A group of friends, made ten years earlier on a student adventure, meet up in Australia to re-forge old bonds and to remember two of their group who never made it home. Tommy ‘s death was tragic but pretty straightforward (or was it?) and Phoebe’s body has recently been found, leaving each member of the group to assess their own role in what happened a decade ago. The story is told by Claire in the present and mostly by Phoebe in the past and the two timelines are seamlessly interwoven by the author to allow the narrative to flow freely. As an Australian I have to say that some of the police interrogation methods didn’t ring entirely true but this is an engrossing story with well forged characters and the landscape of the Australian outback described in convincing detail - well worth a read.

This is a review for an ARC provided by NetGalley
2.5 stars rounded up

10 years ago, a group of university students spend a month(+?) in Australia where affairs, death and every other form of drama becomes the norm. 10 years later, the remains of one of the group are found, forcing the survivors back to confront their secrets.

The description of this book is so intriguing and in some ways the plot lives up to it, but the book is seriously missing a lot of depth. I didn’t develop a connection to any of the characters, with the main narrator feeling completely bland, her only personality trait being her haunting guilt. The rest of the group live up to specific stereotypes and don’t divert far from those. The chemistry in both platonic and romantic relationships was nonexistent, evidenced by the author having to constantly add reminders of how characters felt about one another.

I did enjoy the switched POVs between the two key characters and between present day and 10 years ago. Some reviews have said that this is confusing, but I never felt lost in this aspect of the book.

Despite the book feeling like it drags in areas, the author somehow struggled to provide any depth to the characters and each plot point felt quite random. The build up to finding the answers did feel slightly climactic, but the twists felt so unrealistic that it fell quite flat. I think the epilogue was wholly unnecessary and made the rest of the book feel a bit redundant.

Overall it was an easy enough read, and with some work I think it could actually be quite a decent book.

Wow. This was such a fun book to read. It was exciting and it was very hard to put down because you keep wanting to know the rest of the story! The story lines from before (Phoebe) and now (Claire) were easy to follow and the story itself was very interesting. I am very curious to read other books by this author

I enjoyed this book. The Outback setting added to the intensity and drama of the plot.

Telling the story through Claire in the present and Phoebe in the past helped to reveal clues and revelations.

I felt the ending required suspension of belief as to the killer's motivation. A bit too much of a coincidence. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book.

A group of friends reunite in the Australian outback, where they studied together ten years earlier, which was meant to be the trip of a lifetime but ended in violence and betrayal. When the remains of a girl are found years later, they know it’s time to face up to what really happened previously.

I really enjoyed this author’s previous book so was looking forward to this one. I love a destination thriller and the Australian outback is always a great setting for an isolated, tense read. It certainly ended up having a compelling, immersive atmosphere, where as a reader you can feel the environment around you.

Even though I enjoyed the setting, I did find that this was a bit of a slow burn which meant at times it lacked suspense. I enjoyed the way the story was told in different points of view and I found the characters interesting, although there were a few to remember. Having read quite a few thrillers, I did find the overall story a bit samey and predictable, however saying that, this was still an entertaining, solid mystery and I look forward to seeing what the author writes next. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

A crime thriller set in the Australian out back following a group of international students who reunite following the discovery of the body of another friend ten years previously. The slow pace and the multiple characters who were thinly stretched diluted my interest in the novel. However, the setting was rich in description and it will make a good holiday read.

I really enjoyed this book. 10 years ago a group of young people embarked on a study programme in Australia. Sadly, the trip ended with the disappearance of Phoebe, who was never heard from again. Now Phoebe's remains have been found and the group are back in Australia to answer the Police's questions. Told in 2 time frames, this is a real page turner that will keep you guessing right to the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

OMG! What have I just read! This book is amazing!!! I loved the storyline, I loved the characters, the good ones & the bad ones. There's so many twists and turns, this book will have you staying up reading well into the night. I read this in one sitting. Definitely 5 stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Page turning novel. Red herring after red herring. Twists and turns galore.

Who would you trust after just spending 1 month together in an Adventure Outback expedition? Everyone could be a suspect right down to the hotel owner, but who did kill some of the students?

Excellent writing.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

A group of friends return to Australia where they were students together on a cultural and activity exchange. On the exchange trip, Phoebe disappeared, and her remains are found just before the reunion, and the friends are all suspects in a murder enquiry. They are all dashing around together trying to find evidence to prove their innocence, and many secrets are uncovered, throwing new light on what they previously believed. The action is fast paced, and gripping. I enjoyed this.

A good story, with interesting characters, and well-written. I felt it drifted into stereotype at times, but I couldn't put the book down, and will definitely recommend it.

I predict that this book will become a big summer hit. I really enjoyed Sara Och's first book and sometimes the trouble with producing a masterpiece is the ability to follow it up with something that is equally as brilliant. This is where the Outback Shines. It is captivating and full of more twists and turns than I could ever expect. Even when I thought I had finally understood "who had dun it", Och's throws in another plot twist. It really was a fantastic page turner and I was in two minds- firstly, binge reading it because it had an additive, fast page turning quality but I was also frustrated because I could see that I was nearing the end and I wasn't quite ready to say farewell to the characters.
If you like a fast paced, well written thriller, this is the book for you. The book has wonderful depth of character, a well written and engaging storyline and the environment of the bleak Australian outback added a wonderful creepy atmosphere. Highly recommended!

Sara Ochs' 'The Outback' moves between two time frames:

- 'Now', when a group of friends come back together after the discovery of the body of one of their party.
- 'Then', 10yrs before when the the group are brought together on a month long study abroad programme in Australia that goes wrong.

Claire, one of the party, has for the last 10yrs felt an overwhelming responsibility for her friends death, resulting in her failing to pursue a career or a stable relationship. However, when she joins the others in Australia after the body is found, events make it clear that she's not the only one with something to hide.

Told from Claire and Pheobe's perspectives, readers gradually unravel what happened, with plenty of twists and turns.

This novel is extremely plot driven, rather than character led. As a result the novel is quite propulsive, but isn't an emotional read or one that gets under your skin. Sara Ochs is not from Australia, and whilst I don't necessarily believe you have to be from a country to write about it, this coupled with the focus on the plot meant that to an extent it could have been set in any country. Yes, there were repeated illusions to the Australian accent, and yes she sometimes mentioned the landscape, but unlike a number of Australian noir or crime books I've read, it didn't evoke Australia in the same way. However, having said that it was an enjoyable read, and I enjoyed the twists and turns.

I enjoyed the resort but this not as much even though it's good. For me I felt like the characters were irritating and this slowed me down with reading this as the plot was being drawn out. I dnf maybe with less distraction I would have.

I really just couldn’t get into this book. I think I really didn’t like the characters so wasn’t interested in knowing more about them.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to discover a previously unread author and one I will now be searching out more of in the future.
A trip to the outback proves tragic when one doesn’t return home ! Don’t want to spoil for anyone but this was a well written read with captivating characters and descriptions that kept me gripped with the fast paced read from start to finish.
Great read for the poolside this summer.

𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
A decade ago, a group of college friends embarked on a month abroad in Australia. But when one of them disappeared, their trip turned into a nightmare. Now, ten years later, the discovery of a body in the outback forces the remaining friends to confront the secrets they’ve buried and the events they’ve tried to forget.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡
Gripped immediately! The pacing was fast, and I loved Claire from the start. She’s vulnerable, grounded, and from humble beginnings, which made her easy to root for. The other POV comes from Phoebe in the past - she took a bit longer to connect with, but her backstory unravels in a heart wrenching way.

Even though the flashbacks are set ten years earlier, it didn’t feel YA. The shifts in time were well-placed and never pulled me out of the story. The way they bond so quickly felt completely believable - not gonna lie, it reminded me of my “Birthright Israel” trip at 16. When you’re young and far from home, connections form fast.

We get to know most of the group fairly well - there’s depth even in the smaller characters, which made me care a lot more than I expected. That said, I wouldn’t have minded more time with the main group, maybe even an extra POV or two to dig in deeper.

Although I didn’t guess whodunnit, I wasn’t super shocked - however, the epilogue was super juicy!

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
This was a fast-paced, character-driven whodunnit that kept me hooked from start to finish. Definitely worth picking up this summer!

Thanks to @Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for access to this advance readers copy

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I was drawn in from the beginning it had a great story and well drawn characters and I wasn't expecting the ending.

I’ve never read any Sara Ochs novels before, but having throughly enjoyed The Outback I will be making a point of looking at all of her previous novels. If they are as good as this one I can’t wait. Will highly recommend to customers.

Well, this was not the best one from this author. I did like the resort from the same author.
The story unfolds in Australia, which is described beautifully. For me, there were a little too many characters, which was, certainly in the beginning, a bit hard. Also, in combination with the here and then.
You will get to know the whole group and their problems and relations. There is a lot of betrayal and accusations.
This one was not for me, too slow-paced for me and too slow-paced for my likings.