until one day she's approached by Luke who is a private investigator. He feels he can bring something new to the investigation if only she will co-operate with him. The primary motivation seems to be the huge reward for bringing closure to the case but is that all Luke is interested in or is he hiding something. This book is for you if you enjoy investigative mysteries and I highly recommend it.

I tried my hardest to get into this book but after giving it a few chances to pull me in and engage my brain, I had to give up and DNF!! I felt as though I’d been reading it for an age, but really, it was at 14% that I decided that I couldn’t go on. I found the story too slow for what I’m used to, which is a shame because I’m not usually one to give up on a book, but this wasn’t for me :(